Saturday, August 22, 2009

Recent Papers in China: The Survival and Sustainability of the Blackfoot Nation and Culture; Presented at the 16th Congress of the IUAES, Kunming,

The Survival and Sustainability of the Blackfoot Nation and Culture

By James Craven/Blackfoot Name: Omahkohkiaayo i’poyi

Professor of Economics and Geography, Clark College, Vancouver Washington

Presented at the 16th Congress of the IUAES, Kunming, China July 26-31


The Past [is] Alive in the Present [and] Shaping the Future

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” (George Orwell).

When we speak of the survival and sustainability of Blackfoot “Culture”, we are speaking of more than the survival and sustainability of the Blackfoot Nation and people who are the primary creators, definers, carriers, learners, transmitters and expanded reproducers of that nation and culture. We are also speaking about the survival and sustainability of the potential energy and influences—even on other cultures—embodied in and transmitted by that culture. And since all culture is dynamic and never static, we are also speaking of the survival and sustainability of all that it takes for Blackfoot culture to grow, adapt to new challenges and new conditions, and, to continually challenge itself and its own traditions and sacred practices and assumptions, some of which are functional and worth keeping, and some dysfunctional and not worth keeping. That means that the survival and sustainability of what is left of the Blackfoot nation and culture, as with other Indigenous nations, nationalities and cultures also on the brink of total extinction, means dealing not only with conditions, practices, forces and interests nominally “endogenous” or internal to the Blackfoot nation and culture that may threaten it, but also it means dealing with those forces and interests, historical and present-day, that are nominally “exogenous” or external to the Blackfoot nation and culture, that have threatened, and still threaten to this day, its survival and sustainability.[1]

As with any individual, so it is with any nation, that history is never really past and dead; it lives within, constrains and shapes, the present and thus also the future. This does not mean that individuals or whole nations cannot transcend the constraints of history, but they ignore them, or engage in historical revisionism, at their own peril. To understand and deal with the past, and the extent to which it is embodied in and thus constraining, the present and future, it is imperative that an honest examination and accounting, with no equivocation, and without fear or favor to anyone, of that past—and present shaped by that past—be done. Otherwise it is like someone going to see a physician or lawyer for help but not being honest and forthright about what practices in the past led them in the present to be in crisis and thus to need and seek help. That is partly, but only partly what George Orwell meant (he was also talking about historical revisionism as a tool of control in the present) when he noted:

Historically, and it has been thoroughly documented in the present, Blackfoot and other Indigenous nations and their cultures in the Americas have been regarded by non-Indigenous settlers and the governments they have developed as existential threats. What that means is that the mere existence, even without any alleged aggressive acts or intentions on the part of those Indigenous nations and cultures, simply their mere existence, was regarded as a threat to the systems, values, interests, ambitions, power and control of those non-Indigenous nations and their governments. Why? It is recorded in their own internal documents and discussions; it is all very dialectical.

As the “Tao Te Ching” of Lao Tzu puts it:

We know beauty because there is ugly.
We know good because there is evil.
Being and not being,
having and not having,
create each other.

Difficult and easy,
long and short,
high and low,
define each other,
just as before and after follow each other… [2]

It is very clear from the internal documents of the U.S. and Canadian Governments, as well as from the internal documents, diaries and memoirs of the missionaries and “Indian Agents”, that the core and defining values, institutions, practices, priorities, relationships and other dimensions of the culture of the Blackfoot, with many aspects in common with the cultures of other Indigenous nations, were not simply regarded and dismissed as “inferior” or backward; rather, they were first and foremost regarded as direct challenges (without any evangelical intentions by Indigenous peoples to do so) to the core values, practices, relations, theologies and institutions—cultures—of capitalism and those of the settlers. Just as some capitalist nations have regarded the mere existence of socialism and socialist values as an existential threat, without any alleged overt or covert acts of aggression by socialist social formations like China, so Indigenous cultures and systems, with definite communalist and non-capitalist practices and values, were regarded as existential threats and banned. Even many Indigenous prayers, with communalist values, were seen as a threat to cultures—and interests—built on capitalism. Here are but two of many examples from the archives of the Department of Indian Affairs in Canada and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U.S. that show the real nature and intentions of their policies.

For example, in many traditional societies, there is the sacred practice of “Potlatch” or “Give Aways” (Blackfoot) in which prized personal possessions are given away; they are not, by the way forms of “gambling” or “lotteries”. These ceremonies are designed to teach: the transient nature of all material possessions; not to become a slave to personal possessions; community spirit; compassion and that happiness of others is more important than individualistic and selfish desires and possessions. These traditional values are decidedly not consistent with market-based economies that are commonly based upon—often celebrated in elements of their social capital—greed, selfishness, ultra-individualism, competition, materialism, acquisitiveness, competition, narcissism and the logic of profits-for-power-and-power-for-profits. That the conflicting core values, relationships and institutions of traditional Indigenous societies were in direct conflict with—and seen not co-exist with—those of market-based societies was seen early on in U.S. and Canadian histories. For example:

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Indian Affairs-Washington
Supplement to Circular No. 1665 February 14, 1923
Indian Dancing

To Superintendents:

At a conference in October, 1922, of the missionaries of the several religious denominations represented in the Sioux country, the following recommendations were adopted and have been courteously submitted to this office:

1. That the Indian form of gambling[sic] and lottery[sic] known as the "ituranpi" (translated "Give Away") be prohibited.

2. That the Indian dances be limited to one in each month in the daylight hours of one day in the midweek, and at one center in each district; the months of March and April, June, July, and August be excepted.

3. That none take part in the dances or be present who are under 50 years of age.

4. That a careful propaganda be undertaken to educate public opinion against the dance and to provide a healthy substitute.

5. That there be close cooperation between the Government employees and the missionaries in those matters which affect the moral welfare of Indians.

…After a conscientious study of the dance situation in his jurisdiction, the efforts of every superintendent must persistently encourage and emphasize the Indian's attention to these political, useful, thrifty, and orderly activities that are indispensable to his well-being and that underlie the preservation of his race in the midst of complex and highly competitive conditions. The instinct of individual enterprise and devotion to the posterity and elevation of family life should in some way be made paramount in every Indian household to the exclusion of idleness, waste of time at frequent gatherings of whatever nature, and the neglect of physical resources upon which depend food, clothings[sic] , shelter, and the very beginnings of progress." [3]

"It is readily acknowledged that Indian children lose their natural resistance to illness by habitating[sic] so closely in these schools, and that they die at a much higher rate than in their villages. But this alone does not justify a change in the policy of this Department, which is geared towards the FINAL SOLUTION OF OUR INDIAN PROBLEM." [4]

And it is more than irony that the term “Final Solution of ‘our’ the Indian Problem” in the DIA memo of D.C. Scott is the exactly language used by the Nazis as in “Final Solution to the Jewish Problem”. The Alberta Sterilization Act of 1928 [5], and the Eugenics Laws of 27 states of the U.S. were specifically cited by the German Nazis as the direct “inspirations” for their own 1933 Race Hygiene Law and 1935 Nuremberg Race Laws.” [6] According to John Toland, biographer of Adolf Hitler:

Hitler's concept of concentration camps as well as the practicality of genocide owed much, so he claimed, to his studies of English and United States history. He admired the camps for Boer prisoners in South Africa And for the Indians in the Wild West; and often praised to his inner circle the efficiency of America's extermination-by starvation and uneven combat-of the 'Red Savages' who could not be tamed by captivity. [7]

And from an internal document of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs:

"Set the blood-quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition of Indians, let intermarriage proceed, and eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens, the federal government will finally be freed from its persistent Indian problem." [8]

Why are these ugly aspects of U.S. and Canadian history [9] introduced into this paper on the survival and sustainability of Blackfoot culture? Partly because they are legacies that remain within both Canadian and Blackfoot societies that have not yet been fully admitted, analyzed or repaired. And partly because some of the same forces and interests, both internal and external to the Blackfoot nation, that have destroyed traditional Blackfoot culture, brought it to the edge of extinction, and prevented its renewal and sustainability, are still alive, well, non-transparent and non-accountable to this very day. And it is perhaps true irony, that the most radical and advanced thinkers among Indigenous activists today, both in the U.S. and in Canada, are known as “Traditionalists”. And they argue, as modern-day sciences are increasingly confirming, that the Indigenous traditions, practices, science, and epistemology to which they wish to return, are not simply some mythical communalist and “primitive” past of some 200 years ago, but were and are, far in advance of where many crises-ridden non-Indigenous societies, paradigms, practices and systems are today. Among Blackfoot traditionalists, they argue that many dominant non-Indigenous cultures and their core defining notions, are threats not only to the very existence and survival of Blackfoot and other Indigenous peoples, but also to the very non-Indigenous societies and peoples pushing these notions themselves.

Blackfoot Culture and Indigenous Science: Vision

Although there are many definitions of culture, all include language as absolutely central to the origination, learning, expression, adaptation, transmission and preservation of culture. In the language of Blackfoot or properly speaking “Niitsitapi” two words are employed: 1) “niitsitapia ‘ pii nin” and 2) “yaapiistotsimat” The first means to live in accordance with “Niitsitapi” Ways and the second means to be forced to live in accordance with White or non-Niitsitapi ways. These two words reflect profound differences between Eurocentric versus Indigenous languages, paradigms, epistemologies and even notions of what is “science”. The theoretical physicist F. David Peat who lived for a while among Blackfoot noted:

“English, and for that matter French, German, Italian and the other European languages are noun-oriented. They are employed to divide the world into physical objects (nouns) and thinking into separate concepts (again nouns). Many Native American languages do not work this way. They are verb-based. Thus, when in English we speak of “medicine” we automatically seek a referent, a substance, an object, something tangible, and something that can be conceptualized. But suppose we begin with something verbal, with activity, process, a movement of harmony and balance. Medicine could then be felt in the beating of the heart, sensed as a movement around the sacred circle, the wind blowing through the leaves of the tress, the growing of green plants, and the astronomical alignments of the medicine wheel.” [10]

From his study of Blackfoot Culture, with particular reference to the Sun Dance[11], Professor Peat came to some remarkable conclusions confirmed by other observers. He found for example, in the rituals, allegories, symbolism and values embodied in Blackfoot culture, not only evidence of very advanced “science” and scientific methods, but indeed “science” far in advance of where the Newtonian-based “science” and epistemology of Eurocentric cultures, increasingly under siege, are today. He found for example, concrete notions of key principles and concepts that today make up the versions of Quantum Mechanics “discovered” only in the early 20th century: Superpositionality; Wave/particle duality; Entanglement; Bose-Einstein condensates and mass-energy equivalence, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and the four basic laws of Thermodynamics.[12]

Eurocentric “science”, reflected in the Eurocentric [13] languages and cultures, has been based upon (and under siege from Complexity or Chaos Theory and Dialectical-Historical Materialism for) its reliance on notions of: stasis; partial and general equilibria; linear and unidirectional causality; ultimate independent and dependent variables; ultra-reductionism; Morphostatic systems; a-contextualism and a-historicism; ultra-individualism; Newtonian clock-like or machine-like order[s]; the whole or macro being seen as nothing more than the sum of its parts or micro units; notions of culture and science themselves as a nouns or stocks of accumulated things rather than as processes; and hidden rhetorical and ideological intentions. All of these constructs and approaches of Newtonian-based “science” were, and are increasingly being put into question not only by Quantum Mechanics, Complexity or Chaos Theory, classical Taoism and more sophisticated versions of Dialectical-Historical Materialism, but, according to Peat and others, were anticipated long ago and embodied in Indigenous science and epistemology.

Why do I mention subjects like “Blackfoot Physics” and principles, practices and epistemological approaches of Indigenous science in this paper? Because one question that may be posed here is a simple compound question: “Who cares, or should care--and why--about the imperative for survival and sustainability of Blackfoot and other Indigenous cultures?” This goes a way to help to answer that question. Survival of the Blackfoot and other Indigenous nations and cultures is an imperative for non-Indigenous peoples and cultures beyond the notion of “diversity is interesting and fun to watch”, or, in terms of the overworked metaphor of “The Canary in the Mine” (“Today it is us, tomorrow it is you”). It is increasingly evident in all the sciences, that often what is thought to be “new” is not true, and often what is true is not new. By any definition of culture, the Nazis sought to develop and did develop what they called “Nazi Culture”; but that is one form or type of culture, among others, that most decent people would not want to see survive and be sustained as it would mean, by definition, the destruction of other peoples and cultures.

When we speak of Blackfoot Culture, as we speak of the Blackfoot Nation, we are not speaking of a fixed quantity or accumulated “stock” (as a noun typical of Eurocentric definitions of “culture”) of values, beliefs, symbols, language, arts, people, symbols, institutions, socioeconomic and politico-legal relationships, taboos, sacred constructs, traditions, artifacts, learned behaviors, rituals, myths etc. Culture, in Blackfoot and generally indigenous terms refers, rather, to dynamic processes. In Blackfoot terms, culture does not refer only to that which is created, learned, transmitted by and related to the concerns of humankind. In Blackfoot and Indigenous terms, culture also includes that of which humankind is an integral part whether created, recognized, seen, appropriated or even deemed “useful” by humankind.

