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This Message is Reprinted Under the Fair Use
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_http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html_
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FROM: _http://www.tolerance.ca/Article.aspx?ID=30829&L=EN_
(Tolerance.ca - Aboriginal Causes: A Lucrative Business for White Advisers)
Aboriginal Causes: A Lucrative Business for White Advisers
(javascript:openNewWindow('PhotoAuteur.aspx?L=en&A uteurID=2','','height=525,width=388,toolbar=no,scr ollbars=no')) By _Victor Teboul_
(Tolerance.ca - Informations sur l'auteur)
Ph.D., Université de Montréal, Editor, Tolerance.ca®
(Tolerance.ca) (_Larger image_
(Tolerance.ca) ) Non-native
lawyers and consultants defend aboriginal causes for their own financial gain,
argue Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard in their controversial book, _Disrobing
the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural
Preservation_ (Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry) . The billions of tax
dollars spent on aboriginal programs serve to enrich white consultants and a
native elite, instead of improving the condition of the aboriginal population,
according to the authors. Can government policy be made to change for the
benefit of aboriginals? What actions should be taken? We raised these questions and
others with Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard. Interview conducted by
_Victor Teboul_ (Tolerance.ca - Author information) for
Tolerance.ca
Tolerance.ca ®: In your book, Disrobing The Aboriginal Industry (McGill
University Press, 2008), you reveal that the aboriginal people of Canada are kept
in a state of isolation from the economic chain of production by the very
people who are supposed to defend their claims, and even more so, by those who
are hired to promote their cause: lawyers, anthropologists and social
scientists in general. Why, according to you, has no one ever denounced this
situation, which has been preventing the aboriginal people from becoming part of
the industrial network?
– The Aboriginal Industry has been exposed before – by David Crombie,
Calvin Helin, Jean Allard, and a number of others (a complete list of these
critical views is available on page 266, note 2 of our book). This exposure,
however, has largely come from the political Right, and has not been undertaken
systematically. This is because the Aboriginal Industry pushes aboriginal
leaders in front of itself, and so critics like us appear to be attacking
aboriginal people, not the Industry (which is our real target). New Left commentators
are very sympathetic towards aboriginal people, and are inclined to be
supportive of any political demands being made by an oppressed group. Therefore,
when the Aboriginal Industry manipulates native leaders, and encourages them
to support reactionary initiatives, most non-aboriginal people accept these
claims without question. They assume that this is the best way to address the
terrible oppression that aboriginal peoples have endured historically from
colonization because they believe that land claims and self-government are what
aboriginal people “want”.
Tolerance.ca ®: You point to social scientists and to lawyers as profiting
from the legal procedures rather than obtaining tangible long term settlements
which would contribute to integrating the aboriginal people into the
socio-economic chain of production. Why haven’t the Canadian media ever investigated
the aboriginals’ conditions within the perspective you bring forth in your
book?
Abuses scarcely reported by media
– The media certainly has reported on the abuses in the system of carrying
out aboriginal policy. The reporting has been sporadic, however, due to the
underlying apprehension about criticizing anything to do with aboriginal policy
initiatives because it may be seen as an attack on native people. By
implying that all critics of aboriginal policy must be closet racists or colonialist
sympathizers, the Aboriginal Industry has made it difficult for all people,
including journalists, to question aboriginal policy.
Tolerance.ca ®: You state that “The tribal basis of politics in aboriginal
communities (…) is incompatible with modern values because it is exclusive
rather than inclusive, concerned with ancestral privilege rather than equal
citizenship under the law’’. Isn’t this true, to a lesser degree perhaps, of all
ethno-cultural communities in Canada? How should a community be inclusive
while it must, at the same time, be preoccupied with reproducing its own value
system?
- Yes, it is true of all communities anywhere that still identify according
to their ethnicity. However, no other group has the same circumstances as
aboriginal peoples where the gap between cultures is so great. No ethno-cultural
communities came to Canada without iron-age technology and the developmental
characteristics associated with the technology. All non-aboriginal ethnic
groups in Canada chose to come to this country, which means that they are
psychologically prepared to integrate, at least partially, with the wider society.
The automatic association of aboriginal people with their ancestral
traditions also creates additional obstacles to their development and the absorption
of characteristics needed to participate effectively in modern society.
Tolerance.ca ®: You mention the difficulties in getting your book published.
How has it been received?
– The difficulty with getting the book published had to do with the elements
discussed above. Some publishers even suggested that we change our thesis!
The book has had a polarized reception; the Aboriginal Industry supporters
tell people not to read it, but there have been some very positive responses
from people who are disturbed by the increasingly irrational character of
aboriginal policy development.
