Zipperfish Zipperfish:
If they have some rights and title over their traditional territories, then they can generate wealth from the land, both through hunting and fishing, as well as through royalties and taxes of economic activity on those lands. My bet is that the wealth of the land far outstrips that of housing.
They can hunt and fish off the land now. They can sell weed and illegal cigarettes. All without police intervention. They can run businesses and they already get royalties from various businesses that operate on their land.
Zipperfish Zipperfish:
Canada is signing agreements with First Nations to co-manage lands and seas and providing funding to enable this. I don't really keep track of social assistance or substance use, but I've seen improvements on the reserves around here, and I also know there have been improvements in health indicators (life expectancy, youth suicide, infant mortality, etc). So yes, there has been measurable benefits of reconciliation and co-management.
First, why does someone need funding to manage the land? You want control over the land and then funding on top of that? What about being self sufficient and generating income off the land?
Zipperfish Zipperfish:
Ingrates? And what do they have to be grateful for? Are they supposed to be thankful for racists like you who think they're lazy ingrates?
How about being thankful for living in a great Country like Canada? About being thankful for the steps taken to apologize for the past wrongs? Thankful for the billions of dollars spent on my specific community each year?
Zipperfish Zipperfish:
I do take personal responsibility. That's one of the reasons I take the time to respond to this endless invective of racism--I feel personally responsible to stand up to "lazy no-good Injuns" racism.
Telling me that the majority of criminals in Toronto are black isn't racist. It's factual.
Talking about Natives on social assistance with drinking and drug problems isn't racist, it's factual.
Zipperfish Zipperfish:
It seems to me that your position of washing your hands of past injustices is the position that lacks responsibility.
I have nothing to apologize for nor a need to wash my hands of anything. Our country has apologized repeatedly for it's actions and spends billions annually to support this specific group of people which I don't have a problem with.
We can't have an adult conversation about anything with respect to our First Nation's problems without false cries of racism.
It's time to stop blaming the white man for everything.