I have avoided getting caught up in what can only be described as the insanity gripping the US media and political elite since even before Trump's astounding victory in 2016 -- the claim that poor, weak Russia somehow orchestrated the defeat of Hillary Clinton and the election of the clownish, loose cannon Donald Trump. 'Ridiculous,' I laughed. As the drumbeat continued into the fourth year, out of curiosity, I decided I should have a look.

The biggest noise was the indictment of a Russophobe anti-Trumper (Trump "a soulless ginger orangutan") whistleblower Reality Winner, in 2018, whose claim of Trump-Russia conspiracy was bogus but who was imprisoned for her 'courageous' blowhardiness anyway. (US justice is as weird as American names like 'Reality Winner'. She exposed … nothing, and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison as part of that marvel of US ‘justice’ a plea bargain.)

I watched a video interviewing black activist Andrew (unintelligible) on MSNBC in April 2019, with the accompanying article, "Russian documents reveal desire to sow racial discord — and violence — in the U.S.", about a Facebook troll who supposedly originated in the now legendary Internet Research Agency, "the St. Petersburg-based troll farm that played a key role in the 2016 Russian meddling campaign."

Naughty, naughty.

Transition from the Indian Act to Aboriginal self-government

The debate about the Indian Act and how to reconcile the elected councils and the traditionals over the past 40 years has been shaped by the sweeping intent of the White Paper of 1969, issued as Pierre Trudeau began his career as prime minister. It set out a liberal, multicultural challenge, an attempt to supersede the Indian Act by eliminating any special status for natives altogether. This galvanized the natives towards a defence of their special status, above and prior to the colonial settlers. It is a nice historical touch that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made native issues a priority, perhaps putting in place a new dispensation that has been germinating ever since.

Some landmarks in the movement to replace the 1876 Indian Act include:

*In 1973, the federal government commenced talks with the Yukon Native Brotherhood (later the Council for Yukon First Nations). In 1995, the Umbrella Final Agreement and the Final and Self-Government Agreements for four Yukon First Nations became law.
      Other Yukon First Nations subsequently signed final agreements, bringing most of the Yukon’s First Nations into a radically different relationship with the government of Canada. Reserves were replaced by settlement lands. First Nations governments operating under settlement agreements, with much wider scope than those regulated by the Indian Act, had to design and implement financial management regimes, and continue negotiations with federal and territorial authorities on financial/tax arrangements and transfers of programs  and services. In the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act (1994), the legislation noted, “When a final agreement is given effect, the Indian Act ceases to apply in respect of any reserve identified in the agreement as settlement land.”

*The creation of Nunavut in 1999, an Inuit-controlled jurisdiction with the same range of powers as the other two territories, has raised even further the bar on Aboriginal governance.

Six Nations, southwest of Hamilton Ontario, is the largest reserve in Canada, with 27,000 members, though only 12,000 live on the reserve. It is a mini-multicultural nation, the only reserve in North America that has all six Iroquois nations living together.