And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 07:07:12 -0400
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Native Veterans - struggle for compensation Conference
Winnipeg August 25-27
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Native vets plan strategy to seek compensation
Government hopes for out-of-court deal, but
First Nations tire of years of inaction
Rick Mofina
The Ottawa Citizen August 1, 1999
As part of a quiet movement that is growing across Canada, native war
veterans will meet this month to discuss strategies for pressing the
federal government to correct, compensate and apologize for a racist
benefits system. Making amends to Indian war veterans could cost the
federal government more than $10 million, according to a lawsuit filed last
fall against it by First Nations veterans in Saskatchewan. That action has
since prompted other First Nations veterans' groups in Ontario, Manitoba
and Alberta to either commence, or prepare their own court action as aging
soldiers grow impatient with what some regard as years of futile
compensation discussions with the government. "It seems like the government
is waiting for them to die off," said Perry Bellegarde, grand chief of the
Federation of the Saskatchewan Indian Nations, which filed the lawsuit for
the veterans. "I know the courts are one avenue, but I hope through talks
with Ottawa we can reach a settlement," he said from Saskatoon. "We want to
formulate a process of compensation, an apology, and resolve outstanding
claims."
The government hopes an out-of-court deal can be reached with some Native
veterans' groups seeking compensation, said Steve Outhouse, spokesman for
Indian and Northern Affairs. "Canada's position is that this is best dealt
with not through litigation. And we're talking with Chief Bellegarde and
the National Aboriginal Veterans Association looking for ways to try to
resolve this," Mr. Outhouse said. But exasperated with what they see as
foot-dragging by the government, some 100 native veterans from almost every
province will gather Aug. 25-27 in Winnipeg for a conference hosted by the
Assembly of First Nations to discuss strategies to speed up the process.
Natives in Canada often had the highest rate of volunteerism in both world
wars, Korea, Vietnam and international peacekeeping missions. But when it
came to compensating returning veterans, particularly those from the Second
World War, white veterans fared better, said Doug Kovatch, a lawyer
representing some 40 civil claims by First Nations veterans in
Saskatchewan, which average $100,000 each. "The essence of the claim is
that by regulation, the government essentially created two regimes. One
applied to returning white veterans and one applied to returning Indian
veterans." Returning white veterans were given a parcel of land with clear
title. Most Indian veterans received land "on-reserve," which meant no
clear title, or received money that was not equal to the land value
received by white veterans, Mr. Kovatch said. White veterans got business
loans and cash grants directly, while Indian veterans had their
compensation reduced and controlled by Indian agents or the Department of
Indian Affairs. In some cases, the federal government's policy stated that
Indians did not know how to manage money, so they would receive less, and
it would be handled by the government. "These guys were ready to give up
their life for Canada, and they came home and they were treated like they
did not count," said Claude Petit, president of the National Aboriginal
Veterans Association, which represents about 6,000 veterans across Canada.
Next year, the group plans to erect in Ottawa a long-awaited monument
honouring the sacrifice aboriginal veterans made for Canada. Correcting
past racist government policies toward veterans is critical, said Howard
Anderson, grand chief of the Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans
Association. Indian soldiers played crucial roles on the battlefields.
Often they spoke their native tongue over military radios, thwarting any
enemy attempts to eavesdrop. They died or were wounded in battle, said Mr.
Anderson, a Second World War veteran who landed in France a few days after
D-Day. "This struggle for compensation has taken an awful toll on the
veterans, but it has also taken an awful toll on their families," Mr.
Anderson said. "Somewhere, the government has got to realize that they
actually, really did wrong," he said. "But it seems that at the rate we're
moving, we're going to all be dead by the time they get to us."
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks
www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html
FOR K A R E N #01182
who died fighting 4/23/99
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
807-622-5407
