Indigenous 101: A cultural Q&A

It's been a week since Maclean's magazine got all of Canada talking about racism in Winnipeg.

Through the fallout and debate it generated, one thing resonated loud and clear: Education is essential in any effort to end racism.

That's why Friday morning on CBC's Information Radio, host Marcy Markusa hosted "Indigenous 101" — an interactive Q&A where we asked you, "What would you like to know about indigenous people? What are the questions you're afraid to ask but really want the answers to?"

In studio to answer those questions were Manitoba Treaty Commissioner James Wilson and high school teacher Tasha Spillett, who specializes in Indigenous education.​

Here now is a sampling of what you asked and what our panel answered with:

Q: "Do aboriginal people get paid to go to university?"

Jamie: That's a really good question. Under the umbrella of aboriginal or indigenous, there's different groups, Métis, Inuit. Some First Nations people do get sponsored to go to university. The federal government puts aside $300 million a year for First Nations post-secondary students in Canada. It's a limited amount, it's had a hugely positive impact, but it's highly competitive to access that. Most communities have waiting lists, and you have to maintain a GPA (grade point average).

Marcy: So the impression that every aboriginal person that I see on campus is paid to be there … is completely wrong?

Tasha: I know for myself, I paid for every single course through my university career, including now in my grad studies.

I paid for every single course through my university career.- Tasha Spillett, high school teacher

And I also want to recognize the indigenous students who are on campus, who deal with this question almost daily. A vast majority of our students are finding other resources to pay for our tuition.

Q: "My uncomfortable question is why after generations of throwing money at 'the aboriginal file' do things appear to not get any better? … Please understand that I am not talking about "throwing money" at the micro (program) level. I helped to fund programs at the aboriginal youth level for years. While I saw some progress in the short term, I have no idea about the long-term outcomes…. My question stands; is money the answer?"

Jamie: If we're talking about "on reserve" specifically, First Nations are governed under the Indian Act. Now, the Indian Act is probably the most repressive, economically speaking, piece of legislation there is. If Canada as a country had to do business under the Indian Act, we'd be a Third World country. It prevents long-term investment, it creates dependency on the government, it creates basic cash economies instead of long-term wealth developments, and it's hard to break out of that.

That being said, a lot of the solutions we're talking about don't require money. A really good example would be urban reserves in Manitoba. We have the Kapyong case — 160 acres of land that's sitting dormant. Education issues. A lot of these things don't take money to do. Healing a relationship just can't happen through money. It takes personal investment and a lot of these things we could do without money.

Q: I'm wondering why do the great-grandchildren have to be responsible for the sins of their great-grandparents?

Tasha: Well, we've all inherited, indigenous and non-indigenous, the stories and experiences of our grandparents, for better or for worse. We know that no one is going anywhere … and we need to figure out how to move forward. We have a collective inheritance and we also have to decide, "What is our legacy? What are we going to leave for our grandchildren?"

But I understand that people sometimes feel that they're locked in guilt. And guilt is very paralyzing … and I know sometimes people come from a place of not understanding, which leads to feeling really uncomfortable and sometimes angry. But if we get stuck there, we're not doing any service for our children. 

I think it would be a mistake for us to blame and shame people.- James Wilson, Treaty Commissioner of Manitoba

Jamie: As First Nations people, I think it would be a mistake for us to blame and shame people. And I've seen this happen where you blame and shame white people. That's kind of one approach, and it ends up entrenching people in their positions.

Justice [Murray] Sinclair, I heard him say one time that "if you want to get somebody from their position to your position, you walk to where they are, you take them by the hand, and then you walk them to where you are." So in building a relationship, you can't just simply attack all the time. You've got to educate people respectfully. 

Q: What do treaties have to do with it?

Jamie: To me, the treaties have to do with everything. Treaty rights are something that everybody in Manitoba has. As an example, if you own property in Winnipeg, that's based on a right that was guaranteed through Treaty One. It goes all the way back to the Royal Proclamation.

Now, First Nations people have really had to fight for those rights, because a lot of individual and collective rights through the early 1900s were taken away step by step: the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to assemble, the right to go to ceremonies. All these things were taken away and we had to fight to get them back.

Q: If I buy gas in Scanterbury on the way down to Grand Beach, they ask me if I have a treaty card. What would a treaty card get me?

Tasha: Your treaty card would get you a gas rebate in Scanterbury.

Jamie: First Nations have certain rights to collect certain taxes in their communities with their own band members. Some communities will give that rebate directly to the band members. Other communities will collect it and put it into the general revenue.

Q: Do you pay taxes?

Jamie: Yes. I pay taxes and everybody in my family pays taxes. I get asked that question all the time.

'I pay taxes and everybody in my family pays taxes. I get asked that question all the time."- James Wilson

And it's a good question because there are specific instances when status Indians, under the Indian Act, don't pay taxes. But it's very specific to on-reserve purchases, on-reserve employment where the services are provided on-reserve. It's very specific.

Tasha: I definitely do pay taxes, and so do all my relatives.

Q: The perception that indigenous people don't pay taxes, what does that do to our relationship?

Tasha: I think blanket statements are really dangerous. If we're making blanket statements about any one of our fellow citizens, we really need to look at that critically and think about where did these statements come from and how can we find the truth about where those statements come from?