Course talk:POLI3802012/Survey/AboriginalAffairs

Here s the email I sent to Professor Cutler:

Good evening, Professor Cutler,

My name is Maelle Gillet and I am currently registered in your Poli 380 class. I am sorry to have to email you about an issue in my group regarding the Wiki page project.

Admittedly, there could have been better communication between group members. However, after the deadline had passed, I noticed that only Vanessa's questions appeared on the main page, while those contributed by Derrick and I had been deleted. Although we did not collectively decide on the best five, all students had participated and posted questions on the discussion page. At the last minute, Vanessa posted a comment suggesting a vote and the deletion of Derrick's questions as he had not been active on the discussion page for approximately 10 days.

I regret to only have seen this now. Even though, Vanessa received no response from her fellow group members, she should not have deleted any one else's questions, and she by no means had the right to post only hers.

At this point, I am afraid, the work I have done will not be taken into account as I only re-posted what Vanessa had deleted (Derrick's, Madihah's, and my questions) after the deadline.

Should you have the time, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and my fellow group members.

I sincerely thank you for your time and for your understanding.

Maelle Gillet

Here's the email from Professor Culter: Maelle, We'll make sure that all contributions get taken into account. We're mostly going to look at the discussion anyway. If you want to meet to clarify what should be there for us to look at, we can meet next week. Best, Fred

To which I answered:

I am glad to know that the discussion page will be taken into account. However, what has been deleted cannot be found on the discussion pages. Derrick only posted his questions on the main page, as did I. I was only able to retrieve an earlier version of my questions from my computer, which I re-posted tonight on the main page. Also, in an effort to notify Derrick, could I ask you for his email address, as he has not logged in the Wiki page in a few days.

Moreover, I will post those emails on the discussion page so that my fellow group members can have access to them, and if we all feel the need to meet with you as a group, we will. On the other hand, I would be more than happy to discuss my work with you when you have time next week.

Sincerely,

Maelle

This is everything from the main page as I said I saved it, I thought I had saved it to the discussion but I guess I had not. My understanding was the front page was only suppose to be the questions that had already been discussed and edited here not just simply someone posting an then leaving the discussion. I really wish that I had the chance to repost but I stop checking this thread after the deadline, and after no one else made their last contributions by the deadline.

---

1. To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Aboriginal land claims are more important than corporate development 0 to 10, 0 being completely disagree and 10 being completely agree, with 5 being neutral, and blank for no opinion.

2. Aboriginal groups need _______ independence. a) more, to preserve autonomy b) less, to avoid catastrophe's (such as Attawapiskat) c) more, for other reasons d) less, for other reasons

3. Aboriginals deserve special privileges because: a) their have property rights over the land we live on, and deserve compensation b) to increase their standards of living to match those of other Canadians c) as reparations for historical reasons d) for other reasons e) Aboriginals do not deserve special privileges

-Derrick Murphy

DerrickMurphy 18:30, 10 February 2012 (PST)

4-) To what extend do you think Aboriginal culture has been altered by the Western culture, form the settlement to nowadays? From 1 to 10, 1 not at all, 10 completely.

5-) Do you think measures (education, protection of languages, financial aid and so on) should be taken by the federal government to help protect the Aboriginal culture? Yes, No, No opinion.

6-)If you consider that First Nations have ownership of parts of the Canadian territory, do you believe any decisions concerning those lands, including the use of resources and any land use, should strictly be made by Aboriginal people? Yes, No, No opinion

7-)Concerning the BC Hydro plan to build a new dam on the Peace River (Site C), Should Aboriginals be consulted, if yes, choose the most suitable answer: a-)Aboriginals' point of view prevail, b-)Aboriginals should be largely included in the decision making process, c-) Aboriginals should be consulted but the final decision should entirely lie with the BC Government, d-) No, Aboriginals should not be consulted.

Hey Vanessa,

I am really surprised to see that you deleted everyone's work from the main page, especially as the deadline has now passed. I read your last comment about the vote and the idea of deleting Derrick's questions. Even if, or especially if, no one answered, how on earth could you delete others' work!!!? It seems to me, and correct me if I am wrong, that you pushed everyone else under the bus to try and maximize your own mark.

I re-posted everyone else's questions, except Derrick's as he didnt post them on the discussion page; thanks to you it is now lost. I will also email the prof and let him know what happened. Please give me your email address if you want me to forward you the message I m sending him.

