Another sad tale

More arson on the Blood Reserve here.  This time it was the tribe's main business venture, a hay processing plant with $2.1 million US in inventory destined for overseas markets.  Throwing 100 people out of work, the arson also consumed the building itself, valued at more than $1 million.

That's quite a loss, coming on the heels of the arson which torched the first-ever native community college in Canada -- an $11 million loss.  Why in G-d's name would inhabitants destroy their college and largest, most successful employer?

It beggars the imagination.

The other outrage is the lack of safe drinking water on 133 reserves, with 93 boil-water advisories in place for more than two years.  Some, in fact, have been in place for more than 10 and a few since the 1990s.  Naturally, it's our fault.  But the truth of the matter -- which few people ever look into or acknowledge -- is that although drinking water on reserves is under federal jurisdiction, the more than $3.5 billion (yep, that's "billion") transferred to reserves from 1995 to 2008 still does not find its way to the solution, i.e., to provide safe drinking water on reserves.  This is the fault of native leaders and it is chronic. 

Why?  Because local councils are required to build and maintain the water purification systems for which the money is earmarked.  And this is where the whole ugly mess sits because obviously, local bands have not used the money for water. 

It's outrageous and even more outrageous that natives continue to put the blame squarely on "Ottawa".  It's getting more than tiresome to keep transferring monies to natives and having to sit by and watch it squandered to the detriment of their own people. 

I'm really sick of it.