Our home and native land?

Throughout my research for this project most, actually, all of my stories have been coming out of the United States. Now there are two questions that come to mind is it that Canada dose not publicise these issue like the U.S. does?

Or, is it that Canada has less “hate crimes” and human rights issues than the U.S? And unfortunately I think it is the latter. When you think of Canada’s human rights issues you probably think about the ongoing issues with the first Nations people. So it should come to no surprise to you that the first story I found coming out of Canada is... hey, what do you know, on the fight with Canada’s first nation’s people and child care!

When I read this article none of the information from it, like how children living on reserves are eight times as likely to be put into foster care, or how most parents living on reserves are alcoholics. These kids are being taken from their homes for many number of reasons , but the most common is what’s called “neglect.” This includes conditions of poverty, poor housing and physical and mental illnesses suffered by their parents. Basically the government is saying these parents cannot support their children, without support. What really gets me is that this can be avoided. The article states:

 “Advocates for the rights of First Nations children have long pointed out that things don’t need to be this way. If children’s services on reserves were linked to the needs of the children and equitable to services available in other communities, early intervention programs and other services could assure that more children receive the care they need and deserve without taking them away from their homes and their culture” (Toronto Sun, Craig Benjamin)

This is absurd! Children are being shifted from one home to another and having their culture torn from them, and all of this can be avoided? The Canadian government has stepped way over the line. We have decades upon decades of our government hurting these people and then we do this? I just don’t get it. How can we call Cananda “our home a native land” if we aren’t giving the natives the land, support and resources that are available to us how are we making it a home for them?