_ By BEN SWANKEY
ee Unjust Society, by Harold Car-
inal. Published by M. J. Hurting, Ed-
monton, $2.75.
ae the first time we have a book
ee exactly how Canadian Indians
ma Out discriminatory treatment to
ieee they have been subjected for
en century. In The Unjust Society,
élo Cardinal tells it as it is, honest,
cone with anger, passion and
een: Cardinal aims his arrows at
pan — and the white man in
mere and the white man’s govern-
* in Ottawa and the Indian Affairs
Peenent in particular.
diary 24-year-old president of the In-
8 Ssociation of Alberta is represen-
pia of the new, young, militant,
ing i Bee wruculate leadership emerg-
cole Ndian organizations across the
the te They refuse to any longer live
they ame old way. They know what
ae They are fighting for their
i dees for the preservation of their
whaterg They are prepared to adopt
ion ae of struggle the situa-
ee uses strong language in de-
ate 8 the “colonial, brutal and tyran-
id fee cutions under which Canadian
Points eaust. live. “Over half,” he
Year Out, “are jobless year after
most a - Poverty (is) the one reality
ion is q tans share.” Meaningful educa-
ebart enied them by an Indian Affairs
ony Ment which holds that “educa-
§ a privilege, not a right.”

PREIUDICE—CANADIAN STYLE
with tetlving all problems associated
count € Indians and Eskimos in this
dice Bes Says Cardinal, “are the preju-
the attit discrimination they meet in
towns ude ‘of non-Indians. There are
Canadian: ed cities in Canada where a
= = Indian simply does not go...
getting ‘mply being an Indian means
enough . beating. An Indian foolish
himge ; attempt to bring charges is
ance» “7@"ged with creating a disturb-
Gn white man’s tongue,” says
“Squaw ; with well justified anger,
any In ae a dirty word used to describe
ings wh, €N woman. To match our feel-
SWeethean we hear our wives, mothers,
squaws oS and daughters called
ers ot hee your white wives, daught-
ral ers and sweethearts under the
“There oration of whore.” 3
dina) “th 1S not one treaty,” says Car-
White as at has not been broken by the
in an, not one treaty fulfilled.”.
ties “redequate as they are, the trea-
Rover, Jesent the commitment of the
ment to our people.”
ma ech, and especially the Ro-
Severe 5 holic church, comes in for
its failuns well deserved criticism for
education” to provide any worthwhile
Sc ols, f in its church controlled
win, Or its harsh discipline, for not
Spo ne the Indian languages to be
to aun Its schools, for its opposition
in Organization and for working
“cache with the government to
church wn the Indian people. “The
inane Longer has Indian trust,” says
SOciety >. and is discredited in native

Ay :
Indige Indian Act is regarded by the
Siye . People as a “restrictive, repres-
discriminatory piece of legis-
life on the reserves is hard but
the Jan tans will not give them up. In
are «,e4age of the Cree Indians, they

pee land that we kept for. our-

the gover, “the land we did not give to -

ernment.”

Compan levels a devastating and un-

80Vern mising attack on the federal

Which 7 €nt’s new Indian policy under
Vincia} Ndians will be placed under pro-

Nothing wiSdiction. The policy “offers

Iisa wt €tter than cultural genocide”;

2 termina ly disguised program of ex-
10n through assimilation” in

which Indians would be “required to
become brown white men or white
washed brown men,” a policy “obvious-
ly geared to doing away eventually
with our reserves.” Cardinal serves
notice that “We will not walk this

path.”
FINDING NEW PRIDE

Big changes have taken place in the
thinking and attitudes of the Indian
people. “More and more Indians are
standing together, walking with a firm-
er step and finding new pride in being
Indian .. . Young Indians are proud of

their heritage.” The Indian people are —

critical of those in their own ranks who
“apologize for being Indian,” the “gov-
ernment Indians” and “Uncle Toma-
hawks” who “place a higher value on
their jobs than their heritage, Indians
whose work for the government has
comprised them.”

The Indian people have clear ideas
on what they want. At the top of the
list and taking priority over all else are
Indian treaty rights and land claims
which must be settled first and without
further delay. “Only when this is ac-
complished,” says Cardinal, “can the
problems of hunger, joblessness, of
lack of education and opportunity be
faced . . . Settle our rights, then talk
legislation!” Education also receives
high priority. “Education must be re-
defined to make it relevant to the needs
and culture of the Indians of Canada...
Indian people must have total control
over the education of their children.”

Equally important to the Indian

people is the creation of a “strong eco- .

nomic base.” The Indian ‘‘wants the
chance to develop the resources avail-
able to him on his own homeland, the
reserves.” For this purpose they pro-
pose the establishment of “a provincial
or federal economic development cor-
poration under Indian control . . . to
provide the needed investment capital
for the growth of Indian businesses and
communities.” Cardinal emphasizes that
huge sums of money will be needed to
solve the social problems of the Indian
pecple which include recreation, wel-
fare, special education programs, com-
munity development and law and order.
On the latter point he proposes a pro-
vincial Indian police force supervised
by Indian provincial organizations.

THE RIGHT TO CONTROL
OUR OWN AFFAIRS

Throughout The Unjust Society, and
in a sense this is the theme of his book,
Cardinal stresses that the Indian people
must have the right to control their
own affairs and determine their own
future. “Our people want the right to

‘set their own goals,” Cardinal empha-

sizes, “determine their own priorities,

create and stimulate their own oppor-
tunities and development.”

