Comment 43584

By bigguy1231 (registered) | Posted July 17, 2010 at 14:27:54

Undustrial,

No one on a reserve owns land on the reserve. The idea of land ownership is foreign to indigenous people in Canada. It is not part of the native culture. They consider themselves caretakers of the land.

Besides that Indian reserves are Crown lands set aside for the use of natives. Thats why they cannot get mortgages to build houses on reserves. If you don't own the land banks will not lend you money. Thats why most of them live in substandard housing. They have to pay cash to build a house unless the federal government builds it for them.

There are some reserves where the land has been turned over to the bands. They then own the land. The tradeoff is they are no longer eligible for federal assistance or any of the benefits available under the Indian act.

As for the determination of status. That is done by the natives themselves in consultation with the Federal government. The natives set the rules and the feds enforce them. Did you know there are more status Indians living in the city of Hamilton than on the Six Nations reserve. Most Indians live in urban areas and not on reserves. Up until recently if you had 1/8 Indian blood in you, you could get a status card. That has changed, but to think that someone who is only 1/8 Indian could be considered a native is just ridiculous.

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