Not true, not a thing such as ''no questions asked''. Government funding and band funds take a long time to get and apply for. Not everyone is given them and many are refused. Not just anyone will receive these either, grades are an important factor in receiving funding and Aboriginals who are lucky enough to get funding still have to go through the same application processes to go into whatever anyone else is trying to.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

u go girrrrrrrl

by Anonymous 12 years ago

FIRST OF ALL, I am aboriginal and NO, we do not get funding just like that. For example, I do not live on the reserve but one of my parents does and because I do not, they do not count me as a "native". Only a select few will get funding from the government. Also, WHY SHOULD other races get the same treatment? The caucasians took our land from us and still treat us poorly. Its only right we get help from the government. Shove that in your pipe and smoke it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

While they have to compete equally with everyone else to get into the institution they still get money from the government. I agree that it's not no questions asked, but it's still not a hard process to go through and they still don't deserve to get funding just for being native.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If they're competing equally there shouldn't be a problem. Why are you complaining about something the government themselves set up? Treaties provide these opportunities and give bands funds to supply them. They deserve whatever they agreed on with the government when they had everything taken away from them. It's important to secure a healthy future for their youth. Especially after enduring such a catastrophe such as the residential schools.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Did the students of today go to residential schools, or do they get the same opportunities as their peers, if not more? And I said they compete equally to get into post secondary institutions, I never said they compete equally for funding and scholarships, they get far more opportunities there.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's still early enough that their grandparents did. Why would we revert to that again? You're making it sound as if they can just go up and receive funding and scholarships. They can't. ''They don't need to do well in school'', that's completely false. They get opportunities because that was what both parties agreed on, if you dislike it, you could always leave.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I didn't actually write that, I'm just a commenter, but neither I nor the OP said anything about reverting to residential schools, I just believe that everyone should get equal opportunities, if, for example, the government is willing to pay for aboriginals' school fees, they should be willing to pay for everyone's. It's a simple concept, most people know it as "equal rights."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If you take away one part of a treaty, the rest are surely to collapse. Taking away something they agreed on wouldn't serve a purpose. That one minority group was targeted and directly changed rather than the majority of people who live there now. Many aboriginal youth are still living on reservations, in poverty and need fundings that are rightfully theirs. Maybe we would have these ''equal rights'' you speak of if they were treated with equality in the first place. It isn't something to forget. Treaties were made and those treaties will be respected. Like I said, if you dislike it, you can always leave.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Right, that's a wonderful option, leave our country if you don't like a law. And there are people that aren't aboriginal that are living in poverty, and people that are aboriginal that are living the high life and don't have to pay for their education on top of it. Bursaries are available for people in need of money, and aboriginal people could apply for them, and write essays, and earn the money, just like the rest of us.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm a little confused as to why someone would vote down the above comment... they weren't being offensive, they weren't being controversial (as you both have been in other comments) and they were being fair. Seems like some people are just being bloody minded.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's a treaty that's been agreed on. Maybe you could go bring it up to the government and try to whine to them instead? They worked together after having a mass genocide of their people on their own land. They were given treaties which in all actuality is fair. You can't break something once it's signed without a massive uproar but if it concerns you ever so much that you feel you aren't being given equal rights in a country as lovely and free as Canada, I'm sure they'd appreciate the feedback.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

So you honestly find this fair: Scholarships for Aboriginals (on top of government funding): http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/site.nsf/eng/ao20011.html Someone's attempt at a Scholarship for non-aboriginals: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2009/05/13/scholarship-rejected-race-123.html

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm disagreeing that ''they don't need to do well in school or write an essay or prove they still practice aboriginal traditions, they get the money no questions asked. This is unjust, people shouldn't be rewarded just because of who their parents are'' because those funds are based on something already agreed on in treaties and are by no means easy to get. Go bring up that issue of rejected funds based on those articles with someone who could help you. Anyone can apply for scholarships, which if fair. Aboriginals are presented with different opportunities based on the government, which is also fair due to the circumstance of their treaties.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Right, everyone can apply for scholarships, like this one: https://you.ubc.ca/ubc/okanagan/aborigtuition.ezc And these ones: http://indspire.ca/scholarships And ALL of these: http://www.aboriginallearning.ca/resources/1/1/2 Where did the government agree to that? Now tell me, if I created a scholarship for people with blue eyes, or for Caucasians, or for people with ring fingers longer than index fingers, or people who were born in June, or people with straight hair, or people with a widow's peak, or people with detached ear lobes, or any of these other things that we happen to be born with or without, what would people say?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

