Advocates want audit of Blood Tribe Housing
By Tim Kalinowski on March 16, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
Housing on the Blood Tribe First Nation is in a dismal state, say community advocates, and they are pointing a finger at mismanagement as perhaps the culprit.
“This is part of the ongoing problems we have on the Blood Tribe, and what we are doing is getting a ministerial letter (ready),” says Elder and community advocate Roger Prairie Chicken.
“We are going to be providing it to the Members of Parliament, and from there directly to Ottawa for investigation on the housing situation, and why it has gotten so bad. At the same time, we need to find out what the answers are. We have a lot of people living with no homes and stuff like that. We have five families living in one home, and this causes the problems.”
“They are not addressing the issues,” agrees fellow Blood Tribe Elder Keith Chiefmoon.
“It is becoming a major issue of community concern for all of us. It is very sad we don’t know what is going on with our officials. We have no idea what they are doing.
“The issue of homelessness and poverty is becoming a major concern for all of us,” he adds.
Chiefmoon and Prairie Chicken are calling for a full forensic audit of Blood Tribe Housing to account for federal government funds which were set aside for housing repairs, but, they allege, never reached the people at the grassroots level.
“What is happening is a lot of mismanagement,” Chiefmoon states. “I think the only way it can be addressed is by a forensic audit … We don’t know what is going on. There is supposed to be annual reports given (by Housing), but that doesn’t happen. We are just kept in the dark.”
Housing advocate Charlene Plume says there has always been something off in the way the Housing department has operated on the First Nation.
“When we moved into our house, it was in the 1990s,” she explains. “In some years past one day they came and cleaned our sewer tank, and they changed it. The guy who came and changed our sewer tank said Indian Affairs is coming and also somebody from CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). When they arrived they were inspecting our house, and one of the people from CMHC said: ‘Oh, your roof is great. Whoever did your roof did an excellent job. When me and Roger looked at each other, we said that was the original roof when it came out of the pine industry. Somebody claimed our roof and got away with free money. So this has been going on and on.
“People are telling me stories of when they get their houses renovated,” adds Plume, “the renovations aren’t complete. The contractors do not finish their jobs, and these people are phoning the contractors and Housing, and they are just being shut down.
“So where is the accountability to the people?”
Plume says housing in general has severely deteriorated on the reserve in recent years– to the point where some houses do not even have drinkable water due to issues in the plumbing. And what few dollars for repairs come down from the Tribe, she states, seem to be divvied up based on family connections, and who is friends with who, instead of in the areas of most need.
“I know of people who got their house renovated, they didn’t like the renovation, a major renovation, and the following year they got another renovation,” she recalls. “So that house got renovated twice. There is favouritism in terms of who is getting their houses repaired.”
She says when you try to complain to Housing about different problems or ask for some accounting from the department as to how money is transferred from people’s social benefits to the department, you cannot get a precise breakdown of that information.
“On our reserve, when we run into problems like this, who do we run to complain to?” she asks. “Nobody. Because if you go to the directors and whatnot, they close their doors.”
Prairie Chicken says he hopes by speaking up publicly about what has been a burning issue in the community for a while now he will inspire others in the community to also speak up about it and push for real change and accountability within the Blood Tribe.
“Basically by voicing our concerns, whether through social media or media, exemplifying this thing, and educating out there, I do believe we are taking some kind of action,” he says. “Being quiet, and saying you’re right– that’s the coward’s way out. We want the people to wake up and voice their concerns.”
The Herald did reach out to Blood Tribe Housing for an interview on these matters, but received no reply.
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My house could use a new roof, new windows, new floor coverings, and plumbing upgrades. The government wil not pay for it. Why? Is it because i am white? Like, really???
Why does the Federal government hold fiduciary responsibility for First Nations peoples in Canada?
Parliamentary legislation concerning every aspect of life for First Nations peoples wasn’t initiated or enacted by First Nations peoples, Citi Zen.
It was enacted by white colonial settler politicians beginning in 1857 for the purposes of assimilation.
Knowledge of white colonial settler history in this country is important in order to gain an understanding of the issues presented in Kalinowski’s article.
https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act/
Over $14 billion is given to First Nations every year for just about 1.3 million, in which just over half are eligible for full benefits that are living on FN communities and meet the criteria. That doesn’t reflect many other costs the taxpayer looks after!
What to they want? Do they want us to pay them each the equivalent of $25 per hour, 40 hours a week?
Here are some suggestions:
You don’t pay taxes, so you should start paying the band taxes so you can enjoy the same services non First Nations have, from their taxes. The same taxes that pay for your livelihood.
Start educating groups of your young First Nations in the trades, with their practical being performed on fixing the First Nations housing in your communities, with the understanding that once trained the practical will last for a total of 5 years in your communities, before they can get their ticket!
If you expect to have everything the same as non First Nations Canadians, then you are dreaming. We are not going to pay all of your housing costs, when we have to pay for your medical and dental expenses, your treaty pay, your infrastructure and everthing else we are paying for!
It is time we ended this give me, give me, give me stance and start making demands for you to start realizing that we are not paying you to live better than many other taxpayers!
Have you confirmed the validity of your assertions, pursuit diver?
