[Fwd: Keep the Olympics Authentic and Accountable- Petition (Please sign)]

[Rolland Nadjiwon]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Keep the Olympics Authentic and Accountable- Petition (Please 
sign)
Date: 	Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:35:52 -0500
From: 	Kevin Nadjiwon <Kevin.Nadjiwon at inac-ainc.gc.ca>
To: 	wnadjiwon at yahoo.com



Please support and circulate......


                                                           
OOOOOOO+++++++OOOOOOO


Keep the Olympics Authentic and Accountable

Vancouver Olympics neither Authentic nor Accountable

Local Aboriginal producers of “Authentic Aboriginal Products” --
those designed, produced and distributed by Aboriginal people in Canada
–- are dismayed by the lack of commitment to authenticity and
accountability of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010
Olympic Games (VANOC). We took VANOC at its word when it promised
unprecedented support for Aboriginal economic development as well as
Aboriginal employment and training leading up to and during the 2010
Winter Olympics.

VANOC has said all the right things through its Aboriginal Procurement
Strategy, Aboriginal Licensing and Merchandising Program, and Buy Smart
Program. However, VANOC’s words and the reality don’t match. Local
Aboriginal businesses have found themselves on the short end of an
unfair competition with non-Aboriginal companies who appropriate First
Nations culture by selling products with Aboriginal designs on them, but
originate overseas. VANOC actually licenses these products and allows
them to carry the label of “Authentic Aboriginal Products”. They are
not.

By appropriating the term "Authentic Aboriginal Products", VANOC, along
with its associated suppliers, are profiting in the tune of millions of
dollars, all the while leaving Aboriginal owned businesses and their
Aboriginal employees – the producers of truly Authentic Aboriginal
Products – with virtually nothing. How does this meet VANOC’s
objectives of promoting Aboriginal participation and optimizing
opportunities for Aboriginal businesses? It does not.

It is not too late to call on VANOC to honour its commitment to people
from First Nations communities and their businesses. 

Tell VANOC to be authentic and accountable, by signing the petition
below:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/keep-the-olympics-authentic-and-accountable.html







-- 
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wahjeh
rolland nadjiwon

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