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[Transcript] NEWS. ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
Above and below: Demonstration organized in Vancouver against
the E-12 Guidelines.
what is known as the E-12 Guide-
lines until Native people are
properly consulted and their de-
mands met. The Department of
Indian Affairs and Northern De-
velopment ”sent a press release
out a couple of days ago saying
that they consulted with 500
bands. That’s an outright lie.
They are lying to the public...
They call a half-hour film strip
and a brief introduction of their
policy to people and students
consultation, and that’s not true.
We want an honest consultation
We want our studies to be imple-
mented,” she said.
“The Assembly of First Na-
tions has done a national review
of Indian education. The then
Minister, Bill McKnight, said that
we won’t change anything on In-
dian education until we’ve con-
sulted with Indian people, until
the national review is completed.
The national review was only
given to the minister two, three
weeks ago. These recommenda-
tions are not implemented in this
policy... The Department of Indi-
an Affairs and Northern Devel-
opment is responsible to Indian
people. It should be accountable
to Indian people.
"The government is moving
fast on policies. Policies of
oppression that are limiting us in
our growth, that are keeping us
in the depressed state that we are
in right now," she said.
Following the demonstration:
which concluded with a circle
dance, 150 participants marched
from Robson Square to the De-
partment of Indian Affairs offices
nearby, where, for 1½ hours, the
demonstrators crowded into the
offices and carried a heated ex-
change with the local Director of
Education.
Ron Penner, the department’s
Director of Education, BC Re-
gion, rejected the demand for a
moratorium and justified the cut-
backs citing budgetary deficits as
the reason. He quoted from a let-
ter from the present Minister,
Pierre Cadieux, stating that the
post-secondary Native education
funding was generous and fair
and unparalleled anywhere in the
world. Mr. Penner welcomed fur-
ther consultation but said that the
new E-12 Guidelines would go
into effect as planned.
Mr. Cadieux’s letter went on to
reject the demand that free post -
secondary education be recog-
nized as a right guaranteed by
treaties. “For the government,
the position is crystal clear —
treaty reference to education
does not include post-secondary
education," he said.
Chief Lois Guss of the Squam-
ish Band spoke in support of the
demands of the students, saying
“they didn’t beat us in my gen-
THE NEW WEEKLY
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