For example:
Moreover, Sheldon Krasowski BA MA PhD, of Athabasca University, in his book, No Surrender: The Land Remains Indienous, states that according to Treaty 7 Elders and eye witnesses to the signing of Treaty 7, all accounts are consistent with the knowledge that the signatories understood they were signing a peace treaty with the settlers. There was no land surrender.
Therefore, as a non-Indigenous person, if you live anywhere in traditional Treaty 7 territory, you have been given opportunity to share in the resources of this vast territory.
Moreover, if you reside anywhere in traditional Treaty 7 territory, you are also a Treaty person. As such, isn’t it advisable to become familiar with the history and text of this Treaty and other related documents such as the Indian Act?
Lethbridge is not part of the Treaty 7 agreement! We made a treaty in the 1870’s, as many treaty were signed in good faith to prevent us ‘colonialists’ from wiping you out. You were defeated and you can throw all the garbage you want at us, but this gravy train is going to end soon!
Yes I know many First Nations do pay taxes, work hard and you never hear them complain or demand more! I have friends that are indigenous and live happily in their homes they worked and paid for and are not taking treaty money!!!!
We do not live on Treaty 7 land! The Mayor and his pledge has poisoned the minds of many that now think we are on Treaty 7 land.
This city was built and paid for with the money, the taxes, the blood, sweat and tears of the ‘colonialists’ that arrived in this country.
The aborinals were defeated, but they were not innocent. There were murders of settlers, scalpings, rapes and other attacks on the settlers in the Southern Alberta region in the 1860’s and the Treaty’s gave the Indians a choice.
How is it that people can come from a worn torn country, after living in true tryranny, such as Syria with only the clothes on their backs, a language barrier and within a few years have their own home, a vehicle, and their family living in peace, after paying back the government the costs of transporting them here to this country and yet the First Nations have had 150 years to get their act together, but still demand more!
This will end and soon!!! The taxpayers have had enough!!!
Lethbridge Alberta is situated on the traditional territory of the Indigenous signatories to Treaty 7. Please refer to the following map.
https://canadianhistoryworkshop.wordpress.com/treaties/treaty-seven/
The Reserves within the boundaries of Treaty 7 represent the lands set aside by the Crown for the purposes of the Indigenous residents of the traditional Treaty 7 territory.
Moreover, the Crown did not go into battle with the Indigenous signatories of Treaty 7. It was signed and witnessed at Blackfoot Crossing, where, incidentally, you may find an interpretive centre depicting what I refer to.
Additionally, Treaty 7 remains in effect and, therefore, is relative to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents within the boundaries of the Treaty. This, in effect, renders both Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents as Treaty people.
To answer your question regarding immigrants coming to Canada from war torn countries:
THEY DO NOT LIVE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE INDIAN ACT.
https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/ongoing-impact-of-the-indian-act-on-indigenous-peoples-health
BTW, pursuit diver, I am a non-Indigenous person of colonial settler heritage. I acknowledge that I live on the traditional territory of the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Stoney-Nakoda, and Tsuut’ina (Sarcee) and I say nitsiniiyi-taki (thank you).
Judging from the comments it’s absolutely astounding how little people really know about what treaties are, and what their role as settlers is within them.
For something so foundational to what canada is, you’d think more people would know.
Do I have the following correct?
1) The indigenous people were conquered. Conquering has occurred throughout all of history and includes white people being conquered, and indigenous people conquering other indigenous tribes.
2) In most cases throughout history, those conquered are given the choice of assimilating or being enslaved / executed.
3) In Canada, the conquered indigenous people were given the choice of assimilating or living on a reserve in autonomy while practising their traditional way of life.
IF that is all correct, then why would be paying for all manner of things for the indigenous people that chose to live on a reserve with their traditional way of life? With that said, I’m all for providing cultural assistance for those that choose to assimilate.
Gosh, Seth, you should re-read IMO’s posts.
1. By ‘conquer’ do you mean by disease, deceit, and genocidal government policy?
2. You would have to add ‘revolt and liberation’ to your thesis. Otherwise, by now, there would only be one nation on the planet.
3. I guess if assimilation is the choice between partners in a treaty, we should be equally agreeable to assimilate into their culture. Maybe they will allow us to keep Irish dancing, as long as it doesn’t get political.
Gosh, Fescue, you need a big hug of logic again 🙂
1) Typical pathetic semantics defence. Use whatever terms you like. The point is, “conquering” was the goal, and that was achieved. Granted, the means of said conquering was most often immoral, but I’m not arguing the morality of conquering, so your point is irrelevant.
2) “revolt and liberation” have nothing to do with my points.
3) HUH?
Let’s summarize Fescue:
You replied to my points with nothing other than incense and peppermints. You totally failed in answering my main question in #3. Oh wait, your going to keep providing your circular logic to prove your point lol.
Thanks at least for sticking to a point for point debate format.
BTW- I hate incense, but I freakin love peppermint.
I forgot to mention that “Tris” is me, and as usual the Edit function didn’t work to mention that.
My Seth Anthony login wasn’t working again, so I logged into the Tris account to reply. I created the Tris account due to that.