Tolerance.ca ®: You seem to denounce the double standard existing in our
judiciary whereby leniency appears prevalent when it concerns crimes committed
by aboriginal offenders and particularly by aboriginal leaders. Why, in your
view, is this situation tolerated by the courts and by our legislators?
– We do not “denounce” the leniency of sentencing of aboriginal offenders,
nor do we refer to a “double standard”. Our intention is to illuminate the
effects of the cultural gap between natives and non-natives in the judicial
system. Acknowledgement of the cultural gap is the first step in understanding
and dealing with the problem of over representation of aboriginal people in
penal institutions. The existing policy direction is to try to reduce the
number of aboriginal people being incarcerated without addressing the cultural
roots of aboriginal criminality.
Alcoholism not the direct cause of violence
Tolerance.ca ®: You have come to the conclusion that alcoholism is not the
cause of violence and abuse, but that it is used as an excuse, and that the
real cause of violence lies in the very way of life in the culture of
aboriginal communities. If that is the case, how can violence be combated or
eradicated?
– There are studies that indicate that alcohol is not a direct cause of
violence and abuse, but that it relieves inhibitions of a number of social
behaviors. The clash of cultures facing many aboriginal people results in
frustrations that, under the influence of alcohol, find expression in violence. While
there is evidence of this in all cultures, the occurrence is highly
disproportionate in aboriginal communities. The answer lies not in rejecting all
alcohol use, which reinforces the idea that alcohol is the cause, but in cultural
integration with the non-abusing society. It should be pointed out that
European societies also had problems with alcohol as they industrialized; however,
this transition occurred over hundreds of years, not decades, and so it was
easier for Europeans to develop customs that facilitated moderation in
alcohol consumption.
Tolerance.ca ®: The Canadian Heritage program, Canadian Culture On Line,
has, among its main criteria for the selection of the projects it subsidizes,
that they must originate from the groups themselves -whether aboriginal or
ethno-cultural- and that they must _‘’be active in promoting the culture of
that community ’’_
(Canadian Heritage - Eligibility Criteria) :
In the light of your analysis, how can there be any room left for
self-criticism when the Canadian government itself supports self-promotional projects
on the part of communities, projects which might in some cases, as
demonstrated in your book, even contradict our Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
“Government policy must change”
– Government policy is at the root of the problem, but the initiation and
control over projects is exercised by the Aboriginal Industry that promotes
traditional cultural features to keep native people in isolation and need of
their “help”. Government policy must change to accept responsibility for the
delivery of services to the native population rather than transferring funds to
community leaders who are under the influence of self-serving lawyers,
anthropologists and other consultants.
Tolerance.ca ®: You propose, among the solutions that you put forward, that
problems in aboriginal communities be addressed through ‘’widespread social
change’’. Given the magnitude of the situation and the deeply entrenched
problems you describe, can you offer some examples of how you envision such
widespread social change?
– It is difficult to come up with solutions to problems that are not
acknowledged in the first place. Ultimately, the huge cultural gap must be
recognized and considered in the development of future policy. Funding for the
promotion of atavistic cultural phenomena by non-aboriginals must be stopped.
Education should be consistent with universal concepts of knowledge without the
premise of different “ways of knowing”. Monetary transfers should not be
channeled through sinecured boards of directors. Developing a long-range program to
integrate isolated communities while minimizing discomfort to their members
must be the focus. This means scientifically based programs to improve basic
educational levels, address Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and eliminate the
chronic health problems in the native population.
While there should be no forced relocations, as many aboriginal people do
not have the skills, values and attitudes to survive in urban environments,
encouraging the native population to migrate to larger centres should be the
focus. This is not occurring in areas like Nunavut, where the policy direction
is actually proposing the opposite; the government is embarking on an
expensive program of “decentralization”, where it is assumed that economies can be “
built” with government funds even in isolated communities that can only be
accessed by air. Instead of spending millions of dollars on infrastructure
developments in communities like Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet, for example,
government funding should be oriented towards providing transitional programs so
that more aboriginal people would begin to feel comfortable in moving to larger
centres like Iqaluit.
An entirely new overall policy must be developed in concert with the true
representatives of aboriginal people. With the objectives of addressing the
contemporary problems, allowing native people to participate in the global
society, and not in compensating for past ill treatment regardless of the
regrettable and acknowledged extent of it. As is now being seen with the residential
school settlement, the money is going towards pick-up trucks, drugs and
gambling, while the real problems – low educational levels, poor health and
substandard housing – remain.
-------------------------
Frances Widdowson is a faculty member of the Department of Policy Studies at
Mount Royal College, in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Albert Howard has worked
as a consultant for government and Native groups, and is currently an
instructor and Director of Programs, at the Kennedy College of Technology in
Toronto.