> Aboriginals are presented with different opportunities based on the government, which is also fair due to the circumstance of their treaties. i.e those scholarships. I don't think those people with blue eyes, or Caucasians, or for people with ring fingers longer than index fingers, or people who were born in June, or people with straight hair, or people with a widow's peak, or people with detached ear lobes, or any of these other things that we happen to be born with or without are given the same opportunities because they haven't endured something such as the violent colonization that directly changed their ancestor's lives and caused those scholarships to be presented. If they did, the very same would happen.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Aboriginals haven't endured colonization though! Their ancestors did, not them, that;s the point, they haven't suffered, so why should they be compensated? And my point with those scholarships is that they aren't done by the government, they're secular, just like one for people with blue eyes, or Caucasians, or for people with ring fingers longer than index fingers, or people who were born in June, or people with straight hair, or people with a widow's peak, or people with detached ear lobes, or any of these other things that we happen to be born with or without would be. Jesus, it's like arguing with a bloody brick wall.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

They have indirectly suffered. They should be compensated because that is what has been agreed on. When in fact, the government itself does supply certain scholarships. Go complain and try to change it and explain this lack of ''equal rights''.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

How have they indirectly suffered? Just because my grandfather was in the War doesn't mean I indirectly deserve compensation as a veteran, and don't say that they're poor because if it, because both my parents were born poor, and they managed to make enough to support me with the help of scholarships that I WORKED FOR BY MAINTAINING AN AVERAGE ABOVE 95% rather than just relying on the government, it's been long enough since the residential schools and colonization that they should have worked their way out of their situation, especially when they don;t have to pay taxes, or tuition fees, and are presented with more opportunities than any other minority or majority on Canada.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

How haven't they? Many live on the same reserves as their grandparents. You aren't living in the warzone area your grandfather fought in. It hasn't been long enough since residential schools, and it never will. I'm so happy you ''WORKED FOR BY MAINTAINING AN AVERAGE ABOVE 95%'' and kept a scholarship. They don't have to pay taxes? Are you serious? They pay major taxes just like everyone else.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I mean tax on goods when they go shopping in reserves, which they don't have to pat, actually. And I wouldn't compare a reserve to a warzone, that's ignorant. And if fourty years is long enough for my parents to go from living in council houses and a caravan to living in a well to do area, then a century is long enough for the natives.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I have. Plenty of them agree with me.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I don't really know about Canada but I do know that a lot of the Native Americans on reservations in the U.S. still have a rough time, not because of what their ancestors went through (which was awful) but because of the aftereffects -- the red tape, the lack of schoolteachers, etc. I believe that the government should help them with their post-secondary education aspirations. HOWEVER. I don't think it's fair for the government to award scholarships -just- based on race. Every applicant for a scholarship should have to prove that they deserve it, whether it be an essay or simply a family income assessment. Oh, and I do feel like pointing out that there are quite a few ridiculous scholarships out there, including scholarships for the left-handed, scholarships for tall people, and there is even a scholarship for people with the last name "Zolp". Yes, there are scholarships that are based off of how people are born -- yes, they are sometimes evaluated unfairly. Unfortunately there is not much we can do about it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If I was in America, and I was getting better grades than someone else, but got no money, and they got a shit load of money just because they were white, I think I'd be kinda pissed.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Just because those kids weren't the ones personally hurt by residential schools or any of the other crap that went down through Canada's colonization doesn't mean they weren't affected by it. It's too late to do anything about the residential schools so instead it's saying "Here's compensation for you kids that we wish we could give you. We're sorry." If someone in Germany started running scholarships for the children of Holocaust survivors, I don't think we'd be arguing about this. Sure, it's an extreme example, but I think people too often downplay what a lot of Aboriginal bands have been through.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well said, thank you. I mean it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Actually I would be against the great grand children of holocaust survivors getting money for nothing.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's not "for nothing". I know that a lot of people victimize themselves unjustly but I think we underestimate how much something done against a person's parents can affect them, especially when it's race/culture based. Also, if the government does nothing for the kids, what's left? A public apology? Sure, that's great, but there has to be some weight behind it before it carries any meaning.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's not their parents, it's their grandparents closest. Probably even more distant than that.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Even then. It puts a giant chip on your shoulder knowing that people in your family treated unfairly by the government because of their race. More than that, the amount of culture that has been lost over the last two century is astounding. Most bands now are struggling to try and keep teenagers interested in their heritage and they fall into a downward spiral where less interest creates causes a decrease of resources which causes less interest and so on. These people aren't immigrants with a native country--this IS their country and to watch their societies slowly crumbling away is an awful thing to go through. Sure, the original crimes may have been against their great-grandparents, but that doesn't mean the teenagers today aren't feeling the affects of it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But we have to understand that the native and the government agreed on this so that the government can use the natives land. Of course they get benefits. You think we're going to steal their land and banish their culture? No

