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First Nations - CF help, protests, solutions, residential schools, etc. (merged)

“We must do better” Costs serious money. Less money for SNC Lavallin, WE charity and others our dear PM loves so much.

His mock political dramatic apologies are a future government's poison pill. Currently, he will continue to fund pet projects and when future governments don't live up to what "He" acknowledged, the political poison will result.
 
We call upon the Government of Canada to replace the Oath of Citizenship with the following:I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including Treaties with Indigenous Peoples, and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.

I suppose I need it explained to me how an individual citizen can faithfully observe a treaty between the Crown and a FNT.

Yes. I read through them. Some are already in place.

I have no doubt that all are made with the best intent. Some I think may be unrealistically unachievable, and I suspect that some of the calls related to funding are simply indicators of larger cracks in social funding across Canada.

Finally, I'm not sure I agree with a few of them, but would have to read more to understand the context.

It's interesting to see the various reports of how we're doing as a country. Some reports are that the process is stalled, and that we're not doing enough in Canada. But it appears Canada is trying.



Interesting link with the Yellowhead Institute. In today's Toronto Star, two executives of the Institute had an opinion piece that included:

" (we are accepting restitution in the form of your cottage or second home on our lands, for instance),"


I didn't really get the context of that part of the piece, but if their view is individual citizens are expected to personally fund reconciliation costs, they might lose sympathy.

I haven't seen any legit claim that any of the children were murdered, besides what some people think. I believe that there is somewhat of a consensus that most of the children died late 19th/early 20th century. I suppose it's possible to find someone still living who may have been accused of sexual assault, but unless this is someone new who is coming forward, I can't have seen the Crown not pursuing charges after TRC if a living individual was named if there was any likelihood of a conviction. Other than that, what would you charge anyone with, corporal punishment in schools was legal back then, it was only actually criminalized in 2004.

Historic criminal charges are processed under the law of the land as it existed at the time.
 
That actually seems reasonably achievable, especially if approached as a "meet halfway" enterprise: establish a position at each hospital responsible for the delivery of local traditional healing and liaison with the nations of out-of-area indigenous. Make filling and managing it the responsibility of the local First Nation. Fund it out of a non-healthcare pot: it's all tax money, but at least make sure this gig doesn't bite into healthcare funding. Ideally, fund it out of a pot managed by the First Nation(s).
And you may end up with more cases such as this:

Makayla Sault, girl who refused chemo for leukemia, dies

Ontario First Nation girl, 11, dies after abandoning chemo for traditional, alternative treatments

Connie Walker · CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2015 7:48 PM ET | Last Updated: January 20, 2015

Girl who refused chemo for leukemia dies
6 years ago
1:25
Makayla Sault, an 11-year-old First Nation girl, dies after abandoning chemo in favour of traditional, alternative treatments 1:25

Makayla Sault, the 11-year-old Ontario First Nation girl who refused chemotherapy to pursue traditional indigenous medicine and other alternative treatments, has died.

The girl died Monday after suffering a stroke Sunday.

"Surrounded by the love and support of her family, her community and her nation … Makayla completed her course. She is now safely in the arms of Jesus," her family said in a statement published by the Two Row Times.

The girl’s case made national headlines and ignited a debate about the validity of indigenous medicine and the rights of children to choose their own treatment. The Saults are from the New Credit First Nation near Caledonia, Ont.

Makayla was given a 75 per cent chance of survival when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March. She underwent 11 weeks of chemotherapy at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton.

Her mother, Sonya Sault, said Makayla experienced severe side-effects and at one point ended up in intensive care.

After Makayla said she had a vision of Jesus in the hospital, she wrote a letter to her doctors asking to stop treatment.

"I am writing this letter to tell you that this chemo is killing my body and I cannot take it anymore."

She left chemotherapy treatment while in remission to pursue alternative and traditional indigenous medicine.

"Makayla was on her way to wellness, bravely fighting toward holistic well-being after the harsh side-effects that 12 weeks of chemotherapy inflicted on her body," the family statement read. "Chemotherapy did irreversible damage to her heart and major organs. This was the cause of the stroke."

Makayla exercised her rights, says children's aid society​


Although her family claims her death was due to chemotherapy, in September, a McMaster oncologist testified at a hearing on a similar case of a First Nations girl refusing cancer treatment that Makayla had suffered a relapse. The doctor also testified that there are no known cases of survival of this type of leukemia without a full course of chemotherapy treatment.

When asked to comment on Makayla's death Tuesday, Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services Tracy MacCharles said she learned of the girl's death "with great sadness."

"Her precocious joy and optimism left a compelling impression on all she touched," MacCharles said in a statement.

While she would not address the specifics of Makayla's case or the question of whether the ministry failed in its responsibility to protect the child, MacCharles said that "all children in Ontario have the same right to protection and access to health care."