This Message is Reprinted Under the Fair Use
Doctrine of International Copyright Law:
_http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html_
(US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
************************************************** ***********
FROM: _http://www.tolerance.ca/Article.aspx?ID=30829&L=EN_
(Tolerance.ca - Aboriginal Causes: A Lucrative Business for White Advisers)
Aboriginal Causes: A Lucrative Business for White Advisers
(javascript:openNewWindow('PhotoAuteur.aspx?L=en&A uteurID=2','','height=525,width=388,toolbar=no,scr ollbars=no')) By _Victor Teboul_
(Tolerance.ca - Informations sur l'auteur)
Ph.D., Université de Montréal, Editor, Tolerance.ca®
(Tolerance.ca) (_Larger image_
(Tolerance.ca) ) Non-native
lawyers and consultants defend aboriginal causes for their own financial gain,
argue Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard in their controversial book, _Disrobing
the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural
Preservation_ (Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry) . The billions of tax
dollars spent on aboriginal programs serve to enrich white consultants and a
native elite, instead of improving the condition of the aboriginal population,
according to the authors. Can government policy be made to change for the
benefit of aboriginals? What actions should be taken? We raised these questions and
others with Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard. Interview conducted by
_Victor Teboul_ (Tolerance.ca - Author information) for
Tolerance.ca
Tolerance.ca ®: In your book, Disrobing The Aboriginal Industry (McGill
University Press, 2008), you reveal that the aboriginal people of Canada are kept
in a state of isolation from the economic chain of production by the very
people who are supposed to defend their claims, and even more so, by those who
are hired to promote their cause: lawyers, anthropologists and social
scientists in general. Why, according to you, has no one ever denounced this
situation, which has been preventing the aboriginal people from becoming part of
the industrial network?
– The Aboriginal Industry has been exposed before – by David Crombie,
Calvin Helin, Jean Allard, and a number of others (a complete list of these
critical views is available on page 266, note 2 of our book). This exposure,
however, has largely come from the political Right, and has not been undertaken
systematically. This is because the Aboriginal Industry pushes aboriginal
leaders in front of itself, and so critics like us appear to be attacking
aboriginal people, not the Industry (which is our real target). New Left commentators
are very sympathetic towards aboriginal people, and are inclined to be
supportive of any political demands being made by an oppressed group. Therefore,
when the Aboriginal Industry manipulates native leaders, and encourages them
to support reactionary initiatives, most non-aboriginal people accept these
claims without question. They assume that this is the best way to address the
terrible oppression that aboriginal peoples have endured historically from
colonization because they believe that land claims and self-government are what
aboriginal people “want”.
Tolerance.ca ®: You point to social scientists and to lawyers as profiting
from the legal procedures rather than obtaining tangible long term settlements
which would contribute to integrating the aboriginal people into the
socio-economic chain of production. Why haven’t the Canadian media ever investigated
the aboriginals’ conditions within the perspective you bring forth in your
book?
Abuses scarcely reported by media
– The media certainly has reported on the abuses in the system of carrying
out aboriginal policy. The reporting has been sporadic, however, due to the
underlying apprehension about criticizing anything to do with aboriginal policy
initiatives because it may be seen as an attack on native people. By
implying that all critics of aboriginal policy must be closet racists or colonialist
sympathizers, the Aboriginal Industry has made it difficult for all people,
including journalists, to question aboriginal policy.
Tolerance.ca ®: You state that “The tribal basis of politics in aboriginal
communities (…) is incompatible with modern values because it is exclusive
rather than inclusive, concerned with ancestral privilege rather than equal
citizenship under the law’’. Isn’t this true, to a lesser degree perhaps, of all
ethno-cultural communities in Canada? How should a community be inclusive
while it must, at the same time, be preoccupied with reproducing its own value
system?
- Yes, it is true of all communities anywhere that still identify according
to their ethnicity. However, no other group has the same circumstances as
aboriginal peoples where the gap between cultures is so great. No ethno-cultural
communities came to Canada without iron-age technology and the developmental
characteristics associated with the technology. All non-aboriginal ethnic
groups in Canada chose to come to this country, which means that they are
psychologically prepared to integrate, at least partially, with the wider society.
The automatic association of aboriginal people with their ancestral
traditions also creates additional obstacles to their development and the absorption
of characteristics needed to participate effectively in modern society.
Tolerance.ca ®: You mention the difficulties in getting your book published.
How has it been received?
– The difficulty with getting the book published had to do with the elements
discussed above. Some publishers even suggested that we change our thesis!
The book has had a polarized reception; the Aboriginal Industry supporters
tell people not to read it, but there have been some very positive responses
from people who are disturbed by the increasingly irrational character of
aboriginal policy development.
