If money is the root of all evil for society generally, then let's consider poverty as the root of all evil for urban Aboriginals. That's what I believe should be seriously considered by the policy makers, the academics and the politicians - Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike, who keep saying they sincerely want to address Aboriginal issues in Canada.

Turtle Island Native Network has learned that Canada's Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples is gearing up to soon launch another study. This time the national spotlight will shine on Urban Aboriginals.

Who could blame you for quickly reacting with, "Haven't we already been 'studied to death'?" Yes, and yes!

If you consider the people who have died because of inaction and lack of response to all those previous studies ... then yes, we have been studied ... to death - literally.

Should there be another study? Yes, but only if it highlights best practices( for example, the community development work of the Vancouver Aboriginal Council supported by Aboriginal Relations of the Ministry for Children and Family Development and the federal Privy Council Office); enhances the collection of data and analysis of some key issues; provides practical culturally appropriate solutions; and more importantly - sparks meaningful action and produces results!

In 1989 the federal government promised to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. In October 2000, the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres released a report titled Urban Aboriginal Child Poverty: A Status Report on Aboriginal Children and their Families in Ontario. This alarming report offered a snapshot of the reality of poverty for Aboriginal children and parents living off-reserve, and identified a number of recommendations to address this situation. It confirmed that the level of poverty among many Aboriginal families has now reached the rock bottom level where even the most basic needs are not being met. Food was cited as the most pressing need.

Study after study already told us what's wrong. I will not bombard you with too many statistics ... but ..." 52.1% of all Aboriginal children are poor; 27% of Aboriginal families are headed by single mothers; 40% of single Aboriginal mothers earn less than $12,000 per year." (According to the OFIFC report)

The way it is for many urban Aboriginals in Canada is well documented. "The distinct nature of Aboriginal child and family poverty in Canada is rooted in cultural fragmentation, multi-generational effects of residential schools, wardship through the child welfare system, and socio-economic marginalization. For reasons none other than "being Aboriginal", Aboriginal people have, for generations, grown up poor.

This summer another study was released that sheds light on what we already know to be true. But maybe leaders will take heed if they hear it enough times.

"Significant numbers of urban Aboriginal people face considerable challenges in terms of education levels, employment, income, housing, crime, family stability, and health. These challenges result in many being unable to take full advantage of the opportunities afforded to urban dwellers." That's just a brief glimpse into the Canada West Foundation's study Urban Aboriginals - Opportunities and Challenges.

It points to the growing Aboriginal baby boom in the western cities. That suggests a major challenge for education. But it also means there's a growing pool of potential workers for the provinces faced with a shortage of skilled labour.

"Whereas about only one-fifth of the non-Aboriginal population in western cities is under age 15, for Aboriginal peoples the figure is more like one-third, with a low of 28% in Vancouver and a high of 41% in both Saskatoon and Regina." But we've heard this before, haven't we?

During the recent debate on the Indian Affairs Governance initiative, Treaty 3 Grand Chief Leon Jourdain wondered why Canada wasn't paying heed to the Royal Commission report. "We've been studied to death and every time, nothing happens. The royal commission report is sitting on a shelf in Ottawa collecting dust. What's in the royal commission report should be put in place, we must deal with substance," said Jourdain in the Kenora Daily Miner and News.

Academics would have us believe there is a need for more research on "Aboriginal Urbanization", as they call it. They may be correct, but there's so much grass roots work being done by Aboriginal communities already, the researchers will have trouble catching up to their reality.

You can't help being skeptical about plans for yet another study. After all, this is the much maligned Senate. Is there a good track record that flows from these kinds of studies? "What ever happened to the big study on Aboriginal Governance," asks Paul Chartrand, Metis lawyer and one of those trying to move mountains in Manitoba to implement recommendations from the Justice Inquiry. It recently published sixty more recommendations, but only time will tell if they'll result in anything real happening, or simply mean more recommendations being added to the stack of what oughta happen.

The fact is, there's no shortage of information available about the Aboriginal 'experience' in Canada. Besides simply opening our eyes and looking around, all anyone has to do is take a look at the $60 million report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People (RCAP), the report of the Manitoba Justice Inquiry, or British Columbia's Liberating Our Children, Liberating Our Nations.

Great reference documents, for sure. But they would be more valuable, if the governments and communities would get serious and collectively implement those reports that sit dusty and lonely on their shelves.

More recently, from Great Plains Publications - a book called "A Feather, Not a Gavel - Working Towards Aboriginal Justice" by Hon. A.C. Hamilton, a judge who was co-chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in Manitoba. Judge Hamilton does a lengthy critique of how the justice system has failed Aboriginals and provides a blueprint for reform. Maybe 'the system' will listen to him, because he is one of 'theirs'.

Meanwhile, urban Aboriginal agencies that deal with the day to day issues in the streets, are overwhelmed by an avalanche of materials back at the office.

I believe there is an incredible amount of information being produced at the local level, but is it mostly from a non-Aboriginal perspective that may be driving us further into assimilation? If it is relevant, then there is the monumental task of bringing it together in a fashion that produces a coordinated and culturally appropriate response.

A Senate study may or may not be a good idea. Scott Clark, President of the United Native Nations (UNN)isn't a hundred per cent certain. But he is sure the government should support his strategic plan to address urban issues. The UNN is in the early stages of establishing an Institute for Urban Aboriginal Self-Governance, a first for Canada.