In most Indigenous languages, as in Blackfoot, there is no word for “science”[14], yet it is very clear that many Indigenous societies, Blackfoot included, were doing, no matter what culturally loaded definition of “science” is employed, real and very sophisticated science and scientific method. And when we speak of Indigenous science, as with culture, again we are not speaking of a noun of some accumulated body or “stock” of tools, techniques, methods for discovering the essences of and laws governing phenomena that make up an objective reality independent of our perceptions of that reality. We are not speaking of processes for merely discerning the salient or essential aspects of an objective reality outside of ourselves, but of processes that take into account our own roles in that reality, including, how our own perceptions, measurements and transformations of that reality become incorporated into and thus affect it. This is in line with some of the most recent discoveries in Quantum Mechanics, Chaos Theory and Dialectical-Historical Materialism and is not some kind of mysticism or metaphysics. Indigenous science does not seek to discover the essences and laws governing phenomena in order to simply get around, reverse or conquer them, but to work in accordance with them.



Copyright 1991 by First Nations Development Institute (Reprinted Under Fair Use Doctrine)

In Blackfoot culture, as in most Indigenous cultures, the number four is not merely a quantity or cardinal magnitude, without quality or force as in many Eurocentric cultures (four of what?); it has its own power, symbolism and force giving it quality in addition to quantity. The number four stands for: the four principle directions of the compass (North, South, East and West); the four principle colors of the human family (Black White Red and Yellow); the four forms of balance that all humans must seek to survive and prosper (Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual); the four basic elements of Nature (Wind, Fire, Earth and Water). In this model, there are four basic dimensions of development and sustainability that illustrate the dialectical unity of the macro and the micro levels of existence: control of assets and kinship (macro) and personal efficacy and spirituality (micro).

Blackfoot and Indigenous cultures (as do Chaos Theory and Dialectical-Historical Materialism) see systems and/as: totalities; wholes greater or lesser than the sums of their parts; continually in motion; as morphogenetic not morphostatic systems; driven by both external or exogenous, and internal or endogenous, shocks and processes on the verge of perpetual disequilibria. The more Eurocentric, Newtonian-based and clock-like or thermostat-like models, see only aggregates that are the sums of their parts, driven by external or exogenous shocks, and restored to, and moving between, punctuated equilibrium states by endogenous self-equilibrating processes. Needless to say, the present realities of the global economy as well as those realities of many national economies confirm the Blackfoot and Indigenous paradigms while refuting the classical or neoclassical paradigms. The existence of positive feedback loops (feedback effects that move a system in the same direction it was already moving instead of negative feedback loops that tend to reverse the direction of movement of a system) produce second-derivative (acceleration) and even third-derivative (differential acceleration or “jerks”) effects on phenomena and systems and lead to the process of “negation of the negation” or quantitative changes producing qualitative leaps.

F. David Peat and others like Jack Weatherford in his trilogies [15] note that aspects of clashes of and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous nations and civilizations were related to clashes between fundamentally opposing paradigms and whole epistemologies. Not simply in terms of the morphostatic paradigm and systems of Newtonian clockwork and self-equilibrating systems of Eurocentric science versus the morphogenetic, self-negating, dialectical and chaotic systems of Indigenous science, Chaos Theory and Dialectical-Historical materialism, but in terms of fundamental values and views of the fundamental nature and roles of science itself.



(Source Henderson, Hazel, http://www.hazelhenderson.com/visual.html; reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine)

Hope, Trust and “Social Capital”

The notions of hope and trust are central in the Blackfoot/Indigenous model of survival and sustainability above. It is only recently that “mainstream” or “Neoclassical” theory in Economics has even paid any attention at all to the notion of “social capital” [16] (institutions that foster hope, trust, social cohesion and cooperation that cause/allow people to save, invest, sacrifice in the present for the future and for future generations and generally buy into the system and engage in “Political and Civic Participation”). Even now, the attention paid to social capital (with the focus on “capital” as also in human “capital”, with the construct of “capital” seen as the decisive dimension or force in productivity and “progress” being central) is on the level of reciprocity among individuals, not because of any assumed fundamental social nature or obligations of individuals to the collective, but in terms of the central Neoclassical construct of “methodological individualism”. Sociologists like Putnam’s notion of “social capital” as institutions of reciprocity, is that “you do for me and I do for you and we both gain individually as maximizing and atomistic individuals as we “appear” to be cooperating, and thus violating central assumptions of the Neoclassical paradigm, but actually, we remain atomistic and maximizing competitors —an attempt to rescue the Neoclassical paradigm from contradictions inherent in the central construct of “methodological individualism” [17]

In Blackfoot culture, there is no notion of even the possibility of individuals within a collective being individually well off while within a sick and deteriorating collective. In traditional Blackfoot societies, the Chiefs ate last not first, no one ate unless all could eat, no one had shelter unless all had shelter and so on. Personal efficacy was intimately tied in with social efficacy. Lying was punished with death because a liar was seen as a threat to the whole collective not only as a potential collaborator with enemies, but as someone who would undermine social cohesion, cooperation and trust, and thus essential national security within and of the collective. Adultery was punished with loss of the nose for the woman and loss of the left braid of hair for the man. Banishment was seen as a punishment far worse than death because it meant loss of association for life with the community and one’s relations.[18]

Attempts have been made to rebuild some of the essential dimensions of the overall traditional culture and values of the Blackfoot Nation, outside of the Indian Act and DIA Tribal Councils, in the Blackfoot Constitution which is being circulated, vetted, and altered with various submissions as it is being ratified at grass-roots levels.[19] This is not only being done outside of the Indian Act and DIA Tribal Councils but in direct challenge to them. Allegations and actual findings of serious corruption on the part of the Indian Act Tribal Councils, in every part of Blackfoot Country and in Indian Country in general, have undermined any confidence in them. Further, there are issues in international law as to how any nation can summarily declare another nation, that meets all the tests under international law to be considered a nation, as “sui generis” (of a special type) or as a “dependent nation”, and even declare who may or may not be considered members of that nation, as was and is being done by the governments of both the U.S. and Canada with respect to First Nations. Once any group of people meets the basic tests under international law qualifying them as a nation, then also under international law, that group has a fundamental right not to be exterminated or assimilated into another nation without the democratically-expressed consent of the peoples being assimilated, and, that group constituting a nation, has also fundamental rights associated with its survival: independence, self-determination, sovereignty, its own form of government and socioeconomic and politico-legal system. In fact, under the Vienna Convention on Treaties, which both the U.S. and Canadian Governments recognize as “the definitive international law on treaties”, since treaties are covenants between nations not individuals, then when treaties are signed, even if later broken over and over, as in the case of Treaty 7, which many Blackfoot contend, and have documentation to prove, was never signed or ratified by Blackfoot Chiefs in the first place, then each side is not only tacitly, but explicitly, recognizing: the other treating partner as a sovereign nation; as a co-equal; and its system of government, as having the sovereignty, authority and standing among its people to sign the treaty and hold a population to its terms into the future.

“Control” of “Assets”

Central to the survival and sustainability of the Blackfoot Nation and culture is preservation of and control over what is left of the traditional Blackfoot land base. By “control” of the land, Blackfoot and most Indigenous people do not mean ownership, commoditization and “control” in the capitalist or Eurocentric sense, rather in the sense of stewardship to protect its viability and sustainability for future generations. The U.S. and Canadian governments have been caught in contradictions in their own capitalist property rights and values that have undermined both. Under capitalist law, land may be legally acquired and held in five basic ways: 1) sale (but no one can legally sell or keep stolen property even if bought innocently); 2) bequest (but no one can legally inherit stolen property even if innocently); 3) gift (but no one can give or accept stolen property even if innocently) 4) Just War (but the war must meet all the tests under international law of a Just War—must be in self-defense); 5) Discovery (but no one can “discover” lands with Indigenous peoples already on them). Thus, both the U.S. and Canadian governments know very well, that in their own terms, not Blackfoot or Indigenous terms alone, but in their own terms, and under the very same property rights they assert to defend their own private property, much of the historical acquisitions and losses of traditional Indigenous lands represented pure theft in addition to pure genocide. It is not enough to say that Indigenous nations had not concept of “private ownership” and commoditization of land and thus the lands were not stolen, the fact is that in terms of the existing international law at the time, law developed since the times of the Spanish Conquistadores in the 15th and 16th centuries, law that they invoked to legitimate their own properties, Indigenous lands were stolen and thus could not be sold, gifted, bequeathed or justified under laws of discovery or just war. That is why the present U.S. and Canadian governments are trying to define some Indian nations out of existence with blood-quantum criteria for Tribal recognition and membership and/or getting Indian Act Tribal Councils installed and maintained by those governments to sign bills of sale to legitimize past thefts and genocidal acquisitions of Indigenous lands. The map below illustrates the historical land base of the Blackfoot relative to what is recognized as Blackfoot lands today (some 2.6 million acres in both the U.S. and Canada contiguously) In fact, the Lame Bull Treaty or Treaty of Fort Benton of October 1855, one of the more problematic of the treaties signed by both the U.S. and Canadian governments, explicitly recognized the existence of a sovereign Blackfoot Nation made up of some various Bands or Tribes stretching over an area covering parts of Montana and the U.S. and Alberta in Canada contiguously. [20]

The infamous Indian Residential School systems of Canada and the Indian Boarding Schools of the U.S. for which no real accounting or full apologies and restitutions have ever been made, were as much about breaking the connections of the Indigenous Nations with their land bases and traditional ways, by creating pools of unskilled and semi-skilled wage workers dependent upon sale of their labor power for survival, as with also breaking their connections with, and in turn undermining, their cultures, languages, spirituality and other dimensions of the Indigenous nations.[21]



The map above shows the historical land base of the original Blackfoot Nation versus those lands recognized as Blackfoot Reserves today (some 2.6 million acres). If the claim is made that there is no more Blackfoot Nation, then when and under what conditions and authority did it cease to exist? If treaties still exist, and they do, and if each treating partner in signing a treaty both tacitly and explicitly recognizes the co-equal status, nationhood, sovereignty and system of government of the other, then when, and under what authority, did the traditional system of government of the Blackfoot cease to exist in lieu of the present Indian Act and DIA system of nominally elected but in reality appointed, DIA Tribal Councils? Are the governments of the U.S. and Canada admitting to genocide? What if the government of say Poland arrogated to presume to dictate criteria of who may or may not be considered a “real” American or Canadian? Or, perhaps another and more apt analogy, and the one actually used in Indian Country, might be the present-day Indian Act Tribal Councils, often riddled with corruption [22], being seen as having the standing and legitimacy under international law as say the Vichy Government installed by Nazi occupying France [23] or perhaps the standing and legitimacy of the government of the last Emperor Pu Yi installed by the Japanese Imperialists in China in an entity they created and what they named “Manchuko”[24].

Further, the issue of loss of Blackfoot lands is not merely a matter of losses of critical resources for the survival and sustainability of the Blackfoot Nation. The connection to the land, in every possible way, is central to Blackfoot culture. As F. David Peat puts it:

“Connection to the landscape is one of the most powerful things within an Indigenous society which explains the pain and anger The People experience when they see the land around them exploited and destroyed. The Native people I have spoken to refer to the land as their mother, and the Blackfoot say that to walk on the land is to walk on your own flesh. The memory of this landscape transcends anything we have in the West, for its trees, rocks, animals, and plants are all imbued with energies, powers and spirits. The whole of the land is alive and each person is related to it. The land sustains and, in turn, the ceremonies and sacrifices of The People aid in its renewal…I have heard many Native people say they have ‘a map in their head’. This map, I believe, is the relationship of the land to The People. Moreover, it transcends any mere geographical representation, for in it are enfolded the songs, ceremonies and histories of a people.”[25]

The incentives to privatize, commoditize and expropriate what are left of Blackfoot lands have never been greater. Among the last sources of pristine fresh water are on what are now Blackfoot lands which are also rich in oil, ammonite, wind energy, grazing lands, uranium, timber, geothermal energy and other critical resources. This leads to the U.S. and Canadian Governments, along with private developers, finding the paths of least resistance and cheapest ways of acquiring access to and control over those resources, often with a few Tribal insiders selling out the resource bases and with disastrous consequences on the people of the various Reserves. This also undermines confidence in dealing with or forming partnerships with the U.S. and Canadian Governments on the part of Blackfoot and other Indigenous Nations because much of the corruption is seen as at least being tolerated by and beneficial to those governments and private interests that they clearly represent and protect[26] Indigenous activists can go on any Reserve or Reservation, even those of Nations and Tribes of which they are not members, and in ten minutes or less, they can find out, via the “Moccasin Telegraph Service” who is dealing drugs, who are doing illegal gambling, who are involved in prostitution, who are the aristocrats putting their relations and friends on the payrolls, and any and all other forms of corruption, They argue that RCMP and the FBI, charged with investigating and prosecuting such crimes on the Reserves and Reservations, could easily do the same and yet time after time, even when tipped off by Elders sick of corruption, do not. Why? Because corrupt Indians often sell-out cheap plus they are easier to control and manipulate as once anyone does any form of corruption, they are vulnerable to exposure and therefore also control.

Education and Human Capital

When I first began to study Economics in the 1960s, the major textbooks equated economic growth with development and saw “physical capital” as central in the overall equations of factors critical to growth and development (the term sustainability was not even used) That view of growth and development, with physical capital as the key, of course conveniently also assigns a critical role to the capitalist who owns and/or controls that physical capital. Then came the 1970s, and someone got the bright idea that no matter how sophisticated the physical capital employed in economic growth and development, someone had to fix the machines, know when and where and how to use them and not use them, so along came the concept of “human capital” or knowledge, skill, experience, and presumably work ethic to be able to use the physical capital effectively; the textbooks got trendy and began to incorporate human capital as a key factor in economic growth no longer seen as synonymous with economic development, a much broader process. And only recently has the notion that workers and the population at large also in need of hope, trust, social cohesion, belief in the system to cause them to plan and work for the future that the notion of social capital beginning to show up in the textbooks.

