Wednesday,February 29,1984 THE OTHER PRESS page7 The fourth world in Canada Contrary to popular belief, the most interesting political scene in Canada is not that of two Montreal lawyers vying for the coun- try’s leadership. In Cana- da’s north, a far more basic struggle is occuring. by John Morton Reprinted from the author by the Canadian University Press Few people are familiar with thé concept of fourth world nations. The term describes an ethnic entity surrounded by the geo-poli- tical boundaries of one or —= c— ada contains several. exam- ples of fourth world nations, with the two most active and vibrant in the Northwest Territories. The two indig- enous groups striving for self-determination there are the Inuit, traditionally resid- ing north of the tree-line, and the Dene, occupying lands south of that natural boundary. These two groups are struggling against the pa- ternalistic attitude of a white technocratic society. This socio-cultural war, marked by the introduction of small pox and rubella plagues and the conversion to a wage economy, has steadily ero- ded Dene culture and social values. And this erosion is accel- erating. more sovereign states. Can- conflict. The problems confronting the Dene people stem from a basic difference in societal structures. The imposed European system of govern- ment is hierarchical, with authority resting with those in power. This system, whe- ther communist or democra- tic, is characteristic of cul- tures that have tamed and regulated their natural en- vironment through technolo- gy. In contrast, the Dene people have an anarchistic structure; a system that e- volved in an untamed, harsh environment where mutual support and_ individualism necessarily exist without For the Dene people, the loss of traditional values and the imposition of alien val- ues has produced some grim statistics: | *the rate of deaths due to accidents, violence and poisoning among the Dene currently runs between 20 and 30 per cent, more than twice the national rate; *between 1978 and 1981, total social assistance pay- ments to Inuvik region resi- dents went from $605,000 to $1,118,000 while the popula- tion remained between 7,300 and 7,500; *in 1981, the incidence of confirmed. cases’ of gonor- rhea for Dene was 25 times that of the national average; *in 1982 about 36 per cent of the Inuvik region popula- tion were Dene or Metis, but 64 per cent of all sentenced inmates were ‘Dene or Metis. Attempts to find solutions to social problems has caused the Dene people more harm than good in the last twenty years. The Canadian govern- ment’s relationship to the Dene people has always lacked understanding. This attitude stems from an ina- bility to distinguish simplici- ty from ignorance in Dene people, and from the as- sumption that what is ‘good’ for southern Canadians is ‘good’ for all people within Canadian boundaries. Characteristically, the federal government each year supplies the city of Yellowknife with fireworks to celebrate July 1st. And each year the city protests that fireworks are a waste of money as there isn’t any ‘night’ as such at that time of year to make the fire- works visible. To date, federal initiatives have completely missed their mark. For example, the need for educational facilities was met with the creation of boarding schools from which an estimated 90 per cent of Dene students never graduate. re Dene children are taken from the close kinship of their communities and isola- ted in centralized schools where they are exposed fully to a white society, and where they have no access to the community support so important in such high stress situations. They leave as soon as they can, return home, and find they have neither enough southern education for participation in a wage economy, nor enough traditional skills to live off the land. Of late there has been _some progress in rectifying the problems caused by cul- tural imperialism. Elected Native representatives in the Territorial Assembly have begun the decoloniza- tion of Territorial politics. Dene band chiefs and sub-chiefs. may be given a legitimate political voice if an ordinance introduced this fall passes in the Assembly. It would also legitimize rep- resentatives from Native po- litical organizations and the Hunters and Trappers Asso- ciations. Elections held in Septem- ber for the Dene national executive saw the defeat of Herb Norwegian, who some associate with the bureau- cratization of that group, in favour of Steve Kakfwi, who favours decentralized and stronger community. input into decision making. These and other developments should help speed present land claims settlements, leading to the eventual par- tition of the Northwest Ter- ritories into two distinct pol- itical entities. But if political developments have been promising lately, economic developments have been anything but. Northern oil exploration and development is receiv- ing massive federal aid, and. it’s obvious the needs of the Dene people do not rank high on the government’s list of priorities. While $3 million was granted to social and economic programs ini- tiated by the Dene in 1981 and 1983, federal incentives to the petroleum industry operating in the Beaufort Sea during the same period was almost $400 million. The government is also helping step-up oil develop- ment through highway con- struction. Another example of bla- tant contradiction is the $1 million that year. The completion of the Mackenzie Highway to Inu- vik, expected by 1990, will directly and irrevocably link the isolated Mackenzie Val- ley communities with south- ern society. If the future repeats the pattern of the past, the sorry tale of Pond Inlet will be the story of the last traditional Dene com- munities: 1972, Pond Inlet per capi- ta alcohol consumption is 2.2 ounces per month; *1973, Pan Arctic Oil ar- rives and recruits labour; *1974, per capita monthly alcohol consumption reaches 30 ounces; *1975, a jail is built in Pond Inlet. Unless the Dene people are given the opportunity to manage their own lives in their own way, their culture will be destroyed by the and» go, but Vern Bellan- court represents a move- ment more than 490 years old, spanning the’ North, Central and South Ameri- cas. by Sandy Hamelmann Reprinted from the Muse by Canadian University Press Bellancourt is a member of the central committee of the American Indian Move- ment (AIM), or as he intro- duced himself to a St. John’s audience Feb. 1, ‘‘a representative of one of the most misunderstood and distorted movements around today.’’ Dressed in __ traditional clothes with his hair in. two long pony tails, Bellancourt said many AIM members have rediscovered their old tribal religions and rituals, and are struggling to keep them alive, despite pressure to conform to North Ameri- cam mainstream society. It’s important to resurrect the past, Bellancourt said, especially since native his- tory is distorted in American history books. There is little mention of the history of Indians, a history that is thousands of years old, but only the limited history of colonial exploitation, Bellan- court said. People ask why AIM doesn’t just forget the past. ‘But Bellancourt said ‘We eS ° Ihe American Indian Movement Movements may come can’t forget this ‘past. It century’s end. shows us. where we stand today, because the war is continuing.’’ Guatemala is one country where the war continues. Between 30,000 and 40,000 have died in Guatemala since 1980,’most of whom are full-blood Indians, who comprise 64 per cent of the population. In Nicaragua, AIM = sup- ports the Sandinistas des- pite the relocation of 10,000 Misquito Indians. Bellan- court said the move was necessary because of the danger of counter-revolu- tionary attacks at the Hon- duran border supported with military aid and personnel by the United States. As with any oppressed people, Bellancourt said In- dians are ‘’subject to one of the largest behaviour modi- fication programs ever un- dertaken. From sovereign nations we have become so-called dependent wards of the federal government.’’ In the United States, Nav- aho and Hopi Indians were relocated from their re- serves to desolate land at ‘Big Mountain, Arizona. Now ithat coal and uranium depo- sits that have been found there, Indians are once again due for resettlement in 1986. But the Big Mount- ain Indians will resist the, move from their sacred land, Bellancourt said.