It was as though we'd been transported back in time a hundred years or more. We gathered at Ottawa's City Hall to support the Aboriginal people at a modest fund-raising dinner to help their children. Some Aboriginals performed dances in their native dresses. They beat drums and played musical instruments. They did hand drumming, Metis jigging and Inuit throat singing and sang soulful songs that showed their close affinity with nature and explained why the late Nusret Fateh Ali Khan's spiritual qawwalis resonated with some Aboriginals. But it wasn't all a cultural evening. The speakers focused on the desperate struggle of the Aboriginal children for a decent education and future. The message was touching and sad but constructive. The speakers didn't dwell on past injustices, the theft of their land, the killing of their people (some estimates say 500,000 in Canada, millions in the United States) and racism. They talked instead of injustices and denial of rights today and the media's distortions that mislead Canadians. They focused on the need to redress the wrongs and work together for the betterment of their people and of all Canadians. The speakers included Pam Palmater and Cindy Blackstock. Dr. Palmater of Ryerson University is working to achieve “healthy, sustainable communities supported by strong, vibrant, Indigenous nations.” Dr. Blackstock is executive director of First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and an associate professor at the University of Alberta. Dr. Palmater said a large number of Aboriginal people lack food, pure water, adequate housing and schooling. She stated that “there is a direct link between discriminatory federal laws and policies, and the crisis of poverty and preventable deaths in First Nations. Canada controls the lives of First Nations, provides them with inequitable funding that results in conditions of extreme poverty, which research has shown leads to their premature deaths. The ongoing funding inequities of basic social services have resulted in desperate living conditions, poor health, barriers to education and employment, social dysfunction, over-representation in jails and children in care, and premature deaths in First Nations.” Dr. Blackstock stressed that Canada is violating its treaty obligations with Aboriginal people through discrimination and neglect. She said the Aboriginal people have sued the government and in 2013 the case will go before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. She declared that the Attawapiskat Cree First Nations in Ontario have been requesting a new elementary school for years. In the face of persistent refusals the community collected money and sent 13-year-old Shannen Koostachin and two others to the national capital. But the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Minister told them he had no money to build the school. Koostachin refused to leave Ottawa, took her case to the Internet and won support from other Canadians. The Minister ultimately relented. Both speakers emphasized they were only seeking justice and equality for their people. In the recent past, Aboriginals have clashed with Canadian Forces and have resorted to blockades and demonstrations against their mistreatment. They have also approached the United Nations to investigate the inequities. Newspapers have reported that more than 100 Canadian academics have sent Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan a strong letter criticizing the “deep cuts” to programs they said would devastate living conditions, including access to clean water, in Aboriginal communities. It's encouraging that the Ottawa fund-raising event was co-sponsored by Human Concern International. HCI executive director Kaleem Akhtar said HCI was formed in 1980 and has since provided assistance worth $100 million to 42 countries. HCI also helps in Canada with research and funding as needed. Mr. Akhtar stated that HCI has been raising funds for Aboriginal children since 2010 and would work with Aboriginals to assist those desperately in need. The Winnipeg Free Press meanwhile reported that during the last Eid Al-Adha the Zubaidah Tallab Foundation of Manitoba provided beef, lamb, goat, chicken, vegetables, milk, tea and sugar to the most needy 200 families in two remote First Nations communities in the province. This is the fourth year that this was done. Perimeter Aviation helped with the shipping. Hussain Guisti of the Foundation said Muslims were helping to show their gratitude to God and to share their blessings with fellow Canadians. Band Manager Arnold Flett told the Winnipeg newspaper that his community is desperately poor and is “thankful this is taking place - somebody out there understands and wants to give to the needy... People don't realize how much poverty there is.” Muslims across Canada have been establishing mosques and have begun to reach out to Canadians of different faiths to build better understanding. It's encouraging that they are also willing to help the most needy, as is taught by their religion. This is welcome. But the ultimate answer has to be a serious effort by the federal and provincial governments to work with the country's Aboriginal people to honor past treaties and to rescue them from their crippling, degrading, destructive and unimaginable poverty and despair in one of the world's richest countries.
– Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge. He has received the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Queen's Diamond and Golden Jubilee awards