He traced the long and difficult path
followed by Canadian Indians in their
efforts to build their own organizations
and achieve unity. Problems created by
language differences, isolation and lack
of communication, poverty and differ-
ing ways of life were aggravated by
obstacles deliberately thrown in their
way by the church and government.
But last year their efforts culminated
in the successful establishment of the
National Indian Brotherhood which
joins together the various provincial

. organizations. Today the Indian people

of Canada can proudly say that they
speak with one voice.

~ One result was the decision of Indian
leaders to prepare their own “red”
paper outlining their views as an alter-
native to the “white paper” of Indian
Affairs Minister Jean Chrétien laying
out the new Indian policy of the federal
government.

Cardinal warns non-Indians that if
present tactics do not achieve results,
others may be tried. “The expectations
of the new generation of Indians are
more extensive than those of their eld-
ers,” he points out. “. .. the younger
generation has less patience than the
older.” If the ‘quiet revolution” does

“not succeed, it could lead to the “dan-
gerous and explosive path travelled by
black militants of the United States.”
And he adds that Canada’s Indians are
carefully watching and evaluating na-
tional liberation struggles the world
over. :

But he is confident about the future.

-“The land is full of eager young In-
dians who are better educated than
their fathers, more aware of the prob-
lems and« more determined to push
through their own solution.”

FRIENDLY DISCUSSION

In a spirit of friendly discussion I
would like to take issue with Harold
Cardinal on one or two points. :

’ Throughout his book, Cardinal at-
tacks not only the white government in
Ottawa but all of white society and all
the white men. He acknowledges that
“there are white people who have a
generous interest in what happens to
the Indians” but dismisses most of
them as do-gooders and _ interferers.
“Our people believe very little the

white man says, even today,” says .

Cardinal. :

This attitude is certainly understand-
able. Most of the white people with
whom Indians have been in contact
have been rude government bureau-
crats or people who tried to take ad-
vantage of the Indian people and ex-
ploit them in one way or another. In
these circumstances there isn’t much
room for trust. But condemnation of all
white men just because they are white
does overlook some important facts.

Canadian society is not just a homo-
genous mass of white people. It is di-
vided into two main social classes with
differing and conflicting interests and
needs—the working class (comprising
over 80 percent of the population) and

“Wanted to meet: A Jean Chrétien supporter.
Object: To see if there is another.”

the owners of industry and finance. In
between are the middle classes. Our
society is dominated by big corpora-
tions, most of them foreign owned.
They control not only the economy of
the country, but its politics too, its poli-
tical parties and governments. These
governments control and administer
society for the benefit and profit of the
big corporations.

These corporations are plundering
our natural resources, exploiting labor
and getting rich at the expense of the
rest of the population. They are respon-
sible.for the poverty and exploitation
of the Indian peoples and for the discri-
mination practiced by the society they
control. This has been the case since
the Hudson’s Bay Company was estab-
lished almost 300 years ago.

Consequently when Cardinal attacks
white society in general or even the
government, he is still not tackling the
main source of the problem.

Secondly there are forces in the white
non-Indian community who have fought
and are fighting today for equality
and social justice for the Indian people.
I’m not referring to the do-gooders, or
the Sally Ann or those who beat the
drums for charity. I’m referring first of
all to socialists and communists who as
a matter of principle believe and prac-
tice the solidarity and unity of all peo-

‘ples regardless of their race or natio-

nality and who have always supported
the Indian peoples in their struggles.

I’m referring also to important sec-
tions of the trade union movement. The
United Fishermen and Allied Workers
Union on the west coast has always
been in the forefront of the fight for
Indian rights, including treaty rights
and aboriginal land claims. That is why
it has 1,200 Indians among its members
and leaders and enjoys wide support in
the Indian community. Other unions on
the West coast with a similar approach
are the International Longshoremen’s
and Warehousemen’s Union with 550
Indian members and the International
Woodworkers of America with 1,000
Indian members. In Ontario and Quebec
the Indian peoples have the backing of
unions like the United Electrical Work-
ers.

UNITY WILL WIN

Canada’s half-million Indian, Metis
and Eskimo peoples represent less
than three percent of the population.
That is a small force when compared to
the resources the corporations and gov-
ernments, have at their disposal. Let’s
face it—the government of Canada and
the ten provincial governments have no
intention of complying with Indian de-
mands.

In these circumstances the Indian
people need all the allies and support
they can muster. Those allies are at
hand—in the socialist and labor move-
ments. Conversely, the labor and ‘so-
cialist movements also need the solid-
arity of the Indian people. Labor with
a white skin cannot emancipate itself
as long as labor with a'‘brown skin re-
mains in bondage. Divide and conquer
has been practiced by our rulers for a
long time. The working people of Can-
ada will achieve a just society, for both
Indians and non-Indians, only when to-
gether and united they take the leader-
ship of the country into their own
strong capable hands.

I would appeal to Harold Cardinal
and his colleagues to take these factors
into consideration when mapping out
their strategy and tactics to achieve
equality in Canadian society.

The Unjust Society is.a book not
only worth reading, but worth studying,
discussing and most of all — doing
something about. It should spur pro-
gressive Canadians to intensify their
support to the Indian people in their
just struggle to right historic wrongs
and take their rightful place in their
own land.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 13, 1970—Page 7