There's a need to bring an Aboriginal focus to what works and what doesn't. Clark's vision is to basically create a think-tank, a research centre to recruit Aboriginal people and put the appropriate personell in place, to "create our own knowledge base and research to guide our own deliberations and negotiations with various levels of government where we will have the social, scientific facts at our fingertips and policies so we can advance our positions."

The most recent Canadian Human Rights Commission report stated, "it is discouraging that many of the Royal Commission's recommendations have yet to be given the consideration they deserve."

What's this got to do with Urban Aboriginals, didn't RCAP focus only on First Nations? No! RCAP said a lot about 'Aboriginal People Outside of Reserves', including the necessity for the establishment of institutions of urban Aboriginal self governance.

It is critical that these things start happening, because I believe we already have a good handle on what the challenges and barriers are and who faces them on a day to day basis. A summary of available literature prepared for the senators affirms what we know. Many urban Aboriginals are women. Most are young and they are poor.

As for the latest study? First, the Senators are getting briefed, reviewing the available literature and absorbing the issues by doing things such as viewing the video Indian Posse, Life in Aboriginal Territory. Many observors fear the emergence of street gangs of young Aboriginals in Winnipeg is a mere tip of the iceberg.

Here's a thought, steeped in cynicism. Maybe you could apply for a grant to conduct a study for the senators. You could study what hasn't been implemented from previous studies. There would be no shortage of material. In fact, the Human Rights Commission of Canada recognized that while discussions have begun with the Metis and non-status Indian organizations, it also said, " signs of real progress are still scarce."

"One matter that habitually falls between the cracks is the provision of programs and services -- not to mention opportunities for self-determination -- for Aboriginal people outside of Indian reserves. This is especially true of Metis and non-status Indians, many of whom live in our major urban centres. Although discussions are under way and some commitments have been made, federal and provincial governments have yet to devise a comprehensive approach to dealing with the needs of these groups. This is despite the fact that they now constitute a majority of Aboriginal people in Canada and face particular challenges, including social and economic conditions that can be worse than those on reserves."

Perhaps the Senators who now are planning their study will consider the scenario described above. Certainly their leader brings sensitive insight and a particular perspective to the task. The new chair of the committee is one of Canada's Aboriginal Senators, Thelma Chalifoux, a Metis from Alberta.

We can legislate everything but attitudes, she said last summer at the kickoff to Saskatoon's Race Relations Month. Senator Chalifoux said until we address issues of racial discrimination facing aboriginal people, the division between our people and other Canadians will only continue to get wider. She called for better education and partnerships between the aboriginal community, police and other Canadians.

No shortage of material on that subject either. Justice for Aboriginals in the cities is worth a national study itself. We all know about the situation in Saskatoon and the freezing deaths. The mysterious death of Anthany Dawson in Victoria where eight witnesses testified at an inquest about too much police force. James Jamieson in Fort Erie whose parents claim the system twisted the facts and ignored the truth in their son's death. Dudley George, unarmed, killed by a police marksman's bullet at Ipperwash.

Right now the Senators are looking into northern parks and the economic impacts on First Nations. Once that's done this fall, they'll turn their attention to urban Aboriginals. I hope their reading material includes the depth of the issues as described by previous studies such as the Urban Aboriginal Child Poverty report, "Recent studies indicate that Aboriginal people are at least four times more likely to report experiencing hunger than any other ethnic group in Canada. Basic foods such as bread, milk and cereal are scarce in many Aboriginal families for two weeks of the month."

If they stick to their early remarks then their work will be guided in a positive, creative way. Senator Pearson who has worked closely with urban Aboriginal women's groups said to her colleagues, " For those who are new to the committee, I would like to affirm that what we are not looking at are the problems, we are looking at solutions. We are trying to find some best practices and good models, things that work well." Senator Johnson said he wanted to see the film about street gangs but was most interested in making sure the programs that are working in urban Aboriginal communities "are showcased for a change, instead of all the bad stories." Here, here!

They need to be highlighted, acknowledged by more than rhetoric, and Mr. Chretien please note - they need to be adequately funded.

I know for a fact that civil servants in Ottawa in key positions carrying the urban Aboriginal files would like the Prime Minister to 'put money where his mouth is' when he publicly champions the cause of making life better for Aboriginal Canadians.

Perhaps the Canada West Foundation Summer 2001 report puts it into proper perspective, "For years, the federal government’s primary approach to easing urban transition challenges for Aboriginal people has been through its funding of Native Friendship Centres. Annually, the government of Canada transfers $13.4 million to the National Association of Friendship Centres for distribution among 98 Friendship Centres and two satellite centres. This amount is not solely for urban transition services; rather, it is used by Friendship Centres to support all of their programs. To place the federal spending in perspective, consider the federal government’s commitment to new immigrants to Canada. In the same year that the government transferred $13.4 million to Native Friendship Centres, it spent over $256 million on immigrant settlement and integration. The discrepancy between these amounts becomes most apparent when seen on a per capita basis ... federal spending on recent immigrants far outpaces support for Aboriginal urban transition. Federal immigrant settlement and transition spending in 1996-97 was $247 per person who immigrated in the previous five years, while the government’s contribution to Native Friendship Centres was $34 per urban Aboriginal person. Perhaps this helps to explain the difficulties many Aboriginal people are experiencing in adjusting to life in western Canadian cities."

To the Honourable Senators may I say respectfully that urban Aboriginal people are ready to work with you and the message is clear, "we not only know what the problems are, we've got some damn good ideas about the solutions too".

Let's hope that this time, the study the Senators produce is one that creates results and doesn't merely give the dust mites cause for celebration.