Frances Rides Again
Our good friends at Crazy Bitches ‘R’ Us alerted us to the latest extrusion by Francis Widdowson. I highly recommend it: it’s a better introduction to her patented synthesis of Marxism, insinuation and good ole-fashioned Injun hatred than her unreadable books, and it’s free.
The article takes on the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the organization created in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Actually, the article is an inflated recycling of a December post from Frances’ blog, sanitized, with some of the more egregious errors and nastiness cleaned up.
In her original blogpost, for example, Frances urges that money NOT be directed from the AHF to survivors because “It will just provide money for gambling, drugs and other consumer goods”. Well, exactly. Can’t trust those Injuns to do anything with money except piss it away, right? Wisely, she removed that little boil from her NatPo article – too much overt contempt for Aboriginal people gets in the way of her preferred pose as benign and benevolent White Mother.
In her original blogpost she also states that the AHF programs were not evaluated. That’s a fib she wisely revised before exposing her “thoughts” to a (presumably) larger NatPo audience, amending it to a assertion that “The only “evaluation” of AHF programs has come from the organization itself”. Well, actually, that’s a fib as well: AHF initiatives were the subject of four evaluations by Kishk Anaquot Health Research, contracted by the Foundation as a requirement of the funding the Foundation received.
Frances, you will recall, attributes many of the evils now afflicting the Aboriginal world to a Shadowy Aboriginal Industry of lawyers, consultants, sinister politicians, wicked bureaucrats and corrupt Aboriginal leaders who are conspiring to maintain Aboriginal people in their current state of servitude. Things like Land Claims Agreements, which give First Nations and Inuit clearer title, resource development revenues, self government and/or co-management powers, and so on, are negotiated purely for the benefit of this evil cabal. Frances is always a bit unclear on the alternative, but it usually involves steps that would help eliminate those pesky obstacles to assimilation.
She was turfed from a contract position with the Governnment of the Northwest Territories a decade ago because of her stated contempt for traditional knowledge, and ever since then has made it her mission to expose these Villains. You can get a sense of her style in this excerpt:
“The dearth of evaluation [Frances is referring here to her prior fib on the absence of evaluation - balb] means that it is highly probable that these “jobs” are actually sinecure positions aimed at buying off privileged members of the native population. The AHF, in fact, is a classic example of an initiative masterminded by the Aboriginal Industry — the large group of non-aboriginal lawyers, consultants and various academics who profit by keeping natives isolated, dependent and socially dysfunctional. The AHF emerged out of recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which was another Aboriginal Industry venture (it was, in fact, co-chaired by Georges Erasmus, who is now the President of the AHF).”
It’s a style of argument reminiscent of Holocaust Deniers or Birthers: the conspiracy is assumed to be true. It begins with dishonesty (the evaluations are, in fact, online). It moves to pure speculation (”it is highly probable that….”), unsupported insults, implications of corruption without evidence…because, of course, everybody KNOWS….
It’s an interesting exercise to strip Frances’ “thoughts” of their loaded vocabulary and examine what’s really there, shorn of her ideological hectoring. In that last paragraph, for instance, the actual substance is basically this: that a Royal Commission recommended this foundation be created to address a need (a need, of course, that was later gushingly acknowledged by Prime Minister Harper), and that one of the most prominent Aboriginal leaders in Canada (former leader of the Dene Nation, former Grand Chief of AFN, Order of Canada, etc.) took on the job.
She betrays a similar contempt for actual knowledge and experience in her assessment of Mike Degagné, the Executive Director of AHF.
The most significant non-aboriginal player behind the scenes in the AHF is the executive director, who provides a perfect example of Aboriginal Industry entrepreneurship. As often occurs in the development of Aboriginal Industry initiatives, DeGagné has worked for both federal and provincial government departments, including Health Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Working in government departments often enables members of the Aboriginal Industry to promote the development of programs enhancing “aboriginal self-determination,” and then to become the consultants running the initiatives that they nurtured while acting as public servants.
Let’s look at that without the ideological filters and paranoid prism, shall we? So – AHF hired Mike Degagné, former Chairperson of the Queensway Carlton Hospital, an experienced manager with a doctorate in education, an extensive background in Aboriginal policy development and program delivery, excellent knowledge of the funders, the regulators, Aboriginal health issues, a strong national network within both Government and the Aboriginal world, to manage a Foundation that delivers an Aboriginal program and conducts Aboriginal research and policy development. He’s lived and worked on reserve, he’s former Vice-President of the Child Welfare League of Canada…
Gosh. How did they make an awful choice like that? Were there no race-baiting Marxist sociologists available to take the job?