-

Anyone who has been on the Reservations and Reserves of the Blackfoot, or on those of any Indigenous nations, has seen the tragedy of what passes for “education” and educational facilities.” The lack of infrastructure, qualified and motivated teachers, up-to-date curricula, advanced methods in pedagogy, internet access and library resources, mentors and many other resources critical to effective education and human capital formation are well known and have existed for a long time. But the problems for Indigenous education go far beyond what can be fixed with updating physical facilities and bringing in new technologies. They have to do with fundamental definitions of and approaches to what is real education, Indigenous or otherwise. There are scholars like Dr. Roland Chrisjohn of the Oneida Nation who have given serious thought to Indigenous education and how the Indian Residential School systems of Canada and the U.S. not only decimated Indigenous communities, but also never represented real and effective education or models for education even for non-Indigenous children.[27]

Blackfoot language is being taught on all of the Reserves of the Blackfoot; but language is never sterile or value-free and it will always beg the questions of by whom, for whom, and for what purposes, are the language and also are traditional aspects of Blackfoot culture being taught. Many of the programs into which Blackfoot and other Indigenous children are channeled, by their own choices or by advisors, have to do with alcohol and substance abuse counseling or programs in “Native Studies” (often taught and using scholarship of by non-Indigenous academics that are virtually useless except for getting some kind of management job in the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U.S. or the Department of Indian Affairs in Canada).

The survival and sustainability of the Blackfoot and other Indigenous nations will require what other non-Indigenous nations will require in terms of educated—not just schooled which is not necessarily the same thing—workforce and leadership: real quality education that addresses the likely challenges and imperatives of survival and sustainability in the twenty-first century but, with due respect to the fact that that what is new may well not be true, and what is true may not be new.

Conclusion

Blackfoot, like other Indigenous nations on the verge of extinction, are the proverbial and overworked “Canary in the Mine.” And as Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same things over and over, in the same ways, with the same people and yet expecting different results. So it is, that Indigenous Peoples cannot continue, adopt or even allow, the very same forces, values, paradigms, institutions, paternalism, and whole socio-economic politico-legal systems (modes of production) that brought them to the verge of extinction, and that even threaten the non-Indigenous peoples who promote them as “civilization”, as well threatening the whole planet itself, to take them all the way to extinction as has happened to so many nations that no longer exist. For those who are not Indigenous and thus believe that the fate of Indigenous nations is of no concern however regrettable, perhaps give some thought to the fact that any society that tolerates and promotes the extinction of any national minority or nation within its borders is one that is capable of tolerating and promoting the extinction or any other group; and is not either sustainable or the kind of society or system worth preserving especially in today’s world with the means of mass destruction that exist today.[28]

Blackfoot, like other Indigenous nations, are intimately bound up with Canada and indeed the world like it or not. The question, however, remains on what basis and with what consequences—for Canada as well as Indigenous nations—the present relations and institutions, that have brought Indigenous nations to the brink of extinction, could, should or would continue. Samir Amin notes:

“Now the world capitalist system, cannot be reduced, even in abstraction, to the capitalist mode of production, and still less can it be analyzed as a mere juxtaposition of countries or sectors governed by the capitalist mode of production with others governed by precapitalist modes of production (the dualism thesis). Apart from a few ‘ethnographical reserves’, such as that of the Orinoco Indians, all contemporary societies are integrated into a world system. Not a single concrete socioeconomic formation of our time can be understood except as part of this world system… …Relations between the formations of the ‘developed’ or advanced world (the center) and those of the ‘underdeveloped’ world (the periphery) are affected by transfers of value, and these constitute the problem of accumulation on a world scale. Whenever the capitalist mode of production enters into relations with precapitalist modes of production, and subjects these to itself, transfers of value take place from the precapitalist to capitalist formations as a result of the mechanisms of ‘primitive accumulation’. These mechanisms do not belong only to the prehistory of capitalism; they are contemporary as well. It is these forms of primitive accumulation, modified but persistent, to the advantage of the center, that form the domain of the theory of accumulation on a world scale.” [29]

In Blackfoot language “Ni Kso Ko Wa” means “We are all related” or “All my Relations”. So as we are all related as human beings, and indeed all human cultures share some common denominators, so are our fates, as individuals and whole cultures, interrelated. We are the proverbial “Canary in the Mine”.

Footnotes

[1]Here the terms “exogenous” or external and “endogenous or “internal” are used nominally or in non-Indigenous terms as Blackfoot and other Indigenous groups see culture not only in terms of all that is created by humankind but also all that humankind is an integral part of and thus have different notions of what is external or internal to a given culture.

[2] Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, translation by Dale, Ralph Verse 2 “Relativity”, p. 5 Barnes and Noble Books, N.Y. 2002

[3] Long Standing Bear Chief, “Ni Kso Ko Wa: Blackfoot Traditions and Spirituality” pp. 8-9, Spirit Talk Press, Browning, Montana, 1992

[4] Department of Indian Affairs, Superintendent D.C. Scott to B.C. Indian Agent-General Major D. McKay, DIA Archives, RG-10 series, April 12, 1910 (emphasis added)

[5] The 1948 UN Convention on Genocide, to which Canada became a signatory in 1953 and to which the U.S. still remains not a full signatory because of the Hatch, Helms and Lugar “Sovereignty Amendment of 1988, in Article II defines a five-part test, any one of which, not all required to constitutes genocide: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting upon a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures designed to prevent births within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of one group to another group.

[6] Black, Edwin, “War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race” Thunder’s Mouth Press N.Y. 2003; Alberta Sterilization Victims Also Used as Guinea Pigs Revelation Comes as 40 victims win $4M settlement; Marina Jimenez National Post 10/28/98

[7] Toland, John, “Adolf Hitler”, Vol II, p. 802, Doubleday and Co. N.Y. 1976

[8] Limerick, Patricia Nelson, “The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of American West” WW. Norton and Co. N.Y. 1987 p. 338

[9] Poole, James “Hitler and His Secret Partners”, Pocket Books, NY 1997; “Having been a devoted reader of Karl May's books on the American West as a youth, Hitler frequently referred to the Russians as 'Redskins'. He saw a parallel between his effort to conquer and colonize land in Russia with the conquest of the American West by the white man and the subjugation of the Indians or 'Redskins'. 'I don't see why', he said, 'a German who eats a piece of bread should torment himself with the idea that the soil that produces this bread has been won by the sword. When we eat from Canada, we don't think about the despoiled Indians." (James Pool, Ibid, pp. 254-255)

[10] Peat, F. David, “Blackfoot Physics” Weiser Books, Boston, MA. 2005, p. 128 see: http://books.google.com/books?id=rmxB4bau74QC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=Corruption,+Blackfoot&source=bl&ots=ybsfW5JaRC&sig=iwdMWlIQ1UMiSB9gnVgTTgZ-r08&hl=en&ei=yEROSsymHITAsQPGq9mqDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9

[11] http://www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/projects/projects98/krochenskip/krochenskip.html

[12] Gribbin, John “In Search of Schroedinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality”, Bantam Books, N.Y. 1984

[13] By “Eurocentric” I mean in the sense used by Thomas Kuhn in his amazingly ignorant and arrogant statement: “But only the civilizations that descended from Hellenic Greece possessed more than the most rudimentary science” in Kuhn, Thomas, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, U of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1962, pp. 167-68

[14] Cajete, Gregory, “Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence”, Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, 2000, p 2

[15] Peat, F. David op. cit. pp 38-44. See also Weatherford Jack, “Indian Givers: How The Indians of the Americas Transformed The World” Fawcett Columbine, N.Y. 1988; “Native Roots: How The Indians Enriched America” Fawcett Columbine, N.Y.1991; “Savages and Civilization” Fawcett Columbine, N.Y. 1994 These authors among others demonstrate very advanced achievements in engineering, mathematics, cosmology and astronomy, medicine, architecture, law and constitutions, democracy and government, agriculture, resource management and sustainability and in many areas now being recognized that could only have been achieved with very advanced notions and techniques of science and scientific method.

[16] Craven, James/Omahkohkiaayo I’poyi “The Evolving Concept of Social Capital, Markets, Market-Based Processes and Socialist Construction” paper delivered September 1-2, 2004 at The International Symposium for the Reform of Property Rights and Enterprise Development in Transitional Countries at Tsinghua University. See also Putnam, Robert D, “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community”, Simon and Schuster, N.Y. 2000

[17] The notion that the whole or macro is nothing more than the sum of its parts. Individuals are said to be atomistic units assumed to be: rational, self-interested, competitive, informed, constrained and maximizers of utility—and that which yields—it and minimizers of pain and risk. There is no notion of a collective that acts as a collective or that is greater—or possibly lesser—than the sum of its parts. The model consists of a body of postulates about supposed “human nature”, irrespective of class, gender, age, ethnicity, race, religion, from which deductions are made, hypotheses are formed and predictions made about human behavior under assumed conditions and constraints (hypothetico-deductivism).

[18] One of the most sacred of the Blackfoot Prayers (Nii-tsi-ta-piaa-tsi-mo-yii-kaan) sums up the traditional Blackfoot values considered most important (spelled out phonetically not in accordance with Franz-Russell conventions.)

Ayo A’pis-to-too-ki (Creator)
Iss-Po-Mo-Kin-Naan (Help us)
Nah-Kay-Iss-Tsi-Sin-Naan (To listen)
Nah-Kai-Kim-Mo-Tsi-Sin-Naan (To be kind to one another)
Nah-Kay-ii-Ka’-Ki-Maa-Sin-Naan (To try hard)
Nah-Koh-Ko-Ka-Mo’-Toh-Sin-Naan (To be honest)
Nah-Ka-Wa-To-Yii-Tak-Sin-Naan (To be Spiritual)
Ooh-To-Kin-Naan, A’Pis-To-Too-Ki (Hear us, Creator)
Kim-Mis Ko-Ko-Siksi (Have pity on your children)
Ii-Ksi-Kim-Ma-Tap-Si-Ya (They are in need)
Kaa-Mo-Taa-Ni (Grant us safety)
Nii-Sta-Wa-Tsi-Maani (Help us to raise our families)
Naa-Piio’Siini (So that they may live long lives)

[19] See “Draft Constitution of the Blackfoot Nation” and “Paper on the Blackfoot Nation” “Blackfoot Indictment.., at the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota, Documents on Native American Genocide http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/victims/nativeAmerican/index.html and Helton, Taiawagi “Nation Building in Indian Country: The Blackfoot Constitutional Review” Paper Delivered at the Fifth Annual Tribal Law and Governance Conference, University of Kansas School of Law, October 2002 at http://wwwthesixthestate.blogspot.com/2007/11/nation-building-in-indian-country.html

[20] For the actual text of the Treaty see http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/treaties/blackfeet.htm

[21] Chrisjohn, Roland et al “An Historic Non Apology, Completely and Utterly Not Accepted” Department of Native Studies, Fredericton, NB http://www.nativestudies.org/index1.html “An apology has at least three characteristics (some people will say there are more, some will list more specific traits… this doesn’t matter for present purposes). The absence of any of these three characteristics immediately disqualifies a statement as an apology: a sincere expression of remorse for the behavior, the promise never to repeat the behavior, and the undertaking to undo, as far as possible, the damage done by the behavior.”

[22] See http://www.wole.org/corruption.htm; http://lakeconews.com/content/view/7220/764/

[23] The term “Vichy Indians” has been used by scholars like Ward Churchill and others to denote BIA and DIA Tribal Councils (not an indictment of every one serving on them) as essentially like the puppet Vichy Government installed in France by occupying German Nazis. http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.com/2009/03/ward-churchill-denigrates-indians-he.html and http://aradicalblackfoot.blogspot.com/2006/01/abramoff-and-vichy-indians.html and http://www.touristclick.com/news/united%20states/means-delegation.html

[24] See Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi “From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Pu Yi The Last Emperor of China” Oxford University Press, N.Y. 1987

[25] Peat, F. David, op cit pp 85-86

[26] http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:sBZag7ZxPvQJ:hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/mckaysc/DIRT/Mi'kmaq/A%2520SEASON%2520OF%2520DEATHS.doc+Corruption,+Tribal+Councils,+Canada&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us; http://www.marxmail.org/archives/July99/clinton_visits_the_indian_reserv.htm http://www.leadershipforchange.org/insights/research/files/6.pdf

[27] Chrisjohn, Roland “You Have to be Carefully Taught: Special Needs and First Nations Education”; “Genocide and Indian Residential Schooling: The Past is Present”; Retaining Indigenous Students in Post Secondary Programs: What Means For Whose Ends?” see http://www.nativestudies.org/works.html see also http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/AIER.html

[28] A note here that the comments of this paper are directed only to the situation of Blackfoot and other Indigenous Nations in the Americas. No equivalence is intended or suggested between the situations, realities of or governmental policies vis-à-vis, national minorities, in other places like China; and the same with respect to First Nations in the Americas. The history of China relative to the histories of the nations of the Americas with Indigenous populations is very different. Various Indigenous groups, once meeting the tests of international law for being considered separate nations became integrated national minorities within a larger and contiguous nation of China long ago and since Liberation in 1949, the statuses and survival of the Indigenous minorities by the Government of China have been protected and assured far more than in the cases of the U.S. and Canada, and far more than if each national group had had its own traditional government along with its own land base, culture, language, common economic life, polity, history and criteria for membership of the group (the essential elements of a nation in international law) In the case of the Americas, not only were there treaties recognizing First Nations as Nations, although asserted to be “sui generis” or of a special type, or, as in the case of the U.S. and the Supreme court decisions of Marshall as “dependent nations”, the policies of the governments of the Americas were genocidal in intent and effect; Indigenous nations were never assimilated into the broader fabrics and governments of the nations of the Americas and were left isolated in many cases, not all, on their traditional lands thus retaining their status and realities as Indigenous nations. This became especially true when past Treaties were recognized and invoked ad hoc when in the interests of the colonizing governments of the Americas, and in doing so, they both tacitly and explicitly recognized the continued existence of Indigenous nations as nations. Since the rights of all nations under international law are equal, dependent upon law and facts on the ground and not on the size or perceived power of a nation, or, indeed if that group has been recognized as a nation, especially by colonizing forces intent on its extermination, then it follows that the Blackfoot Nation and other Indigenous nations that still meet the tests of international law to constitute nations remain so, with the rights under international law of all nations regardless of who does or does not recognize them as such. The so-called Republic of China or Taiwan is currently only recognized by 23 nation states including the Vatican, as the supposed “legitimate government” of all of China whereas up until the 1970s, the reality and legitimacy of the People’s Republic of China as the sole and legitimate government of all of China was denied except by a handful of nations yet the objective reality of and international law supporting, the PRC as the sole and legitimate representative of the whole nation of China was never in question by any honest and thinking person or government. There were 51 founding members of the UN and now 192 members with many nations recognized as nations and becoming nation states well after the formation of the UN.

