Ultimately, for the Indigenous people to prosper…

Sep 04, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

Another year as we observe Indigenous Heritage Month. For some, it is the time of the year that they eagerly look forward to – the events, while for others, it takes on more of a reflection as to where we are as a people.
I do enjoy the display of craft and the traditional dances that have been able to survive over the years, along with the exotic culinary skills that have been on exhibition. This is the month that also shines the spotlight on some issues that we can work on resolving.
One such issue is alcoholism, which has taken a stranglehold in our communities, with its effects causing rippling destructive consequences. The family, the nucleus of our communities, has taken the most severe blow. Communities with dysfunctional families tend not to grapple with the daily challenges of life. The end result being poor choices being made that are manifested with more challenges.
One such manifestation is the high rate of teenage pregnancy within our communities. This malady has become so common that persons have taken the position that it is a norm among Indigenous people, with some very ill-informed, indifferent and crude comments spewed by persons who should be addressing these issues.
Addressing this social issue calls for immediate action. Every child has the right to be catered to in an environment where there will grow to be the best they can; quality health care, housing etc. These basic amenities are lacking in all of our communities.
The greatest challenge to our future development, I believe, is the quality of education being delivered to our children. It is one thing to boast of passes at our national exams and the sum of money budgeted for the sector, and another, to see the actual output. Scrutiny of the examination results will inform one of the sad realities that exist in our Hinterland regions among Indigenous children.
Kudos to the teachers who work under the most atrocious conditions within our schools, survive school terms without basic teaching materials, text books and furniture, live under inhumane conditions in the housing provided to them, but still manage to support our children to the best of their ability.
The quality of education being delivered, coupled with the challenges of the topography have created an environment where economic activities for the most part are generated at a subsistence level. The task at hand for the persons who are elected and occupy seats at our Regional Democratic Councils is to generate programs and provide concessions that will enable the Village Councils to utilize their resources for economic benefits.
Ultimately, for the Indigenous people to prosper, that goal must have its origin in them wanting it. It all begins and ends with us. There has to be unity of purpose. This will call for unity. It will also ask of us to demand more of the persons we elect from the Village Council through to the Regional system and the Executive level.
Dexter Glasgow

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