Tolerance.ca ®: You seem to denounce the double standard existing in our
judiciary whereby leniency appears prevalent when it concerns crimes committed
by aboriginal offenders and particularly by aboriginal leaders. Why, in your
view, is this situation tolerated by the courts and by our legislators?
– We do not “denounce” the leniency of sentencing of aboriginal offenders,
nor do we refer to a “double standard”. Our intention is to illuminate the
effects of the cultural gap between natives and non-natives in the judicial
system. Acknowledgement of the cultural gap is the first step in understanding
and dealing with the problem of over representation of aboriginal people in
penal institutions. The existing policy direction is to try to reduce the
number of aboriginal people being incarcerated without addressing the cultural
roots of aboriginal criminality.
Alcoholism not the direct cause of violence
Tolerance.ca ®: You have come to the conclusion that alcoholism is not the
cause of violence and abuse, but that it is used as an excuse, and that the
real cause of violence lies in the very way of life in the culture of
aboriginal communities. If that is the case, how can violence be combated or
eradicated?
– There are studies that indicate that alcohol is not a direct cause of
violence and abuse, but that it relieves inhibitions of a number of social
behaviors. The clash of cultures facing many aboriginal people results in
frustrations that, under the influence of alcohol, find expression in violence. While
there is evidence of this in all cultures, the occurrence is highly
disproportionate in aboriginal communities. The answer lies not in rejecting all
alcohol use, which reinforces the idea that alcohol is the cause, but in cultural
integration with the non-abusing society. It should be pointed out that
European societies also had problems with alcohol as they industrialized; however,
this transition occurred over hundreds of years, not decades, and so it was
easier for Europeans to develop customs that facilitated moderation in
alcohol consumption.
Tolerance.ca ®: The Canadian Heritage program, Canadian Culture On Line,
has, among its main criteria for the selection of the projects it subsidizes,
that they must originate from the groups themselves -whether aboriginal or
ethno-cultural- and that they must _‘’be active in promoting the culture of
that community ’’_
(Canadian Heritage - Eligibility Criteria) :
In the light of your analysis, how can there be any room left for
self-criticism when the Canadian government itself supports self-promotional projects
on the part of communities, projects which might in some cases, as
demonstrated in your book, even contradict our Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
“Government policy must change”
– Government policy is at the root of the problem, but the initiation and
control over projects is exercised by the Aboriginal Industry that promotes
traditional cultural features to keep native people in isolation and need of
their “help”. Government policy must change to accept responsibility for the
delivery of services to the native population rather than transferring funds to
community leaders who are under the influence of self-serving lawyers,
anthropologists and other consultants.
Tolerance.ca ®: You propose, among the solutions that you put forward, that
problems in aboriginal communities be addressed through ‘’widespread social
change’’. Given the magnitude of the situation and the deeply entrenched
problems you describe, can you offer some examples of how you envision such
widespread social change?
– It is difficult to come up with solutions to problems that are not
acknowledged in the first place. Ultimately, the huge cultural gap must be
recognized and considered in the development of future policy. Funding for the
promotion of atavistic cultural phenomena by non-aboriginals must be stopped.
Education should be consistent with universal concepts of knowledge without the
premise of different “ways of knowing”. Monetary transfers should not be
channeled through sinecured boards of directors. Developing a long-range program to
integrate isolated communities while minimizing discomfort to their members
must be the focus. This means scientifically based programs to improve basic
educational levels, address Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and eliminate the
chronic health problems in the native population.
While there should be no forced relocations, as many aboriginal people do
not have the skills, values and attitudes to survive in urban environments,
encouraging the native population to migrate to larger centres should be the
focus. This is not occurring in areas like Nunavut, where the policy direction
is actually proposing the opposite; the government is embarking on an
expensive program of “decentralization”, where it is assumed that economies can be “
built” with government funds even in isolated communities that can only be
accessed by air. Instead of spending millions of dollars on infrastructure
developments in communities like Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet, for example,
government funding should be oriented towards providing transitional programs so
that more aboriginal people would begin to feel comfortable in moving to larger
centres like Iqaluit.
An entirely new overall policy must be developed in concert with the true
representatives of aboriginal people. With the objectives of addressing the
contemporary problems, allowing native people to participate in the global
society, and not in compensating for past ill treatment regardless of the
regrettable and acknowledged extent of it. As is now being seen with the residential
school settlement, the money is going towards pick-up trucks, drugs and
gambling, while the real problems – low educational levels, poor health and
substandard housing – remain.
-------------------------
Frances Widdowson is a faculty member of the Department of Policy Studies at
Mount Royal College, in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Albert Howard has worked
as a consultant for government and Native groups, and is currently an
instructor and Director of Programs, at the Kennedy College of Technology in
Toronto.
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