Makayla was a wonderful, loving child who eloquently exercised her indigenous rights … and those legal rights provided to her under Ontario's Health Care Consent Act.- Andrew Koster, Brant Family and Children's Services

"There are times when parents' or guardians' wishes for treatment conflict with those of doctors," she said. "In these cases, we rely on the expertise of the local children's aid societies to investigate concerns and determine if intervention is needed."

The children's aid society that handled Makayla's case, Brant Family and Children's Services, issued its own statement Tuesday.

"Makayla was a wonderful, loving child who eloquently exercised her indigenous rights as a First Nations person and those legal rights provided to her under Ontario's Health Care Consent Act," said executive director Andrew Koster. "The parents are a caring couple who loved their daughter deeply."

A visitation for Makayla will be held at New Credit Fellowship Centre on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A celebration of life service will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at the Six Nations Community Hall. There will also be two evening services for Makayla at the New Credit Fellowship Centre, where her parents are pastors, on Wednesday and Thursday at 7p.m.

Attended 'life transformation program'​


When Makayla decided against continuing chemotherapy, the hospital referred her case to Brant Family and Children's Services. After a brief investigation, it decided Makayla was not a child in need of protection and that it would not apprehend her to return her to treatment.

In an interview with CBC News in May, before the agency closed its investigation, Koster said, "For us to take her away, to apprehend and place in a home with strangers, if that's the case, if there aren't any relatives, when she's very, very ill — I can't see how that would be helpful."

“I think people much more knowledgeable than ourselves need to be involved to look at what types of traditional medicines are being used, how does it fare up to some of the chemo treatments," said Koster.

In July, Makayla travelled to the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida and took its three-week "life transformation program." A CBC investigation revealed that Hippocrates is licensed as a "massage establishment," and is being sued by former staff who allege the company's president Brian Clement is operating "a scam under Florida law" and practising medicine without a licence.

Makayla touched everyone she knew, said Peter Fitzgerald, president of McMaster Children's Hospital, in a statement.

"Her loss is heartbreaking," he said, extending his condolences to her family.

Precedent-setting case in Ontario court​


Makayla's death comes a few months after an Ontario judge ruled in an unprecedented case of another First Nations girl who also refused chemo.

The girl, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in August. Doctors at McMaster Children's Hospital gave her a 90 to 95 per cent chance of survival.

After 10 days of chemotherapy, she and her mother left McMaster to seek treatment at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida.

The mother of the 11-year-old girl, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, says the resort’s director, Clement, told her leukemia is "not difficult to treat."

brian-clement.jpg

Brian Clement, the owner and director of the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Fla., tells CBC News' Connie Walker to get off his property. (CBC) Clement, who goes by the title "Dr.," denied telling the mother that.

In an interview with CBC's Connie Walker, Clement said, "When we educate them they take care of themselves," he said, before shouting, "You're a liar. Get off the property."

In an interview with CBC News, her mother said, "This was not a frivolous decision I made. Before I took her off chemo, I made sure that I had a comprehensive health-care plan that I was very confident that was going to achieve ridding cancer of her body before I left the hospital. This is not something I think may work, this is something I know will work."

The girl's mother said her daughter received cold laser therapy, Vitamin C injections and a strict raw food diet, among other therapies at Hippocrates.

Judge Gethin Edward rejected the application from the Hamilton hospital that would have seen the Children's Aid Society intervene in Makayla's case.

Link
 
This one stuck out to me. Seems like this might be a bit of a loaded issue ...
We call upon the Government of Canada to replace the Oath of Citizenship with the following:I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including Treaties with Indigenous Peoples, and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.

I suppose I need it explained to me how an individual citizen can faithfully observe a treaty between the Crown and a FNT ...
Funny you should mention this - this from 10 days ago, with the final version ....
"... The new language adds references to the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples:

“I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen." ...
 
And you may end up with more cases such as this ...
Tough one to wrestle with - notwithstanding the issue of who decides for kids, can one force Jehovah's Witnesses to take blood transfusions against their will, even if life saving?
 
And you may end up with more cases such as this:



Link
I'm content with making figuring out traditional healers' scope of practice a First Nations problem, bundled with all the other obnoxious, weirdly-shaped, amorphous issues that come with governance, as long as there's an override for minors.

Outside the scope of implementing the recommendations: if traditional healing methods have a physical impact, they should be analysed, defined, and, if providing a positive effect, communicated into the broader healthcare world, and, if not, banned from use in medical settings. If they don't have a physical impact, then you're looking at some species of religious practice: pragmatically, good morale-boosting patient care, but let's not give it any credence, support, or federal funding. If First Nation X wants a hospital chaplain available, that person can be funded by their faith community and handled however hospitals currently deal with officiants.
 
[
but let's not give it any credence, support, or federal funding.

Then you'd be saying traditional Aboriginal healing doesn't deserve the same level as respect and importance as colonial settler medicine.
Government would be accused of racism and not implementing the TRC in good faith.
 
