IN THE BEGINNING...

Elders believe firmly that the solution is a return to cultural teachings. Instead of feeling shame as Aboriginal people, youth and others would find in their Aboriginal identity a source of pride and strength.

Elder Alex Skead Winnipeg, Manitoba22 April 1992

Traditional knowledge of the ways of the land was rooted in an understanding of the holistic, interrelated nature of the earth's ecosystems, of the Circle of Life.

Albert Saddleman Kelowna, British Columbia16 June 1993

No Walls, No Wire, But I Will Never Run Away

Cat Lake First Nation is not a prison without walls, it seem like it at times, but it is not, it is only in the minds of those that have never took the risk of thinking outside of govt assimilation.

We are the people of this land, a land that God our Creator entrusted to us, so our healing and our peace can be also come from what he has touched, in this case we touch him through enjoying and appreciating what he has made for us, but we shall never take it for granted.

Living a good life on the land is a blessing, and this is what the young people have to realize too as well. Teaching our young people that in preserving the past we also build our future. That is the blessing we all have to pass on while we still can.

8 August 08 - The international community now fully recognises the native peoples’ right to protect their lands and live distinct lifestyles. Yet, most of the world’s 370 million indigenous peoples continue to face abuse and injustices at

the hands of state authorities and commercial concerns.

Last year when the 193-member U.N. General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, both the U.S. and Canada were among a

handful of countries that voted against it.

United Nations adopts Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples13 September 2007 – The General Assembly today adopted a landmark

declaration outlining the rights of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them – a move that followed more

than two decades of debate. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been approved after 143 Member States voted in

favour, 11 abstained and four – Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States – voted against the text.

So why do aboriginals turn to a life of crime?

It advocates spending billions of dollars on education and skills training, eventually scrapping the Indian Act, and drawing more young aboriginals into RCMP ranks to turn the tide of despair plaguing many

native communities. "If the status quo of aboriginal economic and educational initiatives continues, street gangs and violent activity will increase and already

marginalized aboriginal populations will experience a diminishing quality of life," says the paper, obtained by The Canadian Press under

the Access to Information Act.

"The fallout from aboriginal poverty is all too obvious and will only get worse.“

Mounties tout 'Marshall Plan' to solve aboriginal woesBy Jim Bronskill, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Going back to our way, culture and our traditions is the key. The Church taught us by the color of our skin we were sinners, but in our

way...we only call it a challenge.

Traditional knowledge of the ways of the land was rooted in an understanding of the holistic, interrelated nature of the earth's ecosystems, of the Circle of Life.

Aboriginal notions of Nature’s Law have a much different focus and encompass all of this and more including:All of the elements that we would associate with genealogical relationships Ancestral spirits The workings of the cosmos The moral laws expressed in right living The succession of growing things in nature The range of senses and sensory perception The relationships between human beings and plants and animals and, finally, The interconnectedness across time, generations, natural processes and culture.

I have my own culture, and I still have my own mind, so that I can

do things for myself as well as for my people. So don’t tell me I

have no rights of my own.

• This is the answer in which we will always be a total "Anishinabe," and nothing else. Conversion, Anishinabe says "never," or "not at all."

• We will not be moved. We are not white. "We are Anishinabe for life." It is who we are. We did not change. But we are known, and that in itself "has the greatest meaning."

• -GCHI MIIGWETCH•

•

• [My post script]• Any person who does not uphold this Sovereignty and Self Determination and the

recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, is leading First Nations away from their main objectives, and is therefore, not fit to lead politically.

•

• [One can never be super spiritual where one is no earthly good.]• YouTube - Excerpt of the Declaration...

• Last quote; "When one works against the headship, the denying headship denies the children's future." Our people need our expertise.

• oombash61's Xanga Site

"It would be so much easier just to fold our hands and not make this fight..., to say, I, one

man, can do nothing. I grow afraid only when I see people thinking and acting like this. We all know the story about the man who sat beside the trail too long, and then it grew over and he could never find his way again. We can never forget what has happened, but we cannot go

back nor can we just sit beside the trail".