A number’s game

Technology has gone from producing any number of upscale coffee percolators to how First Nations communities now run their elections. And it hasn’t been without controversy. In order to vote in a band election, anyone casting a ballot firstly has to be a band member. And that in itself is creating a major controversy. Over the years people have lined up to claim their great, great, great granddaddy or grandma were “Indians” so they to should be. And the reasons largely have nothing to do with cultural awareness or wanting to be belong. It’s about money. It’s about looking for the “benefits” of being a status Indian. They want education dollars to pay for their post-secondary funding and make no secret about it. At Turtle Island News we frequently have people…

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