This week there was a conference in Winnipeg with a wide range of First Nations and Metis groups that focussed on the topic of stopping the fraudulent self identification by non-FN people who identify as FN in order to obtain jobs, contracts, university entrance, grants, etc. There have been many stories over the last decade of non-FN people self-identifying in order to gain entrance to law school, obtain money to make movies, obtain billions of dollars in government contracts etc. Often those people who are in a major hiring position in government have experienced this phenomenon, where people with minimal FN ancestry claim Equity points.
Anyone can self identify when applying for jobs, universities, or government contracts. There are virtually no checks undertaken to determine the validity of those who make these claims. This conference is an attempt to come up with some sort of process where those who claim FN status are actually vetted by FN people themselves first. The conference organizers hope is that this vetting process will be recognized as legitimate and be adopted by governments, universities and the private sector.
Click below to view last week’s poll question results:
Should we focus on dividing the cake or baking a bigger cake?
