Former Anishinabe Chief Terry Nelson went to Iraq in 1998 to kiss up to Saddam Hussein. Now wants to go visit Iran's puppet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to seek permission to address Iran’s parliament on how Canada treats First Nations people.
Crazy Muslim dictators may be attractive to Nelson, but rather than going to shed crocodile tears and talk, he might to better to observe Iranian treatment of its Baha'i, Christian and Kurdish minorities, who routinely suffer persecution and torture. However he will probably prefer to boost his sense of entitlement by complaining to foreign despots eager to exploit his stupidity.
Much work needs to be done on Native communities. But First Nations will succeed at nothing if they want the government to solve all their problems for them. That attitude makes it no wonder there was so much Native representation in the vapid Occupy Movement.
Hating the government while expecting it to play the role of Big Brother speaks to an insurmountable irrationality. Native leaders like Nelson would do well to think before alleging abuse by a government that gives them preferential employment equity opportunities and pours millions of dollars into their communities and cultural preservation programs. On the other hand, the government may be contributing to waste by rewarding such behaviour through shelling out welfare instead of investing in Native infrastructure and training opportunities and not holding Native communities accountable for their spending.
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