Keep reading. Frances evinces similar levels of theatrical mock-horror at the notion that the AHF has a Board of Directors, that it has an Advisory group of elders, that the organization produces “press releases” and “legal documents”. Even more strangely, she takes exception to the fact that the Executive Director is “housed in an executive director’s office”. One wonders whether Frances has ever actually had a job in a foundation, an NGO, or any organization that is trying to accomplish something in the real world.
So having established that the organization is staffed and governed by competent folks that even her attempted slurs can’t make look bad, she turns to strawmen, with this.
“It is, in fact, a huge mistake to single out the legacy of residential schools as the main cause of the pervasive problems that plague isolated aboriginal communities today.”
Very true. And no-one does. Some of those problems come from the Government’s failure to honour the terms of their treaties and land claims agreements. Some of them come from the fact of isolation. Some are the inevitable consequence of cultural and economic transition. Some are caused by corrupt or incompetent leadership. Some are caused INAC’s poisonous colonial mindset, which makes organizations like the AHF necessary to bridge the gap between the feds and Aboriginal communities. Some are caused by the nature of land title. Some are a function of racism.
I could go on, but I suggest you read the article yourself and enjoy a textbook example of an “intellectual” whose writing and research skills are put out once again to whore for a particularly nasty ideology. An honest academic’s assessment of the AHF would discuss the problems they faced in establishing review and granting frameworks in their early years. It would also provide a summary of the evaluation results (which were quite positive, though appropriately critical of some aspects of the foundation). But this is not an honest assessment – just another screed from another ideologue who knows what’s best for Aboriginal people.
Bloody well done, balb. I hope she comes back here for another thrashing.
I don’t know what it is about you Marxists, Dawg…
Yes, very good. Her syllogism is appealing, though, especially when you cut the aboriginal peoples right out of the decision-making. It seems to go something like this:
A) Aboriginal Peoples are a vexing, stubborn problem to be solved;
B) The problem isn’t so much them ( for be assured we admire and care for them all), as that evil cabal of bloodsucking lawyers and consultants (unknown in non-aboriginal society) who have gained control over their lives and from whom they need rescue;
C) Let us banish the parasites and focus on providing high-quality services that are tailored to the special needs of the aboriginal population so that they can enjoy the emotional satisfaction (“self-esteem”) that comes from making a social contribution. (Cue the orchestra!)
Who among the percentage of the population that is far removed isn’t going to be grabbed by that?
She’s what’s known as a vulgar-Marxist. She’s still channeling Lewis Morgan. Don’t confuse her pastiche with the real thing!
I’ve never been quite sure how “C” is to be accomplished if you’re not allowed to work with those tainted lawyers, consultants, or bureaucrats who actually know anything about Aboriginal issues or have experience with Aboriginal programs.
Don’t confuse her pastiche with the real thing!
Heh, heh.
In her original blogpost, for example, Frances urges that money NOT be directed from the AHF to survivors because “It will just provide money for gambling, drugs and other consumer goods”. Well, exactly. Can’t trust those Injuns to do anything with money except piss it away, right? Wisely, she removed that little boil from her NatPo article…
It’s there. Was is not there earlier?
She’s what’s known as a vulgar-Marxist.
I’d call her a “classic” neoconservative (I put classic in quotes, because it really is one of the newest, freshest political ideas to have emerged from the last decades of the previous century) ; a species for which roots in Marxism are essential characteristics.
T, you are correct. My opinion of Widdowson remains the same: my opinion of the National Post just dropped four points to -86.
and Canwest…..up for sale to the cheapest bidder. :O)
My opinion of Widdowson remains the same: my opinion of the National Post just dropped four points to -86.
Wow. You’re charitable.
Once again I find myself alternating between nodding in approval and recoiling in disgust at Widdowson.
Disclaimer – nothing personal, Balb.
FWIW, I think the AHF should continue to receive funding. I don’t know much about the state of the organization. But I have done work for an org that was holding a conference funded by the AHF, and it was possibly the most relevant, down-to-earth,meaningful conference I have ever participated in. So I know they do (at least some) good work. (Yes, I see the conflict of interest in praising a conference I worked to prepare/run…but it’s true).
BUT, sinecure positions are a reality. Oversized, overfunded boards are a reality.