[29] Amin, Samir, “Accumulation on a World Scale: A Critique of the Theory of Underdevelopment, Vols I and II, Monthly Review Press, N.Y. 1974, pp2-3

Conference Program

Managing Ethno-Cultural Diversity:
Comparisons of Approaches to Multicultural Diversity

Canada-China Symposium

IUAES2009

中加民族文化多样性管理学术研讨会
•对文化多样性的比较研究•

Preliminary Program
议程


July 28-29, 2009
Yunnan University, Kunming China

2009年7月28-29日
云南大学•中国昆明


Managing Ethno-Cultural Diversity:
Comparisons of Approaches to Multicultural Diversity

Canada-China Symposium


中加民族文化多样性管理学术研讨会
•对文化多样性的比较研究•

Co-organizers
Jean L. Kunz, Policy Research Initiative Canada

DU Fachun, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China

会议组织:
中国社会科学院 杜发春
加拿大政策研究所 骆菁

Supporter
Canadian Embassy in Beijing
协办:加拿大驻华大使馆

Sponsor
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
赞助:加拿大外交与国际贸易部

Canada-China Symposium on Managing Ethno-Cultural Diversity
中加民族文化多样性管理学术研讨会

Draft Agenda

议程草案

July 28-29(Monday-Wednesday), 2009
2009年7月28-29日(周二、周三)

Day 1 (July 27,Monday) ARRIVAL and REGISTRATION
第一天(2009年7月27日,周一) 报到注册

Day 2 (July 28, Tuesday, Morning Sessions) OPENING CEREMONY and KEYNOTE SPEECHES
第二天(2009年7月28日,周二上午) 开幕式和主旨演讲

 8:30-9:00 Registration and Welcome 注册/报到

 9:00 - 9:40
Opening ceremony 开幕式
Moderators: Jean L. Kunz, Policy Research Initiative Canada
DU Fachun, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China
主持:骆菁(加拿大政策研究所), 杜发春(中国社会科学院)

Remarks致辞:

 HAO Shiyuan, Director of Academic Division of Law, Social and Political Studies at CASS Academician of CASS, Director of IEA/CASS
郝时远(中国社会科学院政法学部主任、民族所所长、学部委员)

 Jeff Nankivell,Minister, Canadian Embassy in Beijing
南杰瑞(加拿大驻华大使馆公使、副馆长)

 WU Jinguang, Vice Director-General, Bureau of International, State Commission of Ethnic Affairs PRC. Deputy Secretary-General, Organizing Committee of IUAES2009.
吴金光(国家民族事务委员会国际司副司长、人类学世界大会筹委会副秘书长)

 ZHANG Youyun, Vice Director-General, Bureau of International Cooperation, CASS
张友云(中国社会科学院国际合作局副局长)

 9:40 – 10:00 Photo session and coffee/tea break 照相、茶休

 10:00 – 12:00

Keynote speeches主旨演讲

Moderator: Dr. WANG Bing (Liaoning Normal University, China)
主持:王昺(中国加拿大研究会副会长,辽宁师范大学教授)

Keynote speakers and topics 主旨演讲人和题目

 Dr. James Frideres(University of Calgary, Canada): “Ethnic Identity in the 21st Century”
傅里德斯 (加拿大卡尔加里大学,教授) :“21世纪的民族认同”

 Dr. Peter S. Li(University of Saskatchewan, Canada): “Immigrant Integration in Canada”
李胜生(加拿大萨斯凯彻温大学,教授):“加拿大的移民融合”

 Dr. Carlo J. Krieger (Luxembourg Scholar): “Cultural Intervention at Work: Two Examples from Native North America”
柯意赫(卢森堡学者):“从北美原住民的两个案例看文化干预”

 Dr. Paul S. Maxim(Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada): “Aboriginal Education in Canada and China: A Comparative Study”
马克西姆(加拿大劳里埃大学,副校长): “加拿大和中国民族教育的比较研究”

 Dr. Jean L. Kunz (Policy Research Initiative, Canada): Facilitating the Integration of Immigrant Students In Canada: Implications For Migrant Students In China
骆 菁(加拿大政策研究所,项目主任):“便利移民学生在加拿大的融入:对中国农民工学生的启示”

 12:00-13:00 Lunch 午餐


July 28(Afternoon Sessions), PRESENTATIONS 7月28日(周二)下午 ,会议代表发言

 1:30-3:00 pm

Session 1 Governance of Diversity: Current Practices
Moderator: Dr. Paul Maxim(Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada)
Discussant: Dr. Carlo J. Krieger (Luxembourg Scholar)
分组1 多样性治理:当前实践
主 持:马克西姆(加拿大劳里埃大学,副校长)
评 议:柯意赫(卢森堡学者)

Presenters(发言人):

 Dr. Marie Louise LEVEBVRE (Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Canada) : Diversity of Issues, Responses and Policies Affecting Migrant Integration and Social Cohesion in Canada
玛丽露(加拿大魁北克大学蒙特利尔分校,教授):“多样性问题、回应和政策对加拿大移民整合和社会凝聚力的影响”

 Dr. WANG Bing(Liaoning Normal University, China): “A Comparative Study of Canada’s Policy of Indian Education and China’s Policy of Mongolian Education”
王昺(辽宁师范大学教授,中国加拿大研究会副会长):“加拿大印第安人教育与中国蒙古族教育的比较研究”

 Dr. WANG Chaohui(Minzu University of China):Indigenous Study: Aboriginal Language and Culture in Canada
王朝晖(中央民族大学,副教授):“加拿大原住民的语言和文化”

 Dr. Isabella Calleja (University of Malta): Governance of Multicultural Diversity
伊莎贝尔(马耳他大学国际关系,系主任、教授):“文化多样性治理”

 3:00-3:10 pm Coffee/tea break茶休

 3:00-4:30 pm

Session 2 Governance of Diversity: Future Considerations

Moderator: Prof. LI Pengfei(Beijing Institute of Technology, China)
Discussant: Dr. Li Zong (University of Saskatchewan, Canada)
分组2 多样性治理:未来思考
主 持:李鹏飞(北京理工大学,教授)
评 议:宗 力(加拿大萨斯凯彻温大学社会学系,教授)

Presenters:
发言人:

 Dr. Denise Helly (Universite du Quebec, Canada): The Particular Treatment of Muslims in Canada
海雷(加拿大魁北克大学社会科学研究所,教授):“加拿大对穆斯林的特殊对待”

 Dr. CHANG Shiyin (Tianjin Normal University, China): Reflection on Canadian Multiculturalism
常士訚(天津师范大学,政治学系主任、教授):“对加拿大多元文化主义的反思”

 Dr. Olga Orlić(Institute for Anthropological Research, Croatia): Regional Multiculturalism in Istria and European Integration Processes
奥尔加(克罗地亚人类学研究所,教授):“伊斯塔利亚的区域多元文化主义及其在欧洲的整合进程”

 Dr.Tereza Cristina Nascimenta Franca and Giordano Sousa de Almeida (Catholic University of Brasilia, Brazil): Comparison of Approaches on Intercultural Relations and Cultural Diversity: Protectionism or Liberalization?
特热扎和吉尔丹诺(巴西利亚天主教大学,教授):“内文化关系和文化多样性的比较方式:保护主义还是自由主义?”

 4:40-5:00 pm Coffee/tea break茶休

 5:00-6:30 pm

Session 3: Social and Economic Integration of Migrants

Moderator: Dr. Denise Helly (Universite du Quebec, Canada)
Discussant: Dr. Jean L.Kunz (Policy Research Initiative, Canada)
分组3:移民的社会和经济整合
主 持:海雷(魁北克大学社会科学研究所,教授)
评 议:骆菁(加拿大政策研究所,项目主任)

Presenters
发言人:

 Dr. Li Zong (University of Saskatchewan, Canada): Mainland Chinese Immigrants in Canada and Barriers to Integration in Multicultural Society
宗力(加拿大萨斯凯彻温大学社会学系,教授):“加拿大的中国大陆移民及其融入多元文化社会的障碍”

 DU Qianping(Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China): Chinese Church and Political Choice in Chinese Community in Canada
杜倩萍(中国社会科学院民族所,助理研究员):“加拿大华人教会对华人社区政治取向的影响”

 ZHANG Qinglai(Beijing Educational Examinations Authority, China): “Let the Boat flowing with the Mainstream” ---- The Policy Base of Right and Equity: Education of Multicultural Diversity for Immigrant’s Children
张庆来(北京教育考试研究院,副研究员):“权利的政策基础与公平:对移民孩子的文化多样性教育”

 DU Fachun(Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China): Ecological Resettlement and Cultural Heritage: A Comparative Study in China and Canada
杜发春(中国社会科学院民族所,副研究员):“生态移民与文化遗产:中加比较研究”


 6:30 pm Adjournment 休会


 7:00-9:00 pm, Welcome Dinner晚7-9点,欢迎晚餐


Day 3 (July 29, Wednesday) , PRESENTATIONS 第三天(7月29日,周三),会议代表发言


 8:00-9:30 am
Session 4: Education and Identity Formation

Moderator: Dr. Jean L. Kunz (Policy Research Initiative, Canada)
Discussant: ZHANG Qinglai(Beijing Educational Examinations Authority, China):
分组4:教育与认同形成
主 持:骆 菁(加拿大政策研究所,项目主任)
评 议:张庆来(北京教育考试研究院副研究员,中华教育创新协会会长)

Presenters:
发言人:

 Christopher Anderson (Simon Fraser University, Canada): Education Through Assimilation: Applying Lessons from Canada’s Indian Residential School System to the Examination of China’s Minority Educational Policy
安德森(加拿大西蒙菲沙大学,法学研究顾问):“加拿大少数民族同化教育及其对中国民族教育的意义”

 Dr. Stephanie Xiao Liang(Hunan Business College, China): Academic Adaptation: Mainland Chinese Students In Graduate Programs at a Canadian University
梁晓(湖南商学院讲师,卡尔加里大学博士):“学术适应:加拿大高校里中国大陆研究生教育”

 Dr. Huhua Cao(University of Ottawa,Canada), Anwaer Maimaitiming(Xinjiang Normal University, China), MA Shengquan(Hainan Normal University, China):“Spatial Inequality in Children’s Schooling in China: Issue of Minority Regions”
曹沪华(加拿大渥太华大学,副教授), 安瓦尔•买买提明(新疆师范大学,副教授),马生全(海南师范大学,教授):“中国儿童教育空间的不平等:少数民族地区问题”

 LI Qiang(Yunnan University for Nationalities): On The Policies of the Ethnic Minority's Foreign Language Education in Yunnan Against the Multi-ethnic Culture Background
李强(云南民族大学教授):“多元民族文化背景下的云南少数民族外语教育政策研究”

 9:30-9:40 pm Coffee/tea break茶休

 9:40-11:00 am

Session 5: Ethnic Identity: Issues of Shifting Ethnic Identification

Moderator: Dr. Carlo J. Krieger (Luxembourg Scholar)

Discussant: Dr. James Frideres(University of Calgary, Canada)
分组5:变化的族群认同问题
主 持:柯意赫(卢森堡学者)
评 议:傅里德斯 (加拿大卡尔加里大学,教授)

Presenters:
发言人:

 Erin Williams (University of British Columbia, Canada): Patterns and Variation in the Local Application of the Indigenous Peoples Concept
爱琳(加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚大学,博士研究生):“原住民观念在地方性应用中的形式和变异”

 James M. Craven(Clark College, USA): The Survival and Sustainability of the Blackfoot Nation and Culture in Canada and USA
柯瑞文(克拉克学院,教授):“北美黑脚族印第安人的文化生存和维系”

 LI Pengfei(Beijing Institute of Technology, China):Towards a Better Understanding of the Needs of the North American Indians
李鹏飞(北京理工大学,教授):“北美印第安人的诉求”

 WEI Li and LIU Zhongwen (Liaoning Police Academy, China): Preservation and Development of the Canadian Distinctive Aboriginal Cultures
魏莉、刘忠文(辽宁警官高等专科学校,副教授):“加拿大土著文化的保留和弘扬”

