Former First Nation chief warned not to visit Iran
presstv.com
Interview with former Manitoba First Nation Chief, Terry Nelson
For us as indigenous people from the Canadian side, for us to be in Tehran, we were absolutely set upon, we were told ‘no, don’t go to Tehran’. But we were pretty clear that the dehumanization, the demonization of the Iranian people has been one of the facts of Western media and we understand that because we too have also met with the crusader.We clearly, our people’s religious spiritual understanding was confronted. So I think one of the things we have to do is that our people have to continue to go."
A Canadian aboriginal leader says Western media’s undeserved “dehumanization and demonization” of Iranians has such affected people’s attitude towards Iran that we were cautioned against entering the country.
The comment comes as Canadian aboriginal leader Terry Nelson is currently in Tehran to seek help in exposing Ottawa's exploitation and abuse of aboriginal communities.
Nelson has repeatedly asked the Iranian government for help in bringing attention to the issue of Canada's missing and murdered aboriginal women.
This comes as the UN has strongly condemned Canada's record on children's rights, and accused Ottawa of systematic discrimination against aborigines and immigrants.
Activists say there has been a significant rise in human rights violations together with an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of speech since Canadian Premier Harper took power in 2006.
According to reports, Canada has forced thousands of aboriginal children into ghastly boarding schools where they have been abused sexually, psychologically, and physically.
Press TV has interviewed former Manitoba First Nation Chief, Terry Nelson, to further discuss the issue.
The program featuring Nelson also offers the opinions of another guest: former Dakota Tipi First Nation Chief, Dennis Pashe.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview with Nelson.
Press TV: What are the types of oppression, abuse and violence that are obviously violations of human rights, if you give us some examples? For how long have they occurred and, more importantly, why?
Nelson: The most critical one, of course, is the Canadian-Indian Act. That's British legislation that was put in place in 1876. It is the root cause of most of the economic oppression on the 633 reservations in Canada.
The reservations were originally, more or less, concentration camps where indigenous people were put; they were separated. The reservation system, I guess, was the standard. It was the system that South Africa studied and put in place for Apartheid.
The Canadian-Indian Act...section 89 of the Indian Act basically makes indigenous people living on a government reservation to be legally incompetent in the same category as children, alien enemies and basically denies the indigenous peoples’ own individual mortgages; essentially denies them the right or the process to be able to get to Canadian banks because they are in the category of a child and an alien enemy.
There is no real economic development on the reserves. So the reservations mostly have between 60 and 95 percent unemployment. This is the root cause of the artificial poverty that is on reserves. It is economic sanctions; it is enforced by the Canadian government and it therefore gives very little or no options for women in order to advance. There is very little business on reserves.
Press TV: This is very alarming when words such as ‘concentration camp’ comes in because, correct me if I’m wrong, Mr. Nelson, the aboriginals are being suppressed; they’re e being oppressed throughout the decades if not longer. At the same time, because of this, your rights have been taken away.
The suppression which has involved abuses has led to your population, perhaps in some cases, reverting, maybe being stigmatized because of certain problems that have come about naturally.
The aboriginals have then been marginalized by the government so this stigma is attached to it which is quite mind-boggling. When we talk about or when this thing with concentration camps is announced in this conversation, does that mean that they want to wipe out the Aboriginals in general? Is that the move that the government is making?
Nelson: I think one of the things that we must be clear on is there is holocaust denial in North America. Has been for many, many generations.
The reality is that the indigenous peoples’ lands and their wealth, their resources have been seized by the immigrant governments.
But I think one of the things that we got to be very clear on is that the issue is that indigenous peoples in North America are one of the richest people in the world. They have more lands, more resources.
Canada’s currently pumping 2.5 million barrels of oil to the United States and it’s pretty clear that none of that oil is paid for...
Press TV: To the indigenous people? From your land, 2.5 million goes to the United States?
Nelson: Yeah. The United States, under the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, has security of energy exports, and under that they pay domestic price for Canadian oil. So, it’s under the world price for oil. So the United States does get a good bargain for Canadian oil.
But the environmental impact in what they call the tar sands of Alberta, there is 1.4 trillion barrels of oil estimated in the tar sands of Alberta. 40 percent of it is recoverable under existing technology. That 40 percent represents about 50 trillion dollars worth of oil, recoverable. So the indigenous people don’t get paid.
Press TV: Even though this land belongs to you?
Nelson: Well, the environmental damage is occurring in the sands of Alberta, devastates an area about the size of France. It takes about 2 to 4 barrels of water to create one barrel of oil, so the cost is quite prohibitive in terms of the cost of developing those lands. The indigenous people are saying we don’t need immigrant money; we don’t need tax payer money; we need to share our own resources.
That’s why we come to the OPEC nations because the OPEC nations have had the experience of having to organize to be able to get together and deal with the theft of the natural resources. We are in the same situation.
There are economic sanctions against our people to basically ensure that we never get control of our own wealth. There’s 60 metals and minerals in Canada; none of it is paid for.
Press TV Well, that’s incredible so it seems like one of the most important driving forces behind the Canadian government here regarding the Aboriginals is basically oil and, of course, the resources which you just mentioned...
It boggles the mind why this plight has not been highlighted more by the media? Why hasn’t it been broadcast more? Press TV, once it picked up on this, is bringing this into the forefront in our news and so forth. But, you barely here about this and many people who are perhaps hearing about it, it’s their first time. Why do you think that has been?
Nelson: Well, it’s pretty clear that any nation that freely gives oil to the United States, the human rights issues won’t come out.
It’s pretty clear for us that when we as indigenous leaders, when I was chief, there was a large number of us who went to Washington twelve days before the inauguration of [Barack] Obama. We went there and we asked the United States, the newly formed Obama administration, to look at the issue of resources.
There’s approximately about two billion dollars a day of trade in the United States and Canada. It’s going to involve up to 4 million barrels of oil. Mitt Romney says that he is going to sign off on a new pipeline the first day as a president of the United States.
However none of the US administrations has ever dealt with the issues of indigenous rights in Canada. We don’t need anybody’s money. We need a share of our own wealth and this is what we’re saying.
In the United States, there is no understanding; there is no US televisions, no US press coming up to Canada and taking a look at the price we pay for the environmental degradation.
So the First Nations that are producing the oil in their lands don’t get payment. All the human rights ignored.
Press TV Just to get an idea about what’s involved here, are the Aboriginals, in general, are they spread out throughout Canada? Are they in one specific area? The total number in terms of your population so perhaps the audience can get a sense of what that compares to the total number of people in Canada and, of course, any future prospects for you to rise and maybe have some political push behind you in want of reform?
Nelson: We are the most powerful people in the world. Most people don’t understand that. The indigenous people are the ones supplying the financing and resourcing not only for the Canadian economy but the American economy.
That economic relationship where we get nothing for our wealth and resources, that will change. That will definitely change.
The problem with the indigenous peoples in Canada is that they have not done the same thing as the Native Americans. Native Americans have always consistently gone outside the country to deal with their human rights issues and essentially have dealt with other countries.
For us as indigenous people from the Canadian side, for us to be in Tehran, we were absolutely set upon, we were told ‘no, don’t go to Tehran’. But we were pretty clear that the dehumanization, the demonization of the Iranian people has been one of the facts of Western media and we understand that because we too have also met with the crusader.
We clearly, our people’s religious spiritual understanding was confronted. So I think one of the things we have to do is that our people have to continue to go. I was really, really surprised and, I guess, not so much surprised, the treatment of the Iranian people for us has been great. This is something the Western media has always said that if you go to Iran you will be treated really badly. |