“Board members are even paid $250 for a two-and-a-half-hour conference call (the amount increases to $500 if the call goes over the allotted time).” I believe it, and this is ridiculous.
“They are the necessary native façade that is pushed in front of the Aboriginal Industry to hide the role that non-aboriginal people play in existing aboriginal policies.” This is a reality, too. I’m not pointing fingers, and I’m not even sure if I can pass judgement (in terms of motive) – but it is a reality.
“This focus is largely a legal strategy aimed at acquiring compensation, and it prevents a recognition that many aboriginal people who did not attend residential schools are also suffering from the same symptoms — violence, substance abuse and despair. These problems can be traced to the feelings of hopelessness that come from being unable to make a meaningful contribution to the society in which one lives. As hunting and trapping declined in importance with the emergence of industrialization, it became necessary for aboriginal people to develop the skills, values and attitudes necessary to enter the workforce. This was not an easy transition for a pre-literate culture that was not used to working by the clock or interacting with non-kin in productive activities. It also was not helped by governments who historically were more interested in economic development than addressing the needs of the native population.” While I disagree with the ‘pre-literate’ characterization, this for the most part true. I’d say that while this legal strategy is a good thing, it shouldn’t overshadow the work we have to do internally (within our own communities, for ourselves) to alleviate many of our social and health problems.
It’s always rather difficult to have these kinds of conversations with my peers, because I’m confronted with either a stubborn “but she’s a racist” defensiveness (I know she is), a “you’re so naiive, that’s how the world works” chide, or a “you’re such a racist, why do you hate white people?” reactionary response.
IMHO the ‘aboriginal industry’ is a reality, and regardless of the motivations of the players within the industry, I think this industry hampers our abilities and opportunities to address our own shortcomings, social issues, leadership incompetence, and institutional dysfunctions.
I’d call her a “classic” neoconservative (I put classic in quotes, because it really is one of the newest, freshest political ideas to have emerged from the last decades of the previous century) ; a species for which roots in Marxism are essential characteristics.
Huh?
Huh?
A lot of older neoconservatives were former Troskyists. Everyone knows that.
Take it as a compliment. At least, among Marxists (and the older neoconservatives), there’s evidence of thought and scholarship in the articulation of their ideas, which is something that can’t said for the new crop of imbeciles who represent the Right’s current intelligenstia.
Nice work – I didnt bother to compare the NP article to her earlier blog post (much like the video of the 9/11 attacks, I have only the stomach to see horrors once).
I must say though, reading her blog is a guilty pleasure.
Throbbin: It’s easy to agree with chunks of what Widdowson says, because she identifies real problems. There are sinecure positions, overfunded and dysfunctional boards, rapacious consultants and corrupt lawyers.
She is, however, someone shares with Tom Flanagan the belief that Aboriginal culture is inherently inferior to Western culture, and that the interests of Aboriginal people would best be served by assimilation into the mainstream. Flanagan, as you know, believes that Canada should simply abrogate its claims and treaties.
Because Widdowson is an ideologue and a propagandist, it is essential that she reinterpret the world in a form compatible with her ideology. The AHF by its very existence runs counter to her vision of how the world should work, so it MUST be flawed.
Thus her attempt to turn Mike Degagne and Steve Kakfwi into objects of contempt, to ignore the evaluations of the Foundation, to ignore the impact of the organizations it supports. Its existence offends her.
Full disclosure: I’ve never worked for AHF, but I was very familiar with the organization. The late Dr. Gail Valaskakis , formerly their director of research, was a good friend, and one of the most selfless and dedicated people I have ever known. I worked with Mike Degagne years ago as a volunteer on an unrelated project. I have also done work for two projects funded or partially funded by AHG; both great projects, community conceived and driven. Those projects, and Gail, and Mike, achieved more than a thousand Frances Widdowsons will in a hundred lifetimes.
“IMHO the ‘aboriginal industry’ is a reality, and regardless of the motivations of the players within the industry, I think this industry hampers our abilities and opportunities to address our own shortcomings, social issues, leadership incompetence, and institutional dysfunctions.”
Well, I’m not inclined to defend my life and my work here – you can figure out its value, or otherwise, after I croak. But it’s a shame you don’t think motivations of “players” within “the industry” matter. Because I think they do. I know a number of “industry” people whose focus is putting their experience at the service of communities to help the community identify and meet its own goals, not imposing their goals on the community. There’s a few ways you can distinguish them.
