Articles From Readers of National Pique
    
NO. 4..   The Indian Industry
By: John A. Fleming
The first time many of us ran across the term " Indian Industry" was in a book 
authored by Melvin H. Smith, entitled Our Home or Native Land?, copyright by the 
author in 1995. After a detailed explanation of how the Canadian Federal 
Government started its program to assist Indian organizations in improving their 
lot in Canada, the author explained how a major proposal, the White Paper, was 
withdrawn from consideration by the Trudeau government , yet $50 million funding 
for the use of the Indian leadership to go forward with the programs proposed by 
the now defunct White Paper proposals. After this explanation the author went on 
to say " It financed lawyers, consultants, advisers, academics, and others. Thus 
the "Indian Industry" was born." 
Further on in his book the author quotes Hansard, Commons Debates, April 
25,1994, saying "Putting his finger on the nub which motivates so much of the 
aboriginal agenda, he went on: " Where does this initiative for the land claim 
settlement come from? In my opinion the initiative comes from the real root of 
the aboriginal problem in Canada, the insidious parasitic Indian industry. That 
group of lawyers, consultants, bureaucrats, and Indian leaders year after year 
swallow up the vast majority of money designated to solve the problems of 
poverty, illiteracy, substance abuse and suffering among our native people. 
This agreement does nothing to solve that problem and in fact greatly reinforces 
it. Instead of continuing to feed this selfish parasitic monster, let us break 
the cycle by making available to aboriginal Canadians programs available to all 
Canadians and then providing an affordable amount of the $10 billion plus now 
spent on aboriginal services and programs to grassroots aboriginal people in the 
form of a guaranteed annual income. I ask that members not buy into this guilt 
trip so skillfully put on us and not enter into another binding contract based 
solely on racial origin that is to last as long as the sun rises and the rivers 
flow."

Our Home or Native Land?, paperback, ISBN 1-55056-364-5, is a book that 
describes how and what can happen when a constitutional government and certain 
members of the public produce a form of apartheid with a blend of liberalism. 
Although our forms of government are different this book foretells exactly what 
our Indian industry has done and will be doing . If these matters concern you 
then the book is a must read item. 

John A. Fleming
August 23, 1999
Sent to National Pique by: Jim Petik
Thank you Jim.
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Article posted: Tuesday, August 24, 1999 

Copyright © 1999 All rights for republication revert to the original author.