Canadians want what Indigenous people want

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/09/2020 (2028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

My best friend is quitting an addiction.

It’s hard watching her suffer from withdrawal. The worst is anxiety, sleeplessness, and facing the pain her addiction caused others — but it’s something she has to quit or she will die. It’s that simple.

I tell her to call when she has a hard time. We talk, sometimes we cry. Often, we sit in silence.

Change is hard, but I tell her she’s got to keep going. In the end, everything will be worth it.

On Labour Day, the Assembly of First Nations released results from a countrywide Nanos study in which about 1,000 people were polled on “the relative importance of First Nations issues” and how these relate to the “environment, languages, education, economic development, housing, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and lands and treaties.”

The results were, well, Canadian.

According to the AFN, the report proves “Canadians give First Nations issues high priority,” showing that “79 per cent of Canadians support First Nations issues as a priority for Canada… even during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Data suggest most Canadians know First Nations people suffer from inadequate services and access to resources.

Three out of every four people say there is poor, unsuitable housing on many First Nations and drinking water is “less than adequate.”

Fifty-two per cent believe Canada is not doing enough to support First Nations children.

A whopping 74 per cent of Canadians support federal government investments to increase the number of First Nations students who attend post-secondary institutions.

These are pretty solid numbers. Diagnosing the problems First Nations face, though, isn’t the most impressive information.

Take, for example, the solutions Canadians support to rectify these issues: a majority (75 per cent) believe First Nations governments must control and plan their own community’s economic development. An even higher amount (78 per cent) say there must be more resource- and revenue-sharing between First Nations governments and provinces/territories.

An even higher amount (85 per cent) say mental health services must be made available to on-reserve students at school and Indigenous language programming should be supported by the federal government.

Overall, Canadians seem to be pretty progressive.

Sixty-seven per cent say Canada should focus predominantly on fulfilling its treaty obligations), return land to First Nations communities on a “willing seller-buyer basis” (59 per cent agree), and build urban reserves in cities (65 per cent agree).

Eighty-seven percent of Canadians even support more internet connectivity on First Nations.

Canadians are apparently even looking to First Nations for a path to the future.

Two in three Canadians (65 per cent) support the creation of more Indigenous-controlled conservation areas in the country.

A majority (52 per cent) believe “Indigenous Canadians will advance solutions to save the environment” while an even higher group (64 per cent) want First Nations to play a “leadership role in addressing major environmental issues.

Arguably the most startling statistic in the study: two-thirds of Canadians believe that “free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples” must be obtained for land and resource projects that affect them.

So much for Indigenous Peoples being “protesters” and “complainers” (looking at you Jason Kenney).

Apparently, most Canadians want to listen to and respect First Nations, and they want the federal government to do a better job.

Thirty-five per cent think the Liberals are doing a better job on First Nations issues than the Harper Conservatives while 37 per cent think the situation for First Nations peoples is the same under both governments.

I could keep going but you get the point: it’s a hopeful study with hopeful results.

Canadians know First Nations are in dire, often life-and-death situations. They even know the main problems include poverty, racism, and lack of opportunity. They want something done now.

Canadians apparently even know solutions lie in supporting First Nations independence, enacting resource-sharing agreements with provinces, and helping Indigenous youth heal from trauma, learn their languages, and go to university.

For the record, this is mostly in line with what a majority of Indigenous Peoples want, too.

Canadians even want Indigenous Peoples to fix the world and save us all from the all-consuming, self-destructive juggernaut of global neoliberal capitalism.

OK, I edited that last one a bit: they want Indigenous Peoples to help save the water and the land.

So, if Canadians want all of these things — and even have a plan that mirrors Indigenous interests — what is the problem?

Here’s where the Canadian part of the poll comes in.

Chronic dysfunction, abuse, and violence are addictions. They’re even easy to diagnose.

They’re habits not easily changed. Side effects involve anxiety, sleeplessness, and facing the pain caused by addiction.

Change is hard, but we have to keep going.

In the end, everything will be worth it.

We will even save lives.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca