bad medicine

Aboriginal Issues During the “Culpability Era”

1 Comment / Aboriginal culpability, bad medicine, Caledonia, Calvin Helin, cultural relativism, Don Sandberg, Indian Act, Ipperwash, White privilege / /

Canadian politicians frequently adhere to cultural relativism doctrine which can make the Indigenous situation worse. It is better to follow advice from Indigenous leaders like Calvin Helin, who recommends that welfare dependency be replaced with self-reliance. Helin also contends that Indigenous communities should develop alternative revenue streams so they are not so reliant on government.

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Canadian Aboriginal Integration is Better than Assimilation or Parallelism

Aboriginal assimilation, Aboriginal integration, Aboriginal parallelism, Alan C. Cairns, bad medicine, Citizens Plus, First Nations and the Canadian State / /

An examination of Canadian political science professor Alan Cairns’s thought-provoking book on Aboriginal policy: Citizens Plus (2000). I agree with Cairns that Indigenous people can maintain their rights, and also their Canadian citizenship. However, I think any rights maintained should not harm either Aboriginals or Non-Aboriginals.

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Violence Against Aboriginal Women

Aboriginal women, bad medicine, Louis Nowra, Peter Sutton, violence / /

The constant blaming of forces like colonization and the residential schools has not always moved the dialogue forward when it comes to ending violence against Aboriginal women. I think a more holistic approach is required that examines all sides of the story, including those factors that might have contributed to Indigenous dysfunction pre-contact.

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Clans and Tribes in the 21st Century

bad medicine, clan, John Reilly, Marcia Langton, Peter Sutton, tribe / /

All cultures evolve and grow over time. Practices that are deemed counterproductive are discarded in favour of more effective ones. Some Aboriginal leaders would be better off concentrating on what will help their people move forward into the 21st century, rather than assuming all cultural practices should be maintained.

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