Is it like this on EVERY First Nation?

Hello to all our readers,

Just a quick question, what is it like on your First Nation reservations?  Does your Chief and Councils answer your questions without changing the subject or throwing in sarcasm and rude comments?  Do they answer your e-mails and letters?  Do the Councillors speak at meetings?  Do your Councillors have to ask the Chief before answering your questions at community meetings?  Do your Chief and Councils inform you when they take a wage increase or implement astronomical severance packages and bonuses?  Does your Chief and Council structure your community like a corporation and a municipality?  Does your Chief and Council keep leasing out your land, while someone else makes a profit and without taking into consideration the devastating impacts to our mother earth?  Does your Chief and Council surround themselves with a staff who do not understand the needs and wants of our people, along with knowledge of our culture and beliefs?  Does your Chief and Council spend money on large investments without consulting with you?  Is there nepotism on your reserve?  Is your Chief and Council involved in every aspect of your life?  Do Chief and Council require a written letter before answering any of your questions?  Do your Chief and Council have the address of each and every single age voting band member?  Do your Chief and Council travel with an entourage of staff, to numerous meetings and conferences without reporting on the outcomes to the membership?  Does your Chief and Council let your Chief Financial Officer have final say in all financial matters without consulting with the band members first?  Is your community newsletter censored?  Do your Chief and Councils have a time clock to justify their high paying wages?  Do Chief and Council listen to your ideas and even ask for your opinion?  Does your Chief and Council have to sign a confidentiality clause?  Is your Chief and Council run fairly?  Do your Chief and Council allow slanderous letters to be written by a member about another member who is a candidate for the Chief and Council election, during election time.  Do your Chief and Council allow a candidate for Chief, who withdrew from running in the election, to publish a support letter for another Chief candidate during the election?  Does your Chief live on the reserve?  Do each of your members have to pay $1000s for land you already own?  Do you have to sign in and out when entering and leaving your band office?  Do you have cameras watching your every move?  Are you allowed to use a sweat lodge without being shut down by your Health & Safety Dept?  Do you have to show your status card for every purchase at a band owned business?  Does your Chief wear an authentic Plains war bonnet at every public function and swearing-in ceremony?  Is there tree planting on your reserve?  Do you have "No Trespassing" signs everywhere with locked gates?  Do your Chief and Council respect your First Nation name and your history?  Do they train and job shadow on your reserve?  Does your Chief and Council deal with the high drop out rates in high school?  Do Chief and Council implement drug and alcohol programs for the youth?  Do Chief and Council help members living below the poverty line?  Do your Chief and Council provide your mentally challenged with recreation programs?  Do your Chief and Council have open Community meetings on a regular basis or are they structured with an agenda?

In other words, do your Chief and Council really deal with the problems or is it just lip service?