Without a doubt, one of the biggest social problems on any First Nation is housing.
Good housing is the bedrock of a community. It means healthy living, a good place to study and family stability. An overcrowded, substandard house leads to conflict, disease, poor educational opportunities and an overall lack of stability and safety.
Yet this is where many of our people find themselves. The federal government for years has followed a policy of warehousing our people on welfare and poor housing in the vain hope that we would simply go away. It has never had any developmental policy for First Nations.
Since 1996, there has been a cap of two per cent on the growth of the budget for the federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs. The rate of inflation and population growth have outstripped this budget cap. As a result, other items are cut back to meet statutory obligations, such as welfare. Housing used to be a function of the colonial office, but over the past decade it has been transferred to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The biggest impediment to proper housing and living conditions on reserves is the low incomes in many communities. When a community lacks an economic base, welfare warehousing takes over.
First Nations communities once were viable as they were located in rich trapping grounds, or on grasslands that supported herds of buffalo and later cattle. But changes in the economy and a growing population altered the economic base.
Rather than address that situation, the government found it cheaper to warehouse the aboriginal population on welfare. As we know, welfare has been a disaster. It creates dependency, breeds social problems and stagnates a community.
When I grew up on the reserve in the 1950s, people would build their homes. These were log homes covered in mud and whitewashed.
They were not too different from the homes of the early settlers. These homes lacked electricity or running water, but they were warm and did the job.
In the late 1950s and 1960s, the economy changed and social housing was introduced. Government housing was introduced for the indigent. Gradually it became a program that included all reserve families.
The First Nations owned the housing stock and provided them through the band council. The process became political, and in some cases, houses were promised at election time and handed out to friends and family.
This was not the case in all communities. Some band councils set up independent housing committees that assessed the needs and assigned housing fairly.
Each First Nation tackled the issue in its own way. In many cases, the program was fair and well-managed. The poor examples make the news.
The Assembly of First Nations estimates 80,000 new units are needed nationally, with 44,000 existing units in need of major repairs. Meanwhile, the CMHC budget will be cut next year.
Cutting back on housing in a time of crisis doesn't make sense. The Harper government seems to have placed a low priority on improving living conditions on First Nations communities. Ideology, too, plays a role in our well-being.
Is ideology linked to the status of Indian land? The answer might lie in the government's veiled threat to introduce legislation to privatize Indian land. A cynic might point out that new funding sources will be available and government funding will dry up once the land is "privatized."
Of course, we don't know what the government has in mind when it talks about "privatizing First Nations land." It has to define what it means before we can make an educated analysis of the government's policy. But this is standard for most governments. They throw out a vague concept to gauge the reaction and argue with those who respond.
It's a way of creating an issue where none existed, or diverting the discussion to a "What if?" scenario.
The government says First Nations will have the option to participate in the new legislation to privatize Indian land. However, if there is no funding if a band refuses to go along, at what point does it become extortion?
Doug Cuthand writes on First Nations issues for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
