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[Transcript] cuts
Beverly Scow addressing rally
PHOTO BY KERRY BOULTBEE
sultation. We want our stud-
ies to be implemented,” she
said.
"The Assembly of First
Nations has done a national
review of Indian education.
This was only given to the
minister two, three weeks ago.
Those recommendations are
not implemented in this pol-
icy," said Scow.
"The government is moving
fast on policies, policies of op-
pression that are limiting us
in our growth, that are keep-
ing us in the depressed state
that we are in right now. And
it is through education that
we will be able to change this,"
she said.
We’re getting more and
more students graduating who
are able to articulate the needs
and concerns of our commu-
nity. They are the people who
will lead our communities to
self-government.
"What is happening is a very
positive thing for Canadian
society but it is threatening to
the bureaucrats in the federal
government who have built a
whole empire on controling
Native people in a paternalis-
tic fashion. We are acquiring
the skills to deal with the
community’s concerns with
the involvement of the entire
community itself - from the
bottom up, not the top down.
"This is what self-govern-
ment is and this is why the
cutbacks are taking place at
this time. It’s not a matter of
budget restraints as the min-
ister would have us believe,"
Scow said.
"In 1987 they capped E-12,
expenditures and 1000 stu-
dents were refused assistance.
Others were discouraged from
even applying. These latest
cuts will accelerate this proc-
ess," she said.
Speaking both as a grand-
mother who is concerned for
the future of her grandchil-
dren and as a chief of the
Squamish Band, Lois Guss,
encouraged the students to
continue their struggle.
"They didn’t beat us in my
generation by putting us in
residential schools and they’re
not going to beat us now," she
said.
Further demonstrations are
planned on a national scale.
For information on upcoming
events contact Debra Moore,
Native Students' Laison Co-
ordinator at Langara or Bev-
erly Scow, Co-ordinator of the
Inter-Campus Native Student
Network at 224-4005.
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