 11:00-11:10 am Coffee/tea break茶休

 11:10-12:40 am

Session 6: Responding to Globalization: Intercultural Communication

Moderator: Dr. Graham Johnson(University of British Columbia, Canada)
Discussant: Dr. Huhua Cao(University of Ottawa,Canada)
分组5:全球化回应:文化交流与教育思考
主 持:詹 森(不列颠哥伦比亚大学,教授)
评 议:曹沪华(加拿大渥太华大学,副教授)

Presenters:
发言人:

 Dr.ZHANG Yanqiu (Communication University of China, China): Media Literacy Education In China And Canada In The Context Of Cultural Diversity: Difference And Similarities
张艳秋(中国传媒大学,副教授):“文化多样性背景下的中加媒体教育比较研究”

 LIAN Haiying(Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, China): Canadian Pluralism Education Under the Background of Globalization
练海英(南京财经大学,副教授):“全球化背景下的加拿大多元文化教育”

 LI Liping and ZHANG Gaoyuan( Nanjing University of Finance & Economics,China): Reflection on Christmas Celebration in China
李丽萍、张高远(南京财经大学,副教授):“对中国过圣诞节的反思”

 CAO Qian(Minzu University of China): The Adaptive Condition of College Students to Xinjiang in China
曹谦(中央民族大学,硕士研究生):“新疆大学生的适应状况调查”

 12:40-13:00 pm

Closing Summary 会议总结

Jean L.Kunz, Policy Research Initiative Canada

DU Fachun, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China
杜发春(中国社会学科学院)
骆 菁(加拿大政策研究所)


 13:00 Lunch 午餐


Day 4( July 30, Thursday) DEPARTURE 第4天(7月30日,周四),代表离会

Thank you very much for your participation & cooperation! 衷心感谢您的支持和帮助

Friday, May 15, 2009

Judicial Findings: Inter-Nation Tribunal on Indian Residential schools in Canada



JUDICIAL FINDINGS FROM THE INTER-NATION TRIBUNAL ON RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS IN CANADA

James Craven/Omahkohkiaayo i’poyi
Omahkohkiaayo @hotmail.com
July 14, 1998
Submitted by James M. Craven/Omahkohkiaayo i’poyi, Tribunal Judge
(Copyright James M. Craven July 14, 1998, All Rights Reserved)

"You Can Recognize a Red Indian by His [or Her] Way of Life, Not by His [or Her] Blood Percentage."
- Chief Lame Deer, Lakota

Part One: Some principles of aboriginal life and law guiding my inquiry and findings
Part Two: Mission of the Tribunal - My understanding
Part Three: On the Issue of Ethnocide versus Genocide
________________________________________
PART ONE: Some principles of aboriginal life and law guiding my inquiry and findings
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1. TRUTH, JUSTICE, HEALING, RECONCILIATION AND PREVENTION OF FUTURE ABUSES: THE FOCUS OF INQUIRY, JUDGMENT and DISPOSITION:

Probably one of the most serious gaps in the system is the different perception of wrongdoing and how to treat it. In the non-Indian community, committing a crime seems to mean that the individual is a bad person and therefore must be punished...The Indian communities view a wrongdoing as a misbehavior which requires teaching or an illness which requires healing." (Justice proposal by Sandy Lake First Nation (Oji-Cree) quoted in Ross, 1996, p. 5)

"Peacemaking is generally not as concerned with distributive justice or rough and wild justice (revenge, punishment, control, determining who is right) as it is with sacred justice. Sacred justice is that way of handling disagreements that helps mend relationships and provides solutions. It deals with the underlying causes of the disagreement...Sacred justice is found when the importance of restoring understanding and balance to relationships has been acknowledged. A peacemaking process tends to be viewed as a guiding process, relationship-healing journey to assist people in returning to harmony." (Quoted in Ross, 1996, p. 27)

We recognize that eye-for-an-eye" "justice" may lead to the whole world going blind and we recognize that it is in everyone’s interest--including the accused--to focus on healing, rehabilitation, solving problems by understanding and removing the root causes of those problems--as opposed to a total and sole focus on "punishment". The real challenge is to pay due respect and sensitivity to the obvious pain, anguish and suffering of alleged victims making their accusations on the one hand while paying due respect to the imperative for due process for the accused on the other hand. It is a real challenge to shame and deter criminal acts while retaining respect for all people--creations of the Creator--and the potential for accused to turn their lives around. All people must be seen as many--sided and whole people, with mental, physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions and not to be reduced to being simply "offenders" and victims". On the other hand, we also recognize that the healing approaches may be misused to obstruct Truth and Justice. According to Rupert Ross:

"Fourth, I don't mean to suggest that all Aboriginal leaders who now speak the language of healing are doing so out of an honest commitment to the betterment of...their communities. Sadly, there are many dysfunctional communities where the groups in power promote traditional healing programs for one reason only: to prevent their abusive friends from being truly called to account in anyone’s justice system, Western or Aboriginal. It is not the teachings themselves that are responsible for such abuse; it is their misuse by desperate people in desperately ill communities." (Ross, 1996, p. 15)

2. WE ARE ALL RELATED:

We are all related. For accusers and accused alike, allegations are serious. Accusers and accused alike are members of a Family, Clan, Tribe and Nation and what affects one affects all. As Susan Guyette put it:

"Cultural preservation is not a romantic ideal, but rather a practical necessity. Traditional Cultures are tightly organized systems of belief and behavior, which nourish and protect social groups as well as the individuals who belong to them. The loss of traditional cultures places extreme social and psychological stress on tribal and rural peoples, exacerbating economic problems and creating additional social and health problems such as the lack of family cohesion and substance abuse." (Guyette, 1996, p. xiii)

The processes of Aboriginal or Indigenous Justice must balance protection of the rights of the accused with the imperative of preservation of the whole society and of what is worth preserving of the whole society--which also protects the individual, including the accused. Forms of revenge, retribution, abuse, injustice, duplicity and failure to seek truth and justice -against the accused or his/her family--add to cumulative spirals of abuse and dysfunction that progressively damage and destroy the whole society including those practicing the forms of abuse, duplicity, retribution, revenge etc.

3. TRUTH, JUSTICE, HEALING, RECONCILIATION AND PREVENTION OF FUTURE ABUSES ARE SACRED:

We are human beings from different backgrounds, with some different interests and agenda. In Aboriginal Law there is a recognition that adversarial processes often and easily degenerate into an emphasis on winning and not on discovery of truth per se. There can be no stopping of further abuses, rehabilitation and/or restrictions of abusers, healing, just compensation for victims or proper lessons learned until that which needs to be stopped, corrected and healed is fully and fairly understood with all contending perspectives fully and fairly taken into account. Still, Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses--the fundamental mandates and goals of Aboriginal Law--are often very illusive. An old Cree saying goes:

"You cannot pass along what another person really told you; you can only pass along what you heard."

And from Ohiyesa:

"The worship of the Great Mystery is silent, solitary, and free from all self-seeking. It is silent, because all speech is of necessity feeble and imperfect; therefore the souls of our ancestors ascended to God in wordless adoration." (Ohiyesa, 1993, pp. 1-2)

People will invariably react to what was said or done in very different ways and as Rupert Ross, a non-Indian observer of "Aboriginal Justice" put it:

"Discussions become a celebration of the rich diversity of life rather than a contest between opposing views about what we ought to think and feel." (Ross, 1996, p. x)

Still, however illusive, we believe that there are objective truths and standards of justice that transcend the myriad differences and subjective perceptions and opinions as to what was/is true or what was/is justice. We get closer to those objective truths and forms of justice by allowing a full--yet structured--interplay of diverse opinions, evidence etc.

The search for Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses are the sacred and the fundamental imperatives. Any attempts to block or thwart these imperatives, bring dishonor not only upon the person doing this, but also bring dishonor upon the family, clan, Tribe and Nation of that person. An Indian Trial or Tribunal is a sacred and a spiritual event as well as a secular one and calls for the triumph of the spiritual mind over the physical mind. According to Ohiyesa:

"We Indian people have traditionally divided the mind into two parts--the spiritual mind and the physical mind. The first--the spiritual mind--is concerned only with the essence of things, and it is this we seek to strengthen by spiritual prayer, the second, or physical mind, is lower. It is concerned with all personal or selfish matters..." (Ohiyesa, 1993, pp. 7-8)

And:

"Before there were any cities on this continent, before there were bridges to span the Mississippi, before the great network of railroads was even dreamed of, we Indian people had councils which gave their decisions in accordance with the highest ideal of human justice. Though the occurrence of murder was rare, it was a grave offense, to be atoned for as the council might decree. Often it happened that the slayer was called upon to pay the penalty with his own life. In such cases, the murderer made no attempt to escape or evade justice. That the crime was committed in the depths of the forest or at dead of night, witnessed by no human eye, made no difference to his mind. He was thoroughly convinced that all is known to the Great Mystery, and hence did not hesitate to give himself up, to stand trial by the old and wise men of the victim’s clan.

Even his own family and clan might by no means attempt to excuse or to defend him. But his judges took all the known circumstances into consideration, and if it appeared that he slew in self-defense, or that the provocation was severe, he might be set free after a thirty days period of mourning in solitude. The ceremonial mourning was a sign of reverence for the departed spirit." (Ohiyesa, 1993, pp. 23-34)

And:

"Such is the importance of our honor and our word that in the early days, lying was a capital offense. Because we believed that the deliberate liar is capable of committing any crime behind the screen of cowardly untruth and double dealing, the destroyer of mutual confidence was summarily put to death that the evil might go no further." (Ohiyesa, 1993, p. 26)

4. FORM, PROTOCOL AND RITUAL MUST ASSIST AND BE SUBSERVIENT TO THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH, JUSTICE, HEALING, RECONCILIATION AND PREVENTION OF FUTURE ABUSES:

Even the physical layout of the Aboriginal Court must be considered to facilitate the search for truth and justice. For example:

"...putting those tables in a circle shape, hoping that this will reduce the adversarial nature of the process. Instead of having the accused and his lawyer sit directly opposite the Crown and the police like boxers on opposite sides of the ring, they are spread around the circle together with probation officers, translators, alcohol workers and anyone else who might have a contribution to make. My own impression is that such an arrangement does make people feel more comfortable and also contributes to fuller community participation. Perhaps people feel better joining as equals a group discussion aimed at finding solutions than they do making formal and solitary suggestions to an all-powerful judge." (Ross, 1996, P. 8)

Many of the usual processes and tactics associated with the adversarial systems of non-Indian Courts often thwart rather than assist the causes of truth and justice. Such tactics as forum shopping, judge and jury shopping, contrived order of witnesses, rhetorical tricks designed to cast doubt on or prevent admission of credible evidence, abusing witnesses, ad hominem attacks with irrelevant opinion and evidence, ultra-formalism or ultra-ritualism, artificial distinctions between "non-argumentative" vs. "argumentative" phases of a trial or evidence (all speech is rhetoric in the classical sense--non-coercive forms of persuasion), obstruction of full discovery for any party, conscious introduction of contrived or partial evidence, rhetorical appeals to prejudices, deliberate refusal to pose relevant but uncomfortable questions, contrived highlighting of weak points and minimizing strong points of an opponents case while doing the reverse for ones own case, use of paid career experts, etc are to be avoided as they thwart rather than enhance "due process" and discovery of truth and justice--even for the accused.

All parties having what they feel to be relevant evidence and opinion on a particular matter are urged to participate as a matter of duty--to the causes of Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Further Abuses. Further, the search for Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses cannot be seen as a 3-to-5" matter and Judicial processes must be conducted when and for as long as necessary to serve these and other causes.

All crimes involve multiple past, present and future spirals of cumulative causality, implications on relatives of the accused and accusers as well as on the whole society, multiple dimensions and therefore requirements of varied areas of expertise. Those participating in judicial processes must be selected on the basis of demonstrated integrity, commitment and expertise in areas bearing on the issues of the judicial processes. In any judicial process, not only the accused is being examined, also being examined, is the integrity and credibility of the processes themselves, the participants in the process, the community sanctioning the process as well as core and guiding principles of Indian life and law. There is no place for using sacred proceedings dealing with sacred issues for self-promotion, grandstanding, rewarding friends and relatives, forging businesses alliances, revenge or for any purpose other than the sacred search for Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses.

Compartmentation, hierarchies, models, rituals and organizations are all creations of human beings for various purposes and represent abstractions and conventions that can at best approximate or grasp small parts of the immense totality of all the interrelated creations of the Creator and creations of the creations of the Creator. The answer to the abuses of power and excesses of hierarchies is not more checks and balances, formalism, Compartmentation, strict rules and counter-rules within hierarchies, but rather elimination of essentially formalistic and dysfunctional hierarchies and hierarchical relations themselves. Leadership and authority arise from service, persuasion and skill and not from some fixed or inherited position.

In the Western tradition, human beings stand just below God and the Angels but above all other forms of life and matter based on the passage on Creation from Genesis:
"God said, Let us make man in our image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the earth...

In the Ojibwa tradition for example, and quite typical of Indigenous thinking in general, any hierarchy is based upon function and dependence in the totality of the creation of the Creator. The Order of Creation would go: Mother Earth, the plant realm, the animal realm and the human realm because without Mother Earth and her waters, there would be no plant, animal or human life, and without plant life there would be no animal or human life, and without animal life there would be no human life and yet Mother Earth, plant life, animal life existed and can exist without human life. This alternative world view, the Indigenous world-view, which emphasizes "wholeness" in the human as well as natural world, which emphasizes complexity rather than ultra-reductionism, which emphasizes non-linearity rather than linear uni-directional cause and effect, which emphasizes disharmony as a social as well as individual pathogen, which emphasizes connectedness with other parts of creation rather than disconnectedness, which recognizes inevitable change in cycles, spirals or patterns, helps to keep in mind humility and helps to balance judicial processes in ways that help to better search for Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Further Abuses.