After we are confidante in our wording of each question, maybe we can post them on the front page and vote there? We can just put ticks beside the 5 we like the best. Also I think we can delete Derrick's questions because he only posted once and still has not replied to my comment from 10 days ago. If anyone else agrees about erasing his questions just go ahead and erase them, thanks.

So I'm thinking we can all post our questions by 4pm and then all vote by 5 or 6pm?

I'm not sure what to do, the questions were already due. I posted mine on the front page to so everyone could vote, but no one else posted their revised questions, and I never recived any feedback on any of my questions. I deleted Derrick's questions (I assume he joined another group?) I saved it just in case.

4. How important do you think is funding for aboriginal affairs (i.e. economic, education, housing or infrastructure etc) in contrast to other political issues in Canada? (0 - Not important, 10 - Very important)

I read this one over a few times and I'm not sure how to answer it, I think it maybe the "in contrast" part

1. Do you support initiatives that educate their employers of the advantages of hiring aboriginal employees? Yes, No, Unsure, No opinion.

I'm not sure what you mean by advantages

Hey everyone! Sorry to join this group so late but I was just so overwhelmed with midterms and papers... =( Regardless, here are the questions I have so far:

1. Do you support initiatives that educate their employers of the advantages of hiring aboriginal employees? Yes, No, Unsure, No opinion.

2. How strongly do you feel on the issue of imposing quotas to ensure an increased representation of aboriginal groups in the workforce? (0 - Not strong, 10 - Very strong).

3. Do you believe it the Government of Canada's responsibility to ensure aboriginal people receive and enjoy the same education as all other Canadians? (Agree, Disagree, Uncertain, No opinion)

4. How important do you think is funding for aboriginal affairs (i.e. economic, education, housing or infrastructure etc) in contrast to other political issues in Canada? (0 - Not important, 10 - Very important)

Let me know what you think!

I'm glad someone else has joined. Can you please post each of your questions in a separate post I posted Q 1-Q4, so I guess start by labelling them Q5- and that way we can all post back and forth bout each question and vote on which ones we want, and that way it is easier to follow. Also please read the rest of the discussion and comment on any questions. I think we should get this all done asap considering it is due today.

Welcome Madihah and thanks for joining this group!! I was thinking we could all go ahead and post our questions on the main page, since it s due today, I am afraid we wont be able to all pick our 5 fav.. Does that sound good to you guys?

Hi guys, Sorry that I have not posted in a few days, I've been sick. I'm surprised that we only have three people, it would be nice to get more feedback on our questions but we can make this work.

Elle I prefer your wording in the question about corporate development. I think we should stick to questions that have answers that are simple such as agree disagree ect and rate from 1-10, that way it's easier to work with that data that we get. Elle I like your idea about the BC Hydro question but maybe we can change the question to be a statement on which someone can agree or disagree.

I am currently working on some questions but just wanted to post to touch base. I think that we should start posting questions asap, I assume some will overlap but we can work together to reword ect.

My first question is: Do you agree with the Federal government’s decision to put Attawapiskat under third party management? Agree, Disagree, Don’t know (not sure if it's necessary to but a strongly agree and a strongly disagree).

Here are the questions I have so far, I will keep checking in today and tomorrow.

1. Do you agree with the Federal government’s decision to put Attawapiskat under third party management? Agree, Disagree, Don’t know

2. Agree or Disagree: Aboriginal groups deserve the right to self-government. Agree, Disagree, Don’t know

3. Agree or Disagree: The Attawapiskat community is solely responsible for its housing crisis. Or reword as: Agree or Disagree: The Attawapiskat community is responsible for its housing crisis. Strongly Agree (100% responsible), Agree (mostly reasonable), Disagree (mostly not responsible), Strongly Disagree (100% not responsible)

4. Do you think that Aboriginal groups should be consulted on resource development projects on non-aboriginal land? Yes, No, Don’t know

Hey Vanessa, I m so glad you posted something and i really like your questions! I have added a few more myself on the main page, wasnt sure if someone would check the discussion page before tomorrow. Please tell me what you think and I ll edit again if necessary. Also, I like your idea of a statement for BC Hydro, but I m not quite sure how to do it (how to include the nuances from the answers) if I say, The BC Hydro project should include Aboriginal people in the decision making. 1 to 10: 1 not all ; 5 Aboriginals should be consulted but the final decision should entirely lie with the BC Government ; 10 Aboriginals' point of view prevail I m not sure, it s easy to rate with numbers.. Do you have an idea on how to do it?