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You don't have to. Just by immigrating to the country and changing the dominant culture by a wide enough margin you send native north american culture into decline. Without efforts to preserve it, it disappears completely and becomes nothing more than a chapter in a history text book. Besides, I don't think any of the treaties mentioned abuse or 30-60% mortality rates among residential school students in the fine print.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's even better in New Zealand, because being "Maori" is something you can culturally identify with, so the blood requirements are low/non existent for ethnic scholarships and all the girls I know who have scholarships are white as.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah, well I don't think there's much of a problem with giving people scholarships for being aboriginal if they can prove they still adhere to the traditions and such, but I know people who don't do anything to do with being aboriginal, except go on the career fairs just for aboriginals, and go to camping trips just for aboriginals, all things set up by the school. They don't respect their heritage off their own back, so why do they deserve money for it.if they maybe wrote an essay to prove they still are part of the aboriginal culture from their ancestors, then they might deserve one, but not just for having the blood, that's ridiculous.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

except that america pretty much does the same thing? i mean we give out so much money for people just because of their race.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

The government is simply compensating for the horrible treatment of aboriginals in the past, because of residential schools. The residential schools started a cycle of abuse and alcoholism, which is very difficult to get out of. The effects are still being felt today, which puts most aboriginal children at a disadvantage from the get-go. The government programs are just there to give them more of an incentive to get a post secondary education. tl;dr- the funding isn't given simply because they're aboriginal, but because the government is compensating for cruel events of the past that are still affecting children today.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

"This is unjust, people shouldn't be rewarded just because of who their parents are." Lol if things were truly fair when it comes to the college admissions process, all teenagers would get NO help from their parents. No paid tutoring, no paid SAT prep, no help with the application process, no influence by way of being a legacy. All kids would start out with the same resources. Affluent children from the suburbs would not have any financial help from their parents. All public schools would be at the same level, instead of suburban public schools being drastically better than city public schools. But oh yeah things aren't fair. And more importantly, I don't think you understand how horrible it is that an entire group of people loss their identities, their freedoms, their cultures, their everything. That kind of pain doesn't go away over a few generations. One or two N.As being able to go to college for "free" does not change that fact they were put aside on reservations, like some kind of animal. Reservations? REALLY? Being cast away like uncivilized freaks, being put away to be forgotten by the rest of society. How many aboriginals do you know? Oh that's right, they were wiped out

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You should watch the Pathology of White Privilege. I'm not sure if you're white or not, but he makes a great point about how the average white American (lives in the suburbs, has a car, went to college) does not know the true pain of being an oppressed minority group, a kind of pain that goes down generations.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

" being put away to be forgotten by the rest of society. How many aboriginals do you know? Oh that's right, they were wiped out" I know lots of aboriginals...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm okay with FULL-blooded natives getting free schooling or whatever. What annoys me is the whiter-than-me, redheaded kids who are 1/16 (no joke) native getting a free ride. Even if your 1/2 native guess what? If white people didn't make it to Canada, you would have never been born. This is especially bad in northern BC where the government has given every native or part native kid in some towns $100,000 or more just for being native. So these 16 year olds are driving around in their Escalades while the white people walk to work so they can afford to feed their families. If you don't use anything white people brought to Canada and live on a reserve, then fine. But if your my native neighbor talking on a cellphone, screw off. You BENEFITED from white people so why should the government pay your way? When one country defeated another country, that's just how it is, but Canada is still paying a debt for WINNING a war. Get over it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You have to be at least 1/4 native soooooo Also, you're*. Your point is invalid when you're complaining about aboriginals getting money for scholarships over you when you don't know basic grammar.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

My view on Aborignals getting money is good for them. Unfortunately we live in a world where everyone can't be equal. When I was in highschool I wanted to be a part of the Aboriginal Study group that went on field trips and studied Aboriginal culture. I was told I wasn't allowed because I have no Aboriginal ancestry. Can you imagine if I started a Caucasian Study group and didn't allow other races to join because they had no European ancestry? Ridiculous.

by Anonymous 12 years ago