Processes constructed and run on the basis of adversarial competition, ultra-formalism, ultra-reductionism, ultra-ritualism ultra-hierarchies, Compartmentation, linear thinking and modeling, punishment with no regard to the effects on those connected with the person being punished, punishment with no regard to healing or reconciliation will more often than not lead to more and not less future chains of abuse and dysfunction.

Often we find that what superficially appeared to be a "minor" matter turned out quite significant or what appears to be a "major" matter turns out to be relatively insignificant--in the scheme and totality of things. In Aboriginal Law, the time allotted for investigation, inquiry, judgment and disposition is not based upon a preliminary and summary judgment about the alleged severity of particular acts of a crime. Often as much time or even more will be allotted in a judicial proceeding dealing with what many might consider a "minor" crime relative to what others might consider a "major" crime. Substantial time may be allotted to investigating what some consider to be a "minor" question with the result that substantial and pervasive probative evidence is discovered.

Judgmental language and simplistic labels may often lead to preemptory conclusions, summary judgments, simplistic and reductionist thinking, obfuscation, hiding or failure to introduce significant evidence, failure to pose necessary questions and failure to generally pursue Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuse. As Rupert Ross puts it:

"For one thing, English has an extraordinary number of adjectives that are not so much descriptions of things, as they are conclusions about things...adjectives like horrible, uplifting, disgusting, inspiring, delightful, and tedious and so on. When you really look at them, you discover that they don’t tell us much about things-in-themselves, but only about the judgments speakers have made about them--and want the rest of us to accept." (Ross, 1996, p. 102)

"Put simply, I worry that our simplistic, punitive responses to simplistic, judgmental labels put us into blind canyons where we actually contribute to the development of those one-dimensional and dangerous people we are sworn to prosecute." (Ross, 1996, p. 106)

Further, these summary-and-final-judgment nouns and adjectives affect not only the integrity and effectiveness of judicial proceedings and the name and reputation of the accused; they reflect upon and damage the family, clan, tribe and nation of the accused as well. In short, they lead to ongoing consequences and further victimization. Speech must be careful and focus on the act and its consequences rather than on judgments about the actor nature and character.

5. FOCUS ON WHAT A PERSON SHOULD DO RATHER THAN ON WHAT A PERSON SHOULDN'T DO

Indigenous judicial processes are concerned primarily with establishing what people should do--as members of a family, clan, tribe and nation--rather than focus on what people shouldn’t do. This may appear to be a distinction without a difference, but in fact it is a profound distinction.

Instead of long lists of potential offenses (listed as "should not do") and an attempt to cover every possible negative act, with the implication that if a given act is not on the should not do list, it is at least not illegal if not permissible, Indigenous Law focuses on core principles and values to guide general conduct such that if one followed those principles, each situation or act can be properly evaluated as to its propriety and proper legality or illegality without having memorized the "should not do" list or in dealing with a potential act not covered on the list. There are many acts that are not illegal or even regarded as improper or immoral from an absolute sense but nonetheless might have negative consequences on an individual committing the act or on others in a particular context.

Instead of something like the "Ten Commandments" with "Thou Shalt Not...", in Indian life and law there is more focus on "Thou Should...--as a family member, a clan member, a tribal member, a member of a nation, to live a happy life, to treat others as you want to be treated...

Resources and Sources

1. Chrisjohn, Roland et al. "The Circle Game: Shadows and Substance in the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada", Theytus Books, 1997, Penticton.

2. Guyette, Susan "Planning for Balanced Development: A Guide for Native American and Rural Communities", Clear Light Books, 1996, Santa Fe.

3. Nerburn, Kent (Ed) "The Soul of an Indian and Other Writings of Ohiyesa", New World Library, 1993.

4. Ross, Rupert "Dancing With A Ghost", Octopus Publishing Group, Markham, ON, 1992

5. Ross, Rupert, "Returning to the Teachings: Exploring Aboriginal Justice", Penguin, Toronto, 1996
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PART TWO: Mission of the Tribunal - My understanding

I can only report my understanding of the central mission of the Tribunal because the mission as I understood it--or any other mission understood by others--was not formally and fully articulated, generally understood or pursued through consistent, coherent and structured processes and lines of inquiry and document gathering.

My understanding was that the overall mission of the Tribunal involved assisting local interests in Canada in obtaining data, testimony, supporting documentation and expert opinion on the alleged histories, causes, effects, intentions, interests, contending perspectives and opinions, legal judgments, ongoing chains and spirals of abuse and dysfunction in First Nations Communities, cover-ups and intimidation of/retribution against past and present victims and witnesses, compensations and actual distributions of compensations for alleged victims associated with Indian Residential Schools in Canada.

I understood that we were to assist in the gathering, correlating, triangulating , interpreting and questioning of evidence related to allegations of criminal and/or ethnocidal and/or genocidal intentions, practices, effects and implications associated with the setting-up and alleged routine practices of the Indian Residential Schools and to do so in such ways and through such procedures as to assist in the discovering and establishing of Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses for people, groups and institutions alleged and categorized to be "victims" and/or "victimizers"--alike.

My understanding was that we were to conduct full, fair, open and honest--for all parties or potential parties concerned--inquiry and gathering, examination, interpretation and reporting of evidence and opinion. We were not there to question the socioeconomic-political system of Canada or the Sovereignty of the Government of Canada or of any of its Agencies. We were not there to intentionally and rhetorically exacerbate past or present wounds, feuds, differences or hostilities. We were not there to question the overall theologies or integrity of "institutions" such as the Anglican Church, United Church, Mormon Church, Catholic Church or other Churches associated with the Indian Residential Schools in Canada. We were not there to assist or support personal or wider agenda and activities, interests or the embarrassment/demonization of particular individuals, groups or political parties locally. We were not there to use our positions or status to forge deals or alliances not related to the issues with which the Tribunal was dealing or to engage in personal self-promotion, grandstanding, revenge or retribution, private business dealing or any other form of conduct that might bring discredit upon the Tribunal and its integrity and credibility, the issues and evidence with which the Tribunal was dealing or any organization associated with the Tribunal. We were not there to make statements or pre-judgments or pre-findings that might undermine the credibility and integrity of the Tribunal or its findings.

My understanding based on reading background materials and with discussions with organizers of the Tribunal was that we would be dealing with and examining allegations, opinion and evidence related to damages against and destruction of First Nations Peoples --individually and collectively--and that the allegations would involve some or more than the following allegations of practices in individual cases and patterns of practices as well as possible implicit or explicit policies against First Nations Children in Residential Schools:

1) sexual and physical torture;
2) murder;
3) coerced and/or deceptive medical experimentation;
4) forced de-Indianization and assimilation;
5) coerced and/or deceptive adoptions;
6) coerced and/or deceptive placements into Residential Schools;
7) coerced and/or deceptive takings of Indian Lands;
8) coerced and/or deceptive alienation of First Nations children from Traditional First Nations values, practices, dress, communities and support-systems, families and overall identity;
9) coerced non-Indian diets and food generally unfit for human consumption thus producing long-term deleterious effects in First Nations communities;
10) teaching and promotion of psychologically-destructive and vilifying racist myths, caricatures, false histories, "spiritual values" etc. to First Nations and non-First Nations children, adults and communities;
11) coerced and/or deceptive sterilization of First Nations children;
12) subjection of First Nations children to educational programs that were underfunded, staffed with incompetent and abusive individuals, geographically isolated and structured with programs to de-Indianize First Nations children and prepare them for life on the poorest and most isolated margins of Canadian society;
13) past and ongoing cover-ups and intimidation of witnesses and victims of crimes and abusive practices and policies;
14) general abuse and vilification of First Nations children for speaking Native languages and articulating or practicing Aboriginal spirituality;
15) arranging and coercing abortions of products of rape and sexual abuse of First Nations children by men in authority;
16) starvation, unprotected and extended exposure (to the natural elements) and forced labor under unsafe working conditions of First Nations children;
17) placing non-infected First Nations children with other children infected with TB and other communicable diseases;
18) covert practices and graveyards designed to conceal murder, neglect and effects of abortions;
19) organized, calculated, structured and pervasive programs and practices designed for mind programming and control;
20) inadequate, incompetent and brutal medical services and practices and withholding of medical services to children after brutal beatings, sometimes leading to death of First Nations children;
21) use of First Nations children as informants and bullies to enforce Residential School rules, regimens, value systems, prejudices, retribution and cover-ups;
22) physically and psychologically brutal shaming, vilification and beating of First Nations children in front of other children;
23) isolation and of First Nations children from their families and communities, through location of Residential Schools in geographically isolated areas (often on islands making escape difficult) and through withholding of personal property, letters, presents and other forms of communication between children and their families and communities;
24) forcing children to fight or engage in sexual activities for the voyeuristic pleasure of Residential School staff and authorities;
25) failure to bring incidences and evidence of abuse/criminal conduct to higher church, local, provincial and federal authorities;
26) failure to protect children from physical and sexual abuse and murder by school staff and other school residents;
27) failure to remove known and provably chronic physical and sexual abusers from positions of authority and control over children;
28) incompetence and neglect by Residential School officials relative to educational mandates;
29) failure of federal, provincial and local governmental authorities to maintain supervision over and to intervene in behalf of, First Nations children and wards of the State;
30) failure to adequately fund Residential Schools relative to mandates governing Church and Governmental authorities;
31) failure to maintain and/or respect processes for filing and investigating grievances by First Nations children;
32) firing and sanctions against people of conscience who sought to expose and correct alleged abuses of First Nations children;
33) failure to fully and fairly investigate Residential Schools and their aftermath effects on First Nations children, adults, communities and survivability--continues to today--and suggest and implement programs for mitigating and ameliorating damages;
34) failure to respect and live up to Treaties promising educational and other services to First Nations children and communities;
35) failure to seek, structure, ensure compliance and ensure delivery to actual victims, just and adequate compensation for abuses against First Nations Peoples that already have been stipulated and proved to have occurred;
36) all of the above-mentioned--and other not-mentioned--practices and policies carried out as part of overall, ongoing, forced, and intended marginalization, vilification, de-Indianization and assimilation of First Nations People--adding up cumulatively to extermination and extinction of First Nations Peoples as First Nations Peoples individually and collectively, and therefore "genocide", against First Nations Peoples under the articles of the UN Convention on Genocide, previous Tribunals on War Crimes and Genocide and other Authorities in International Law and Common Law of Nations;

It was my understanding that: the allegations and supporting evidence and opinion would be quire serious for the accused as well as for the accusers; that allegations would not be taken as established facts even where similar allegations had been established and stipulated to as facts in other forums; that some in the community would regard the Tribunal as "trouble-making" outsiders with no real authority or standing to conduct the proceeding; that those against whom allegations had been made would be present and fully and freely able to respond to any allegations with which they might disagree and/or comment on or provide further evidence and opinion on those allegations with which they might agree; that the credibility and integrity of the Tribunal, its members and organizations with which it had some affiliation would be under scrutiny and subject to attack; that the causes of Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses would be paramount in the mandate and focus of the Tribunal; that serious gathering investigation, weighing, evaluation and reporting of any relevant evidence and opinion would be undertaken. Further, given that evidence and opinion gathered previously on the Residential Schools in Canada were not properly included in the Royal Commission Report on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), it was my understanding that this Tribunal would be seriously and properly set-up, structured, executed, concluded and reported upon to any authorities who might be able to assist in dealing with the relevant issues and mandates.

