My name is Loretta Burnstick and I am a Band Member from the Alexander First Nation. I am currently in the process of trying to push for more accountability from our leadership.  The misuse of funds is despicable considering the poverty experienced by many in my community.   At times I feel like giving up but I am reminded of the poverty and pain and suffering I experienced growing up on a reserve. Those reminders stare me in the face everytime I drive through my community and I see the living conditions of so many that are still poor in my community.  The issues are many in trying to deal with the problem and it seems like so many in my community have given up in voicing their concerns. Fortunately I am a big mouth! ( I say that humorously) and I cannot for the life of me, keep my mouth shut on the lack of accountabilty and misuse of dollars that could be invested in my community. 

I cannot comprehend how some Chiefs and Councils can sleep at night knowing that they spend thousands of dollars on themselves while their cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, etc, are living in poor housing conditions, have no jobs, no transportation to get to an outside job even if they wanted to work, poor education and no training programs and the list goes on and on.  The only answer I can come up with is that leadership that allows this to happen and knowingly contributes to this are greedy, selfish, uncompassionate, lack in traditional spirit and are just bad people all the way around. I cannot come up with another explanation for their behaviour, considering the fact that many of them experienced all the same things our people are still facing today and they still continue to steal band funds that could be used for many other things that benefit a community. It starts at the top and trickles down. If you have leadership that is corrupt and does nothing to stop it, then staff, and whoever else gets caught up in the web of deceit keep that circle growing.  Very difficult circle to break!

For those of you who are trying your hardest to get change in your community, pray alot and do not give up. There are many people like me who support you in what you are trying to accomplish as we too are working on some of the very same issues. The more we voice our concerns to anyone who will listen, the more we put pressure on those who are corrupt to either shape up or they will be shipped out!  May the Creator guide you in your struggles and on behalf of all the poor people in our territories, I personally thank you for your efforts and your determination in trying to help our people! 

When tax payers hear of the huge salaries paid to native chiefs and council members, they forget that the amounts are tax free. The article in the newspaper said that the chief of Peguis got over $200k and that gives it a value of over $300k. The reservation has a couple of thousand residents. Now imagine how underpaid our leaders are. This is just one example of mis-use of tax-payers monies. If we created a list of all the examples, we would be sick to our stomachs, and yet they feel that we should be quiet and keep on paying. There has to be a better solution, like sitting down and bargaining just like it is done with unions and we should not be afraid of saying no to the ridiculous demands. All the crooks are not in Ottawa. Lets treat all Canadians the same!

Who sets the chiefs salaries anyway, and who controls the elections of the chiefs? If the system is corrupt as the comments above on May 7th, 10th, and 13th claim, then maybe the Canadian Government and the RCMP ( or our army if they were back here instead of dying in Afganistan) need to step in, and stop the flow of money, and control the elections to ensure that they are fully democratic, which may stop the vote buying, and nepotism! Seems to me our native people need help, and throwing tax dollars at them with no oversite or accountability to the "Canadian Taxpayer" though our goverment officials is not working. It just a waste of our hard earned money!

Besides, if the aboriginal population wants to be seperate, from Canada, maybe the rest of us should not be sending them our tax dollars at all.  

I am a band member from Misipawistik Cree Nation, i was one of the people responsible in trying to seek information on our bands finances. I know that there is allot of money recently recieved from INAC and the Province of Manitoba to assist in 'suppossed' projects, which disappeared !!! No jobs, no businesses, no buildings/sites - nothing. And when i tried to expose this all to INAC, they just ignored it all, "we are investigating this, and we will let you know what is going on, in the next stage of our investigation." - which basically means nothing is being done. Two years, i havew been trying to get this out to the people here in my community, 1 1/2 to INAC, and no one wants to look at this.

I even asked for the documents from INAC, would they send the documents, as required by law - NO !!! I need help, i need a lawyer to help accquire these documents to expose this thieft from our band memebers, and essentially, the Canadian Goverment and the Canadian people.