Offended by Offence

The following letter was printed in the National Post today(www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=2422478).  I have been invited to respond, and will be doing so shortly.  There was one error in my column (and original blog entry); I assumed that the executive director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was non-aboriginal, since his ancestry/identity was not stated in his bio.   Determining whether or not someone is “Aboriginal” is becoming increasingly difficult since in certain cases (hiring at Memorial University, for example) one only has to check a box “identifying” as such to be considered an indigenous person.  This means that many people who now identify as ”Aboriginal” have little in common with the isolated members of the native population who, because of their marginalization, are the focus of social policy. 

FW

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Aboriginal healing group responds

Re: The Aboriginal Healing Boondoggle, Frances Widdowson, Jan. 4.

It is false that “the only ‘evaluation’ of Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) programs has come from the organization itself.” The AHF and the programs it funds have been audited and evaluated by independent third parties in government and the private sector. These evaluations are available for public view on our website in their entirety. Only in this limited sense are they “from” the organization.

More important, Frances Widdowson’s dismissal of healing itself insults survivors of institutional physical and sexual abuses, mocking the front-line workers who dedicate themselves to battling root causes of poverty, violence, suicide and despair in aboriginal communities. It is these 950 front-line workers, hired by the aboriginal community, who Ms. Widdowson is certain are politically selected persons of privilege.

If she had made a two-minute phone call to the AHF, she would not have described the AHF’s executive director as “the most significant non-aboriginal player”). He is aboriginal.

Other points: healers, whether trained in aboriginal traditions or Western academic methods, have the appropriate credentials; AHF research in aboriginal health is more than a collection of press releases; the AHF operates entirely on interest earned from careful investment of the money entrusted to it and has committed more money to community projects than it has received; a focus on residential schools does not prevent, but rather promotes, understanding of why “many aboriginal people who did not attend residential schools are also suffering from the same symptoms.”

It is understandable that Ms. Widdowson denies the efficacy of aboriginal organizations; positive outcomes are inconsistent with the premise of her book. But the facts would reveal that the AHF is exactly what Ms. Widdowson espouses– a funder of high-quality services that are tailored to the special needs of the aboriginal population.

Mike DeGagne, executive director, Aboriginal Healing Foundation, Ottawa.

Niki Ashton, the New Democratic MP for Churchill, has organized a petition calling for an extension of the funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation or AHF (http://nikiashton.ndp.ca/ahf).  Eliminating funding for the Foundation (supposedly on March 31, 2010) is opposed in the petitition because the “healing from the impacts of Residential Schools is far from complete after 10 years which is the length of time the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has existed”.

The impact on “healing”, however, is not the only reason given for continuing AHF funding.  Ashton also points out that 950 jobs will be lost if this funding is cut (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Churchill-MP-urges-Ottawa-to-renew-funding-for-healing-foundation-79429022.html).  But what do these “jobs” consist of, and how effective have they been in addressing the pscyhological problems plaguing aboriginal communities?  As there has been no evaluation of the plethora of “healing” initiatives, it is likely that these “jobs” are actually sinecure positions aimed at buying off privileged members of the native population.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation, in fact, is a classic Aboriginal Industry enterprise.  It emerged out of recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which was another Aboriginal Industry venture (the Royal Commission, in fact, was co-chaired by Georges Erasmus, who is now the President of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation).  The Foundation was made possible by the $515 million healing fund ($350 million and an additional disbursal of $40 million and then $125 million).

And where does all the money go?  An examination of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation’s website indicates a “Board of Directors” of 17 people and an “Elder Advisory Group of the Board” (all with previous experience on other aboriginal organizations), as well as the “Executive Director” (housed in the “Executive Director’s Office”).  These executive members oversee ”staff” in ”Operations”, “Communications”, and “Research”. It is members of this unnamed “staff”, that produce the plethora of written materials – “legal documents”, the “evaluation series”, the “research series”, “newsletters”, “residential school resources”, “press releases & open editorials”, and “speeches”.  The millions of dollars in salaries to these individuals does not count the funds acquired by communities (i.e. Aboriginal Industry consultants) to develop grant applications to be submitted to the AHF.

It appears, however, that certain aboriginal commentators are beginning to expose these Aboriginal Industry machinations.  Gilbert Oskaboose, for example, notes that  “the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Ottawa is staffed by native fat cats and other bottom feeders who have no problem with growing fat feeding off the bodies of Survivors who never made it this far”.  He goes on to point out that the Executive Director of the AHF made $141,000 last year, and it is not known what the President, Georges Erasmus, made (http://www.firstnations.com/oskaboose/nest-of-maggots.htm).  The career of the Executive Director of the AHF, Mike DeGagné, has been described elsewhere as follows: “he has previously worked with Federal, Provincial, and non-governmental organizations in the health, mental health and addictions areas. He has served as senior negotiator in complex, multi-party negotiations in the Comprehensive Land Claims process. Before joining the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, he held positions with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and the federal government departments of Health Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada…Mr. DeGagné holds a Masters degree in Health Administration, and a Ph.D. focusing on First Nations post-secondary education” (http://www.thedirectorscollege.com/grads_detail.asp?id=1299).

Although Oskaboose is right to attack the self-serving character of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the alternative course of action that he proposes is just as (if not more) destructive than the existing boondoggle – going to court and having money transferred directly to ”survivors” (the term is problematic because it includes not only victims of sexual and physical abuse, but all people who attended residential schools, regardless of their experiences).  Court cases mean that even more money will be siphoned off by the Aboriginal Industry – although it will go to lawyers instead of consultants.  Disubursing monies directly to survivors will not do anything to address the educational, health and housing problems in aboriginal communities.  It will just provide money for gambling, drugs and other consumer goods.  After the money is spent, everyone will be right back where they started, just a little worse for wear.