Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton
It's less about what you said and more about what the other poster said, referring users to textbooks and history lessons. The tone I percieved was one of "if you read the history, you will understand why Natives recieve things like free education and therefore will no longer criticize it"
Basically what I'm saying is that people criticizing the fact that Natives receive things like free education, tax breaks, etc is not necessarily due to ignorance.
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Ah, thanks for clarifying Taunton.
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To help manu (and others) as to what I meant in earlier posts about funding, here is some additional info:
According to the Canadian government, you are considered Aboriginal if you are either First Nations, Metis or Inuit; and for each there is a certain amount of ancestry you must possess to qualify as Aboriginal. You are only a "status Indian" if you are of First Nations decent, and this is determined by the government pending a certain amount of ancestry. See
this list of terms for more info.
The government set up a form of governance in First Nations communities called band councils, which were based on Western systems of government, and simultaneously made traditional systems of governance illegal according to the rules set up in the Indian Act (this has since been rescinded, as many communties have traditional as well as band councils).
As for funding, the bands get a certain amount of money each year for various things (including education). Bands sponsor members and thus provide them with money for post-secondary education. However, not all bands get the same amount of funding, and obviously some bands will have more people than others, so not every student gets enough money to pay for their education, even when grants and bursaries are considered (queue the OUSA
Blue Chair Campaign: the fact that not all students have money to finance their education, and as a result many students drop out).
Metis people although they are considered Aboriginal by the Canadian state, do not fall under the Indian Act, and thus do not have band councils. As for Inuit persons...I have no idea. Despite having read at least five editions to the Indian Act including various amendments I'm still really confused.
That is the most succinct summary I can give, and there is still tons of info missing; some of which because I do not understand, and some of which because I do not know how to find. It's...well, confusing.