[

Then you'd be saying traditional Aboriginal healing doesn't deserve the same level as respect and importance as colonial settler medicine.
Government would be accused of racism and not implementing the TRC in good faith.
Oh well. Religious wibble is religious wibble, and doesn't deserve serious public policy consideration.

Ideally, some of the more actually valuable recommendations being actioned would counterbalance any negatives of affronting whatever percentage of the Canadian Indigenous population actually cares about traditional healers.
 
Oh well. Religious wibble is religious wibble, and doesn't deserve serious public policy consideration.

Ideally, some of the more actually valuable recommendations being actioned would counterbalance any negatives of affronting whatever percentage of the Canadian Indigenous population actually cares about traditional healers.

I think they're smart enough to know that traditional healers aren't going to do much brain surgery.

It might actually help take pressure off the system if they can deal more proactively - through traditional means - with some lifestyle related health issues that are overwhelming them, like diabetes.
 
That very slight wording change actually works for me.
I was originally troubled by making specific reference to specific cultural/ethnic references in what should be a statement representing the mosaic of Canada.

However, further reflection made me think that by swearing allegiance to a Crown and a Constitution, we directly recognize the European socio-political system that was transplanted to create Canada (and our constitutional principle of French and English founding nations). By adding in the section on Aboriginal and Treaty rights, we formalize recognition that there was another socio-political system and people in Canada that was - quite frankly - run over and nearly obliterated in the process of nation building, but still should be recognized as a founding nation.

This gesture seems to be an "easy win" - an earnest gesture for the Government to say "hey, we're all in the boat together - we see you."
 
Then you'd be saying traditional Aboriginal healing doesn't deserve the same level as respect and importance as colonial settler medicine.

Colonial settler medicine doesn't deserve much respect, assuming you're referring to the era of grandmothers' treatments, snake oils, and quack doctors. If you mean modern science-based medicine, then, yeah, no-one's traditional healing deserves respect until proven.
 
Swearing allegiance to rights and treaties refers to two different things:

1) Aboriginal rights, which is the archaic notion that heredity - the accident of birth - should grant people different treatment before the law. Can't be squared with equality before the law, unless someone is proposing to overhaul everything so that all residents of a governed locality have the same rights to vote and run for public office.

2) Treaty rights, which are just creations of the transplanted system.

I see no reason for naturalized citizens to be taking oaths from which birth citizens are exempt. It should be changed to a "statement of ideals" or some other well-sounding fluff.

It's another feel-good move to match promises to implement the UNDRIP in full, which would be a retrograde step in the evolution towards a society in which people are equals. If it weren't for the amount of long-term damage, I'd enjoy the spectacle of the party that deprecated "two-tier citizenship" doing everything in its power to perpetuate the concept.
 
The sense I get from this swing of the discussion to "indigenous healing practices" may be explained by this quote from a piece published last year in the Canadian Medical Education Journal Creating space for Indigenous healing practices in patient care plans

The free-text responses also reflect an incomplete understanding of Indigenous healing practices. Many respondents stated that they need more information, and many described uncertainty about specific Indigenous healing practices (e.g., ingested/inhaled substances) and potential risks. There was also frequent conflation of Indigenous healing practices with forms of complementary medicine or religions. This was demonstrated with responses such as: “religious beliefs need to be kept separate from medicine (respondent 6), and “I ask about all therapies the patient is using and specify ‘natural, vitamins, herbal or other’” (respondent 19).

It certainly described what I had thought was meant by "indigenous healing practices". It's amazing what a little research produces. https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/traditional-healing
 
Be on the lookout....

UPDATE: VicPD seeks two suspects in toppling of Captain James Cook statue in downtown Victoria​


Monument replaced with red dresses

The Victoria Police Department is looking for information on two suspects in regards to the destruction of the Captain James Cook Statue in downtown Victoria on Canada Day.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, a large group toppled the statue before tossing it in the harbour.

 
Makes sense to me; no reason why you can't do both. It's not like modern medicine is really great at dealing with chronic conditions, and for things like joint pain etc some of the salves I've tried worked as well or better than modern equivalents. Just because it's old knowledge doesn't mean we've figured out something better, and we still can't duplicate some things that used to be common practice (like the mix of hydraulic cement used by the Romans for bridge supports that are still standing).

And a lot of the latest mental health treatments are just repackaged versions of what people did for centuries.
 
Be on the lookout....

UPDATE: VicPD seeks two suspects in toppling of Captain James Cook statue in downtown Victoria​


Monument replaced with red dresses

The Victoria Police Department is looking for information on two suspects in regards to the destruction of the Captain James Cook Statue in downtown Victoria on Canada Day.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, a large group toppled the statue before tossing it in the harbour.

If Victoria can do this so can Winnipeg. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I posted something on FB this morning alluding to that and it turned in to a shit show. I deleted it as it was counter productive
 
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