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It was refreshing to read the letter "Money for Natives not reaching all(1)" by Virginia Favel. Favel is not using racism as the main cause for the decadent predicament of her people all across Canada. Instead, she contrasts the poverty claiming the lives of many people living in reserves against the contemptible lives of Native leaders spending money for travelling expenses to attend powwows and enter pool tournament, for upgrading their lands, for building their mansions, and for buying whatever else to further themselves at the expense of all other people.

Favel says that this cycle of corruption and abuse against humanity is endless and she feels helpless when nobody takes any step to help out: neither the RCPM, nor Indian Affairs, nor Human Rights officials. Favel pictures a Native environment of deprivation and no justice, void of any democratic principles, where nobody listens, nobody hears, nobody cares.

We must care to listen to the cries of our neighbours and it is our duty of citizens to exercise our democratic right to rally on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged. We must listen to Virginia Favel's cry for help as we must listen to all the voices of disenfranchised Natives of this province and across Canada.

The Native leaders' proposals for self-government to remedy the continuous injustices against the Natives will only cause further alienation among all the people and a further social gap between our leaders, Natives and non-Natives, and the rest of us. The problem is that our governments have sold their souls to the few and privileged(2) and as a consequence they have been painting a world of phoniness(3) and economic growth(4) while in reality we experience an ever increasing social decadence(5).

We cannot trust our governments to solve the problems of poverty and racism, and therefore it is again our turn as individual citizens to re-establish democratic value for all, Natives and non Natives(6). And in this respect, I like to quote the simple message by Ralph Nader "To go through life as a non-citizen would be to feel that there's nothing that you can do, that nobody's listening, that you don't matter, but to be a citizen is to enjoy the deep satisfaction of seeing pain prevented, misery avoided and injustice decline(7)." My hope is that we can all listen to Ralph Nader's message and become citizens once again.

Endnotes

1. Money for Natives not reaching all, by Virginia Favel, The StarPhoenix, August 4, 2000, Readers' Opinions, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2. A World for the Few and Privileged in Saskatchewan, by Mario deSantis, February 18, 2000

3. Honourable Janice MacKinnon and her rolling economy in Phonyland, by Mario deSantis, May 8, 2000

4. Doug Elliot's indicators of economic reality are not validated, by Mario deSantis, July 21, 2000

5. Premier Roy Romanow: a Magician? a Saviour? a Cheater? By Mario deSantis, July 13, 2000

6. Asserting Human Rights by Changing Attitudes in a land for the Few and Privileged, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, June 19, 2000

7. Ralph Nader speaks out against No-Fault in Saskatchewan...Transcripts from 1998 http://www.angelfire.com/nf/coalitionagainstnf/Ralph_Nador.htm

Today's picture shows the red flag flown on Grand Beach, (fifteen miles from the home of Phil Fontaine) which warns of dangerous conditions due to high winds, was taken yesterday.