In my opinion, the seriousness of the issues, the very real pain and anguish and suffering of the victims, the seriousness of the issues and allegations for the accusers and accused and probable impacts of any findings were not duly and properly considered. In my opinion the following errors were instrumental in severely limiting and compromising the work, content, scope of inquiry, quality of evidence, respect for accused and accusers, overall competence, integrity and overall credibility and acceptance of the Tribunal and any findings:

1) From its inception, the Tribunal was severely underfunded which compromised duration, scope, content, credibility and integrity of evidence, opinion and any findings; (the search for Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses is not a 9-to-5 proposition and there should be sufficient funding and competent logistics to ensure that all who want to bring relevant evidence and opinion may be able to do so;)

2) In my opinion, some of the Tribunal Judges were clearly not selected and invited by the organizers of the Tribunal on the basis of demonstrated experience, interest, commitment, capabilities and expertise related to the probable issues with which the Tribunal would likely be dealing but rather on some other basis;

3) The role, standing, authority and degree of participation of IHRAAM was misrepresented and used and promoted in ways that caused some threats to the credibility of IHRAAM as well as to the Tribunal;

4) The Tribunal Judges were told to watch the nature and content of any conversations with the News Media and to avoid any appearance of pre-judgment, bias, hidden agenda or whatever; this advice was generally followed by the Tribunal Judges and yet not followed by some of the very same persons who had given such suggestions--the organizers of the Tribunal and their relatives--who gave the impression to some of using the News Media for personal self-aggrandizement and self-promotion;

5) It is a fundamental principle of Indigenous Law that what may appear to be trivial may be quite significant and what may appear to be important may be relatively less-important in the scheme of things and therefore sufficient time and resources must be allotted to ensure full, fair and thorough inquiry. Due to lack of proper funding, inadequate specification, understanding and execution of the essential roles of the Tribunal officials and judges, and due to the summary, precipitous, disrespectful and not-explained removal of key Tribunal participants like Dr. Robert Ward, the designated prosecutor who had the best academic preparation and experience along with having conducted preliminary interviews for his role, insufficient time, scope and competent inquiry were given to key testimonies individually and to the testimonies collectively;

6) Contending local groups and interests were not fully, fairly and evenly accepted by the Tribunal and some favoritism and granting of insider status compromised the overall fairness, objectivity, credibility and integrity of the Tribunal;

7) Insufficient attention was paid to and mechanisms were not set up to handle, credible allegations of explicit and implicit forms of threats, intimidation and retribution against witnesses and their families--prior to, during and subsequent to the Tribunal inquiry;

8) Insufficient attention was paid to and mechanism were not set up to ensure or at least persuasively argue for, attendance at the Tribunal by individuals and groups representing various sides and contending allegations related to the issues being dealt with by the Tribunal. Thirty-seven invited parties failed to show up at the Tribunal of whom only two gave notice that they would not be attending; this compromised the ability of the Tribunal to look at issues from contending perspectives;

9) Witnesses are apparently sometimes chosen not on the basis of direct experience or plausible indirect experience--beyond hearsay--with the issues involved but rather on the basis of associations--in other domains--with the organizers or participants of the Tribunal; this left many people with possibly very revealing and probative evidence unable to testify and/or severely restricted in the scope and content of their testimony;

10) Rifts and animosities between contending groups and personalities locally and among participants of the Tribunal--often nominally on the same side of the issues with which the Tribunal were dealing--were allowed to invade and to shape or limit some of the content, scope and actions of Tribunal inquiry;

11) Insufficient time and resources were allotted for preliminary investigations and gathering of background information necessary to properly and fairly, examine, document and thoroughly test allegations, opinions, evidence being given by contending parties;

12) Some Tribunal participants were precipitously and summarily demonized, marginalized or even removed without explanation or inquiry about their concerns with the result that the Tribunal lost potential contributions and expertise from those participants;

13) Some of the Tribunal participants engaged in ultra-formalism, ultra-ritualism, ultra-hierarchicalism, verbosity, pontification, lecturing of witnesses, favoritism toward some witnesses that interfered with the full, free, fair and credible inquiry about relevant issues and the obtaining of real, substantive, verifiable and probative evidence or opinion leading to probative evidence;

14) The physical arrangements of the furniture in the Tribunal were more in keeping with the hierarchical, adversarial, ultra-formalistic and ultra-ritualistic Tribunals of the non-Indian world and may have prevented or inhibited the full, free, fair and cooperative search for Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation and Prevention of Future Abuses;

15) Some of the witnesses preferred to testify 3in-camera2 for various reasons. Inadequate staffing and logistics made this difficult to accommodate or encourage those who really wished to do so--to get more complete and accurate evidence and opinion. In one case about which I know, "in-camera" testimony was probably or almost certainly revealed to one of the persons against whom the allegations of sexual and physical abuse had been made and this compromised the effectiveness and credibility of the Tribunal and possibly a witness who trusted us to keep her testimony confidential--especially from the alleged abuser;

16) Poor funding and poor logistics, along with conflicting versions of events and allegations to contending parties resulted in alleged promises allegedly not being kept, Tribunal participants suffering unforeseen financial and personal hardships and rifts and feuds between contending groups and individuals exacerbated rather than healed. This compromised the overall effectiveness and credibility as well as the productivity and contributions of individual Tribunal participants.

For these above-mentioned and some other reasons, I cannot in all honesty provide any of my own definitive "findings" or endorse any "findings" of this Tribunal; in my opinion is was seriously flawed in its origination, design, staffing, execution, structure, content and scope of inquiry. I found some serious very compelling testimony and documentation with some credible evidence, supporting opinion and consciousness-of-guilt-like machinations that supported all of the previously-mentioned 35 allegations to varying but not to any conclusive degrees. Those against whom many allegations had been made were not in attendance--for whatever reason. Without a competently designed, staffed, structured, executed and monitored process, accepted by contending parties as credible or intending to be credible, further evidence on the full scope, intentions, causes, effects and agents of the previously mentioned very serious alleged crimes when established to have occurred, will remain to be discovered and fully documented. And until that occurs, with real substantive revelations and real substantive accountability, there can be no real truth, justice, healing, reconciliation, prevention of future abuses and crimes or mitigating the damages of ongoing dynamic circles or spirals of abuse, neglect and dysfunction from past and present crimes.

In the next section, I propose to discuss some suggestions for future lines of inquiry and probable constraints and obstacles.
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PART THREE: On the Issue of Ethnocide versus Genocide

During the Tribunal, some of us were aware and all of us were made aware of the distinction between "ethnocide" and "genocide" in Law and convention. Consistent with the importance of "mens rea" (state of mind and intent) in Tort and Criminal Law as well as Common Law where degree of intent and calculation is critical in classifying the level of criminality or liability (e.g. First-degree versus Second-degree murder versus Manslaughter), so ethnocide (unintended and non-coerced assimilation of a minority group into a broader group leading to the progressive destruction of the national minority group as a separate and identifiable minority group) is distinguished from genocide (intended and coerced assimilation and/or outright extermination of a national minority as a separate and identifiable group).

It is recognized in conventional economic theory that especially under national capitalism and capitalist-driven globalization, that processes of homogenization and equalization through mobility of capital and labor (equalization of wage rates and salaries, rents, interest rates and profits) take place daily. Labor migrates from areas of relatively low wage rates and high unemployment to areas of relatively low unemployment and expected higher relative wage rates, thus driving down some and raising other wage rates. Capital migrates from areas of high risk and/or relatively low rates of expected profitability to areas of lower risk and/or relatively higher rates of expected profitability thus driving down some and raising other rates of profitability. Financial capital migrates from areas of relatively high risk and/or low real interest rates to areas of relatively low estimated risk and/or higher real interest rates thus driving down some and raising other real interest rates.

Further, not only people, capital and financial capital migrate, so do value systems, paradigms, power relations and structures, religious creeds and core principles of whole systems.

Creating and expanding global markets or markets in other regions of a nation, and expanded reproduction of whole systems (power structures and relations, defining institutions, capital-labor relations, value systems, laws, rights, responsibilities, practices etc.) require conditioning and assimilating--through increasingly sophisticated technologies of mind control, persuasion and social systems engineering--minority nations and cultures to new values, tastes and preferences, lifestyles, religions and paradigms of the dominant and dominating classes and the systems they dominate. In other words, the core, inner and defining imperatives, institutions, power relations and structures, values and practices of capitalism, which make up the inner "logic" and shape the dynamics and trajectories of capitalism on the "micro" and "macro" levels, lead inexorably to more and more homogenization, assimilation and destruction of national groups as separate and identifiable national groups--one form of "Ethnocide."

Personally, I feel that the reality of the inner and defining logic and dynamics of capitalism leading inexorably to increasing homogenization, assimilation and destruction of national groups and cultures as separate and identifiable groups and cultures is perhaps a major reason for the distinction between "ethnocide" and "genocide." When people "choose" or are "induced"--as opposed to having been clearly forced-- to opt into a new and dominating culture, even on the margins of that new dominating culture for career or other reasons, free of having been forced to assimilate, or when combatants are killed without the "intent" to kill them because they are members of a national group targeted for extermination but rather because they are combatants on the "other side" of a conflict, this is considered "ethnocide". Who wants to say that the inner "logic" and derivative/inexorable dynamics and trajectories of capitalism lead to genocide?

I found it amazing that no one from the Canadian Government or any of the Churches bothered to challenge or repudiate the assertion that the practices and policies of the Residential Schools in Canada collectively and cumulatively constituted one of the instruments of Genocide against First Nations Peoples in Canada. I doubt, however, that this represents on their part, a fundamental stipulation to overwhelming and irrefutable evidence. In fact, in other forums and other periods of history, there have been clear attempts to spin various versions of the history of Residential Schools in Canada even to the point of asserting that assimilation, even if shown to be forced, would fall short constituting Genocide under the UN Convention on Genocide, International Law or other principles of Common Law of Nations.

Both Canada and the United States (also in need of many Tribunals on Boarding Schools and other instruments of genocide) have consistently in the past and to this day resisted a full definition, examination and adjudication of the myriad dimensions, forms, crimes and effects of genocide. According to Chrisjohn et al.:

"The draft Genocide Convention proposals included an explicit statement proscribing cultural genocide (destruction of the specific characteristics of a group) as well as biological genocide (restricting births, sterilization) and physical genocide (killing, whether quickly as by mass murder, or slowly as by economic strangulation). This proposal was immediately resisted by the United States (whose politicians were concerned that U.S. treatment of minorities would be in violation of such injunctions), and their efforts to derail those provisions were supported by Canada. As a result, the present version of the Convention is often taken as not dealing with cultural genocide." (Chrisjohn et. al, 1997, p 43)

Chrisjohn et al. quoting from "Minorities and Human Rights Law" by Patrick Thornberry (London: The Minority Rights Group, 1991, pp. 13-14) note:

"The classification of genocide here included physical and biological genocide; ...cultural genocide is not included except partially in the case of forced transfer of children. Existence is a somewhat circumscribed notion in this context. It is not genocide if a culture is destroyed but the carriers of culture are spared. A forcible assimilation is therefore not proscribed by this Convention: there is no such offense in international law. (Quoted in Chrisjohn, et al. Ibid. pp. 43 44)

This interpretation of the UN Convention (which Thornberry does not endorse but merely reports), that there is no such thing as cultural genocide is absurd on the face of it. How can it be possible to forcibly remove children from their families and place and indoctrinate them into strange, isolated and foreign places without "inflicting serious mental harm on the members of a group?" (violation of Article II of the UN Convention on Genocide) even if not accompanied by sexual and physical torture, starvation, medical experimentation, vilification of the culture and families of those being abducted etc.? And what kind of simplistic reductionism separates the importance of physical and cultural dimensions of persons--"carriers of a culture"--such that total or even essential personhood or total or essential existence of an identifiable group is seen in terms of physical existence only? The originator of the term "genocide", Raphael Lemkin railed against this kind of reductionism in his original definition:

"Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killing of all the members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objective of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and the lives of individuals belonging to such groups. Genocide is the destruction of the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity but as members of the national group." (Raphael Lemkin, "Axis Rule in Occupied Europe", Concord, NH: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace/Rumford Press, 1944, p. 79; quoted in Churchill, 1994, pp.12-13)

Lemkin observed two fundamental phases of genocide:

"Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group: the other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor." (Lemkin, Ibid. p 79 quoted in Churchill, 1994, p. 14)

How could phase two commence if genocide means only the destruction of the physical existence of members of the oppressed group as a means of destroying the physical existence of the whole group? Yet even part c of Article II of the UN Convention on Genocide--"Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated [the "mens rea" issue] to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part"--is but one of the means--and criteria--for determining if genocide is going on.
Commenting on the lessons and implications of the Nazi Holocaust, Zygmunt Bauman wrote in "Modernity and the Holocaust" (p. 27):

"Ordinarily genocide is rarely if at all, aimed at the total annihilation of the group; the purpose of the violence (if the violence is purposeful and planned) is to destroy the marked category (a nation, a tribe, a religious sect) as a viable community capable of self-perpetuation and defense of its own self-identity. If this is the case, the objective of the genocide is met once 1) the volume of violence has been large enough to undermine the will and resilience of the sufferers, and to terrorize them into surrender to the superior power and into acceptance of the order it imposed; and 2) the marked group has been deprived of resources necessary for the continuation of the struggle. With these two conditions fulfilled, the victims are at the mercy of their tormentors. They may be forced into protracted slavery, or offered a place in the new order on terms set by the victors--but which sequel is chosen depends fully on the conquerors whim. Whichever option has been selected, the perpetrators of genocide benefit. They extend and solidify their power and eradicate the roots of the opposition." (Quoted in Chrisjohn et. al, pp. 45-46)

In 1947, the Lebanese delegate to the U.N. committee that produced the Draft Convention on Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide noted:
"..what is at issue is the destruction of a [recognizably distinct] human group, even though the individual members survive." (UN Doc. E/A.C. 25/S.R. 1-28; Quoted in
Churchill, 1994, p. 13)

This led to a formulation in the initial U.N. Draft Convention on Genocide which focused not only upon mass murder or calculated extermination campaigns, but upon actions and policies which brought about: disintegration of the political, social or economic structures of a group or nation and the systematic moral debasement of a group, people or nation. (Report of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, 1947, Part VI quoted by Churchill, 1994, pp. 13-14 from Robert Davis and Mark Zannis, "The Genocide Machine in Canada: The Pacification of the North, Montreal, Black Rose Books, 1973, p. 19)

All of this led to the 1948 IV Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide which specified:

a) Article I: Genocide is a crime under International Law whether committed during times of peace or war;

b) Article II: Killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm or inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction or imposing measures to prevent births or forcibly transferring children--of an identifiable group targeted for elimination-- is genocide;

c) Article III: That shall be punishable under the Convention would not only be genocide per se, but also conspiracy to commit, direct and public incitement of , attempt to commit, or complicity in, genocide;

d) Article IV: anyone committing genocide (acts under Article II) or any of the acts under Article III, whether constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals shall be punished;

e) Article V: Contracting parties undertake to enact, in accordance with their respective Constitutions, necessary legislation to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and provide effective penalties against persons guilty of genocide or Article III acts.

