Status Indians Could be Extinct
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/status-indians-could-be-extinct-132123088.html
When thousands of children and grandchildren of women who lost their
Indian status were recently entitled to restore their Indian status for
up to two generations, the downside was never mentioned, the professor
said.
"You went from a situation that was
gender discriminatory you were supposed to fix to a situation now where
it will guarantee the extinction of status Indians," Palmater said.
"There are some First Nations that in
less than 75 years will be legally extinct. The people will still be
living. They will still be there but that means there will be no legal
land owners... and the land goes back to the Crown.
"So your land's gone. You're
no longer a community. You can't exercise your aboriginal rights. Then
what about the treaties? If there are no treaty beneficiaries, I guess
you don't have to worry about treaty rights, either."
