Boarding schools & language funding

Tue Feb 10 20:48:49 UTC 2004

I'm not quite sure what to make of this web posting
from Assembly of
First Nations, Canada, but I do check on updates on
their whole boarding
school resolution process.

The information below appears on AFN's website today,
and it's
significant because, contrary to a press release from
the Federal
Government in Ottawa last August, the overview posted
below regarding
languages appears to be less defined.  I met with
Chief Fontaine a
couple of months ago regarding the proposed Resolution
Framework
settlement figure, which for language was scheduled at
$172.5 million
over 10 years.  This update from their website gives
the appearance that
the offer by Canada and the Churches has not been
accepted by the
tribes.  In that case, the logical negotiating
movement would be upward
from the $172.5M figure.

All of this is interesting because in the US Native
language programs officially
have only $2M a year scheduled for about 200+
languages.
In Canada, with the proposed settlement for the
Residential School
Resolution Framework, the tribes would have about
$47.5M a year for
language revitalization for 55 Aboriginal languages.

If $47.5M is federally spent on 55 languages, that
averages out to $863,636 per
language annually in Canada
If equivalent support in US  for 200+ languages, the
annual overall
federal support would be $172,727,200
-However, current annual language spending under
Native American
Languages Act is authorized at a regular level of only
$2M for 250 languages, or
(drum roll) a whopping $8,000 a year per Native
language in the US.
(That would be $8,000 a year for all Ojibwe language
programs in the
Uniited States, $8,000 for all Navajo language
programs in the United
States, etc.)
Canada is scheduled to receive one hundred times more
language
revitalization support per language, per year than the
US.  Canada's GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) is $774.7 Billion a year vs.
the US $9,963
Trillion (yes, that is the letter T), so the
differential is represented
thus:

   774,700,000,000 GDP and a national population of 31
million people (Canada)
9,963,000,000,000 GDP and a national population of
280.5 million people (US)

This means that the overall population of the US is 9
times that of
Canada, and the overall US GDP is almost 13 times
larger than Canada's.
Yet, Canada is spending 100 times more per Native
language than the US.

US boarding school and Native language eradication
policy history can be
found in the new position paper, "Living Water, A
Cooperative Mapping
Project for Native Communities and Language
Revitalization".  It is
available by request at:
tele  612/331-9995
fax  612/331-9862
email:  hotess at ties2.net

The paper is referenced in the preface to this month's
Tribal College
Journal, which is devoted to language revitalization:

http://www.tribalcollegejournal.org/

Peace
Richard LaFortune

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http://www.afn.ca/
AFN Indian Residential Schools Unit Update

Overview of Key Accomplishments

The federal government Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) process will
be implemented in the Fall of 2004.  The AFN Working
Group has
recommended that the ADR must not include the signing
off of claims
based on loss of language and culture. The Indian
Residential Schools
Resolution Canada (IRSRC) office has announced a
$1.720 billion fund for
the settlement of claims through the ADR process.
Settlement for
language and culture claims is still not on the
governments agenda. The
ADR includes the use of adjudicators for settling
claims. The AFN
Survivor Working Group is pleased that the IRSRC has
agreed to expedite
residential school claims for the sick and elderly.

Current Activities

 The Prime Minister has announced that Mr. Mario Dion,
 is the new
Deputy Minister of IRSRC, effective April 2003.
Vice-Chief Kenneth
Young has met with Mr Dion and was given the new ADR
document for our
review and perusal.  Mr. Dion has agreed to further
meetings with
Mr.Young to negotiate and update the AFN on any
movement on the
Residential School file.  Information and updates on
the residential
school issues are also provided by attending as many
residential school
conferences as possible throughout Canada.  Networking
with survivor
groups, individuals, healing circles, and Aboriginal
Healing Foundation
funded projects is also underway.

Key Planned Activities

To develop and share information with survivors.  The
AFN Survivor
Working Group will meet in June and July 2004 with the
Plaintiffs and
Churches Lawyers.  The Director of the Residential
Schools Unit will
also continue to attend meetings with the IRSRC to
ensure that the
survivors~R voice is heard. The Director will also
attend survivor
meetings as requested by survivor groups. A new
work-plan for the AFN
Residential School Unit has been prepared. The AFN
Residential School
Unit~Rs workplan will include establishment of a
data-base,
communications strategy, researcher, and conferences
as requested by
survivors.

Issues - Challenges ~V Opportunities

The AFN Survivor Working Group will continue to offer
their assistance
to the IRSRC in finding a fair and just resolution for
residential
school survivors.  The Residential Schools Unit will
make best efforts
to inform all residential school survivors of their
legal and non-legal
options in reaching a fair and just settlement through
the development
of an effective communication strategy.  The AFN
Survivor Working Group
recommends that a working relationship be established
with the churches
to enhance communication to address the need for fair
and just
settlement for residential school survivor claims. The
AFN Working Group
must also begin the healing process and lead the way
through national
healing conferences.

__________________________________
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