I ll keep checking back til tomorrow aftrn.

Hey, I'm going to post each of my questions in a different thread, that way we can all comment back and forth about each question's wording. After we can vote and put the questions we choose on the front page. I hope this works for everyone, I think it will keep the conversation organized. I will come back to this page later today to comment on your questions Elle.

Hey Elle, here are my comments on the questions you posted on the front page

"To what extend do you think Aboriginal culture has been altered by the Western culture, form the settlement to nowadays?" -I'm not sure what you are trying to measure here, as in what kind of research question would benefit from the data

"Do you think measures (education, protection of languages, financial aid and so on) should be taken to help protect the Aboriginal culture? " -I really like this one, but I think adding who is taking the action would be a good idea, I assume you mean the federal government

"Do you consider that First Nations have ownership of parts of the Canadian territory? Yes, No, No opinion. If yes, Do you believe any decisions concerning those lands, including the use of resources and any land use, should strictly be made by Aboriginal people?" -I think I understand what you are trying to ask here it may be possible to do it in one question just be rewording the second one

"Concerning the BC Hydro plan to build a new dam on the Peace River (Site C), Should Aboriginals be consulted, if yes, choose the most suitable answer:" -I'm not sure if everyone will have a enough knowledge to answer this question, maybe we could ask a more generalized question about development impacting aboriginal lands

Hey Vanessa, thanks for the comments! I am going to try to rephrase some of the questions.

3. Do you believe it the Government of Canada's responsibility to ensure aboriginal people receive and enjoy the same education as all other Canadians? (Agree, Disagree, Uncertain, No opinion)

2. How strongly do you feel on the issue of imposing quotas to ensure an increased representation of aboriginal groups in the workforce? (0 - Not strong, 10 - Very strong).

Do you think that Aboriginal groups should be consulted on resource development projects on non-aboriginal land? Yes, No, Don’t know

Agree or Disagree: The Attawapiskat community is solely responsible for its housing crisis. Agree, Disagree, I Don't Know

Or reword as Agree or Disagree: The Attawapiskat community is responsible for its housing crisis. Strongly Agree (100% responsible), Agree (mostly reasonable), Disagree (mostly not responsible), Strongly Disagree (100% not responsible)

• I think I prefer the first one

Agree or Disagree: Aboriginal groups deserve the right to self-government. Agree, Disagree, Don’t know

Do you agree with the Federal government’s decision to put Attawapiskat under third party management? Agree, Disagree, Don’t know

Hey everyone,

Sorry I am joining this group a bit late ( I got swamped with midterms/papers and the group I was in before almost finished without me..:) Anyway, I really like the questions you posted, however I agree with Vanessa for the first question. Maybe it could be something along the line: How much influence do you think Aboriginals should have on corporate development taking place on their claimed lands? From 10 to 0, 10maximum, 0none, 5no special influence. (the phrasing could definitely use some more work..)

In your opinion, Aboriginals' political impact in Canada is : a-)too important, b-)enough, c-)lacking, d-)no opinion.

Concerning the BC Hydro plan to build a new dam on the Peace River (Site C), Should Aboriginals be consulted, if yes, choose the most suitable answer: a-)Aboriginals' point of view prevail, b-)Aboriginals should be largely included in the decision making process, c-) Aboriginals should be consulted but the final decision should entirely lie with the BC Government, d-) No, Aboriginals should not be consulted.

I ll post more on Friday, and Do you want to set a "deadline" just between us, so we can finish early, maybe we could say Saturday we are done with coming up with new ideas so that Sunday can be dedicated to choosing our favorite five questions?

Elle.

This topic is too important to simply let fall by the way-side, especially with the whole Attawapiskat question. I hope some others will join with me, or at LEAST provide some feedback on my questions. If I don't get anything, I might latch on to another topic (perhaps a multiculturalism tie in?).

-Derrick Murphy

DerrickMurphy 18:09, 10 February 2012 (PST)

You are no longer the only one. I think Attawapiskat is defiantly a topic that should be covered because of its prevalence in the news so many people have a knowledge of that particular situation, and it would be interesting to see answers on Attawapiskat compared to more broad aboriginal issues. I feel one question that should be addressed should be the role of the third party management in Attawaposkat. I have some other question ideas as well I will try and add some questions to this discussion later on today.

I don't really understand your first question Derrick, I am not sure what you are asking. Hopefully more will join this topic.