[Note: does this mean that if the Constitution of a given country sanctions genocide or acts considered genocidal, that the Country would be unable to comply or reserve the right not to comply with Article V or other articles of the Convention, as it would not be consistent with that country's Constitution? Does this mean that genocidal acts or policies--a crime under International Law--might be seen as a matter of sovereign "internal affairs" of a given country and that domestic law would trump international law? This is the so-called "sovereignty" exception position taken by the United States Government when finally signing the UN Convention in 1988--40 years after it was drafted--and at present ( and was and is the position of the Nazis and a whole host of other genocidal forces];

f) Article VI: Persons charged with genocide or Article III acts shall be tried by a "competent tribunal" of the State in the territory of which the act was committed, or by such international penal tribunal as may have jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting Parties which shall have accepted its jurisdiction.

[Questions: What happens when one of those Contracting Parties whose "competent State tribunals or acceptance of jurisdiction of an international penal tribunal is one of the entities against which allegations of genocide or Article III acts is being made?; Which State, even a signatory to the Convention, allegedly guilty of genocide or acts under Article III, will likely provide its own Courts or accept the jurisdiction of other Courts to hear allegations of genocide against itself?]

g) Article VII: Genocide and Article III crimes shall not be considered as "political crimes" for purposes of extradition and Contracting Parties pledge themselves to grant extradition in accordance with their laws and treaties in force.

[Questions: What if the forces committing genocide are themselves "Contracting Parties" and effectively constitute a large section of whole State apparatus?; And in which case, how and to where or what venue will they be extradited?; What if domestic laws and treaties in force prevent extradition of parties who refuse to accept or define genocide as an international crime or if those domestic laws and treaties fail to include specific language allowing definition of genocide and Article III extraditable acts?; What if the demand is made to extradite from one Contracting Party engaging in genocide to the jurisdiction of another Contracting Party engaging in similar and even coordinated practices--e.g. U.S. and Canada?]

h) Article VIII: "Any Contracting Party may call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III."

[Questions: Again, what if the forces directing and carrying out genocide or any Article III acts represent a large section of the State of a Contracting Party Country?; Can the victims of genocide call upon the UN to intervene against the domestic State which may even be one of the "Contracting Parties"?; And if the victims can call for action against one of the Contracting Parties alleged to be conducting genocide or Article III acts, what mechanisms and venues exist for such allegations to be tried?];

I) Article IX: Disputes between Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the Convention, including responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other Article III acts to be submitted to the International Court of Justice.

[Questions: What if the State and Contracting party, alleged to be guilty of genocide or article III acts, summarily refuses, as does the United States on any matters other than commercial matters, to accept the authority and jurisdiction of the ICE?];

j) Article XV: "If as a result of denunciations, the number of Parties to the present Convention should become less than sixteen; the Convention shall cease to be in force as from the date on which the last of these denunciations shall become effective."

[Questions: What if one of the Contracting Parties is not only a genocidal State, but also a superpower powerful enough to apply political, economic, military and other sanctions to obtain enough denunciations to cause the Convention to cease to be in force? If genocide or Article III acts are crimes under International Law and Common Law of Nations, why should it take a minimum number of Contracting Parties to recognize that fact and to keep the Convention in force?]

The point is that even in the UN Convention all sorts of dodges, tricks with language, procedural games, summary non-compliance--even by a "Contracting Party"--and other escapes from scrutiny and accountability are possible. This is especially true when one considers the extent of personal and systemic interests, mystifications, future interests and possibilities associated with genocide, past and present.

The United States and Canada--said to be "Children of a Common Mother"--have striking parallels in their own histories in many ways including in the operations, crimes, policies, intentions and effects of their Boarding Schools and Residential Schools respectively. It is interesting to note that the United States, the leading force in the establishment and execution of the Nuremberg Tribunals and other War Crimes and Genocide Tribunals that were instrumental in the development of the UN Convention, declined to sign on to the Convention for 40 years after it had been established; Canada finally signed on in 1952. According to Ward Churchill's examination:

"The reason for this extensive delay resides primarily, as is revealed in the records of Senate debates on the Genocide Convention since it was referred to that body by President Truman in 1950, in congressional concern that a broad range of federal policies vis-à-vis minority populations in the U.S. might be viewed as genocidally criminal under international law." (Lawrence J. LeBlanc, "The United States and the Genocide Convention", Durham, NC: Duke, University Press, 1991 cited in Churchill, 1994, p. 16)

Finally in 1988, in the closing days of the 100th Congress, based on the growing disconnect or contradiction between presuming to lecture other countries all around the world about basic human rights on the one hand and not having ratified participation in the UN Convention on the other hand, the U.S. Government enacted the "Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1988" (Title 18, Part I, USC) which contained language designed from its inception to provide language that would narrow the applicability of the Convention to the United States. Deposited with the U.N. Secretary General in 1988 along with the instrument of treaty ratification was a summarily asserted amendment called a "Resolution of Ratification" or the "Lugar-Helms-Hatch Sovereignty Package" which contained the following reservation Article I (2):

[N]nothing in the Convention requires or authorizes legislation or other action by the United States of America prohibited by the Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the United States." (Quoted in Churchill, 1994, p. 17)

Of course that is exactly the argument that the Nazis made at Nuremberg. "Nothing genocidal we did and no orders we followed were prohibited by our legal authorities as we interpreted them and we ruthlessly guarded the sovereignty of and compliance with our own legal authorities." In the U.S. Supreme Court decision in "Reid v Covert" (354, U.S. 1, 1957) ruled that any treaty provision that is inconsistent with the United States Constitution would simply be invalid under national law (Quoted in Churchill, 1994, p. 19) which was one of the authorities used in the so-called "Sovereignty Resolution".

There is however, the matter of Article VI Section " of the U.S. Constitution that states that treaties are "the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." Further, there is the matter of Article 27 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (to which the United States is not a signatory but has recognized as the definitive promulgation of the Laws of Nations with regard to treaty relations--see Churchill, 1994, p.19 and 49) which notes that no country may invoke provisions of its domestic law as a reason for not abiding by its treaty obligations.

I raise U.S. issues and laws not only because of the common sources of U.S. and Canadian law, or because of the parallels between the U.S. Boarding Schools and the Canadian Residential Schools, but also because some of the same summary exceptions and assertions of "right of non-interference in internal affairs"--including Genocide and Article III offenses have been raised by Canadian authorities as well by U.S. authorities. Through summary language, the intent, content and scope of the Convention can be circumvented. Effectively countries like the U.S. and Canada, under the banners of "sovereignty" and "right of non-interference in internal affairs," can seek:

"To retain prerogatives to engage in or sanction policies and activities commonly understood as being genocidal, even while professing to condemn genocide." (Churchill, Ibid. p. 18)

During the setting up of the Nuremberg Tribunal, when the U.S. and other allies were accused of applying "ex post facto" law (nullem crimen sine lege or nulla poena sine lege previa) and uncodified international legal principles to the Nazis, noted that although much of what needed to be examined at trial had never been formally codified in international law or officially accepted by Germany, nonetheless:

"International law shall be taken to include the principles of the law of nations as they result from the usages established among civilized people, from the laws of humanity, and the dictates of public conscience." (Quoted in Churchill, 1994, p.22)

Finally, there is the U.N. Charter to which the U.S. and Canada are signatories which asserts and is generally recognized that the U.N. may declare principles of international law binding on even non-member nations. Further:

"The concept of offenses against the [customary] law of nations (delicti juris gentium) was recognized by the classical text writers on international law and has been employed in national constitutions and statutes. It was regarded as sufficiently tangible in the eighteenth century so that United States Federal Courts sustained indictments charging acts as an offense against the law of nations, even if there were no statutes defining the offense. Early in the nineteenth century it was held that criminal jurisdiction of federal courts rested only on statutes though the definition of crimes denounced by statutes might be left largely to international law. Thus piracy as defined by the law of nations is an indictable offense in federal courts and all offenses against the law of nations are indictable at common law in state courts." (Quincy Wright, "The Law of the Nuremburg Trial" in Jay w. Baird, ed. "From Nuremberg to My Lai, Lexington, MA. DC Heath and Co., 1972, p. "7, quoted in Churchill, 1994, p. 21)

And yet as I write this, with one day left for the deadline for agreement of nations to form a standing World Court to deal with war crimes and genocide, the United States and some allies resist formation of such a court on the basis of summary assertions of "sovereignty" leaving the impression that war crimes and genocide might be a matter of "internal affairs" about which they have the "right" to demand non-interference from other nations, the U.N. and presumably from the victims themselves.

On the question of "mens rea" or the requisite intent to forcibly assimilate and/or extinguish a whole people all sorts of deceptive arguments are made. One argument may be called the "Zeitgeist" argument which goes something like this: as all forms of life are in process and development, so it is with people and nations; we cannot judge the commonly-accepted standards, moral codes and practices of past periods of history, through the prism of today's standards, moral codes and acceptable practices. To this we have to ask by whom were these past standards, moral codes and practices accepted? Whose perspective are we adopting with this line of argument? In Nazi Germany, there were indeed large groups of people who did not "commonly accept" the prevailing moral codes, standards and practices: Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Communists, Trade-Unionists, Peoples of Conquered Territories, Prisoners of War, etc. And does this then mean that all standards, morality and practices are essentially subjective--you like genocide and I don't, just like you like to have a blue car and I prefer red?

Then there is the "perhaps-we-were-misguided-but-we-had-honest--as-opposed-to criminal-intent" argument. This is referred to as the "Standard Account" by Chrisjohn et al.:

"Residential Schools were created out of the largesse of the federal government and the missionary imperatives of the major churches as a means of bringing the advantages of Christian civilization to Aboriginal populations. With the benefit of late-20th century hindsight, some of the means with which this task was undertaken may be seen to have been unfortunate, but it is important to understand that this work was undertaken with the best of humanitarian intentions. Now, in any large organization, isolated incidence of abuse may occur, and such abuses may have occurred in some Indian Residential Schools...In any event, individuals who attended Residential Schools now appear to be suffering low self-esteem, alcoholism, somatic disorders, violent tendencies, and other symptoms of psychological distress (called Residential School Syndrome.) While these symptoms seem endemic to Aboriginal Peoples in general (and not limited to those who attended Residential School), this is likely to have come about because successive generations of attendees passed along, as it were, their personal psychological problems to their home communities and, through factors such as inadequacy of parenting skills, perpetuated the symptomology, if not the syndrome. In order to heal the rift the Residential School experience may have created between Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian society at large, and in order to heal those individuals who still suffer the consequences of their school experiences, it is necessary and appropriate to establish formally the nature of Residential School Syndrome, causally link the condition to Residential School abuses (physical, sexual or emotional) determine the extent of its influence in Aboriginal populations, and suggest appropriate individual and community interventions that will bring about psychological and social health." (Chrisjohn et al, 1997, pp. 1-2)

This “Standard Account" was found in many of the testimonies about Residential Schools in Canada (not part of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples) and in the "apologies" presented by some of the Churches and the Government of Canada. For some, I included, this appears to be another crime rather than any substantive act of contrition. Without full and competent inquiry, full discovery and accountability, willingness to disclose all, commitment to change and removal of systemic imperatives and interests that produced the Residential School experience and other horrors for Indigenous People, no real Truth, Justice, Healing, Reconciliation or Prevention of Future Abuses is possible.

Chrisjohn, et al. (whose competent report was not included in the RCAP) give a "Non-Standard Account" which goes like this:

"Residential Schools were one of many attempts at the genocide of the Aboriginal Peoples inhabiting the area now commonly called Canada. Initially, the goal of obliterating these peoples was connected with stealing what they owned (the land, the sky, the waters, and their lives, and all that these encompassed); and although this connection persists, present-day acts and policies of genocide are also connected with the hypocritical, legal and self-delusion need on the part of the perpetrators to conceal what they did and what they continue to do. A variety of rationalizations (social, legal, religious, political, and economic) arose to engage (in one way or another) all segments of Euro Canadian society in the task of genocide. For example, some were told (and told themselves) that their actions arose out of a Missionary Imperative to bring the benefits of the One True Belief to savage pagans; others considered themselves justified in land theft by declaring that the Aboriginal Peoples were not putting the land to "proper" use; and so on. The creation of the Indian Residential Schools followed a time-tested method of obliterating indigenous cultures, and the psychosocial consequences these schools would have on Aboriginal Peoples were well understood at the time of their formation. Present-day symptomology found in Aboriginal Peoples and societies does not constitute a distinct psychological condition, but is the well-known and long-studied response of human beings living under conditions of severe and prolonged oppression. Although there is no doubt that individuals who attended Residential Schools suffered, and continue to suffer, from the effects of their experiences, the tactic of pathologizing these individuals, studying their condition, and offering therapy to them and their communities must be seen as another rhetorical maneuver designed to obscure (to the world at large, to Aboriginal Peoples, and to Canadians themselves) the moral and financial accountability of Euro Canadian society in a continuing record of Crimes Against Humanity." (Chrisjohn, et. al, 1997, pp. 2-4)

These are some future lines of inquiry I would propose for future Tribunals in other places. Out of the deepest and most profound respect for the victims I heard and all of those I did not get to hear, and out of respect for their anguish, pain and suffering, I beg that future Tribunals be thoroughly and competently designed, constructed, set-up, executed and followed-up upon. There is simply too much at stake. Out of respect for the victims and what is at stake, I cannot and will not endorse "fruits of an essentially poisoned tree"--which only serve those who wish to compound the past and present crimes with the further crimes of cover-up and false contrition.

References:

Chrisjohn, Roland, Young, Sherri and Michael Maraun, "The Circle Game: Shadows and Substance in the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada", Theytus Books Ltd, Penticton, 1997

Churchill, Ward, "Indians Are Us?: Culture and Genocide in Native North America", Common Courage Press, Monroe, ME, 1994

Churchill, Ward, "A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present", City Lights Press, Monroe, OR, 1997