A really good thing about the recent government bailouts of well, essentially, wealthy white businessmen, is that it puts all the old myths about government money always going to the undeserving to rest.
Right?
As Woody Allen said about the Great International Zionist Conspiracy: “As a Jew, I want to know why I’m not getting my cut.”
That’s because the Great International Zionist Conspiracy is actually a cabal of British bankers.
a cabal of British bankers.
What does this even mean?
When I was a little girl growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, I was raised to believe that a cabal of British bankers ran the world, which was considered a good thing because, well, let’s just say I more likely than not had a grandfather or two who belonged to the Orange Lodge back in the days before political correctness was even a twinkle in some lippy Feminist’s eye. Then, when Al Gore invented the internet, I realized that some people thought there was a Great International Zionist Conspiracy (GIZCon) running the world, not seeming to realize that, no, a cabal of British bankers does.
When I was a little girl growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, I was raised to believe that a cabal of British bankers ran the world, …
Well, the rest of us Northern Ontarians always knew “the Soo” was a really, really, really dumb town.
We honestly were just trying to spare your feelings. Honest.
You must be from Sudbury!
Remember, this a historic town, the name of which is actually spelled in archaic French, that boldly declared itself “English Only” in a part of the province of Ontario that is 40% francophone.
You must be from Sudbury!
Think waaay further north than that.
Balb said…” It’s easy to agree with chunks of what Widdowson says, because she identifies real problems. There are sinecure positions, overfunded and dysfunctional boards, rapacious consultants and corrupt lawyers.
She is, however, someone shares with Tom Flanagan the belief that Aboriginal culture is inherently inferior to Western culture, and that the interests of Aboriginal people would best be served by assimilation into the mainstream. Flanagan, as you know, believes that Canada should simply abrogate its claims and treaties”…
Exactly ,this woman has nothing but contempt for Indigenous Peoples. Assimilation is everything,end of story.
For what ever reason she just can not admit that Indigenous Peoples are not just another ethnic minority but rather are sovereign peoples. If one is opposed to assimilation and or attempts to put forth the native viewpoint one must be a cultural relativist,of the worst kind.
Frances was caught in one more little fib: Mike Degagné responded to her letter in the NatPo, addressing many of the points raised above, and adding that despite her snide insinuation, he is, in fact, Aboriginal.
And this woman pretends to be a “scholar”. Feh.
@sooey – Aha! You identify “The Nest,” as I’ve heard it referred to in former British colonies around the world. At its centre, as in all hives, resides the “queen.” From deep within the hive she spews forth eggs and directs the hive’s drones to seek out, exploit and bring back to “the Nest” what it can.
Good one, m. Balb. Of course, I think a closer reading of Widdowson’s (I hate to call it) writings shows a not-so-subtle solution to this so-called problem with the “Aboriginal Industry.” You see, Widdowson identifies two distinct entities in that phrase: “Aboriginal” and the “Industry.”
The “industry” exists but not nearly to the extent she whines on and on about. In fact, every policy area has a similar industry of consultants and lawyers and groups that seek to form or reform government policy; from victims of crime, to wheat farmers, to mining or forestry. That’s how government works.
Some of these industries, however, are not there to benefit society at all. For instance, there’s an entire “communications industry” built around Harper and the Conservative Party that includes a lot of White communications consultants and includes some really neat production facilities designed to churn out Harper/CPoC propaganda for online, radio and TV (and thus bypass the national news media).
A lot of people consider this a problem for all sorts of reasons. Many people also suggest a solution that won’t do a danged thing to solve “the problem” as perceived.
The problem is this propaganda machine (the Harper Industry) that serves the PMO. Simplistic solution: get rid of the PM. Of course, even if voters throw Harper out, the machinery will still exist and so will the problem. There are no guarantees the machinery (like that neat production facility) won’t be put to use by the person or party that replaces Harper and the CPoC.
Similarly, Widdowson identifies (and magnifies to a laughable degree) the “Aboriginal Industry.” Her solution is about as simplistic and evil as it gets. Wipe the Indians out of existence. No more Indians… no more “industry” Problem solved? Wrong!
There will always be research and policy consultants, community development advisors, governance and health care experts, lawyers specializing in land claims, criminal or constitutional law, and a small army of others milling about Ottawa and elsewhere across the country looking for work in their areas of expertise. many of them are Aboriginal peoples, representative of an emerging indigenous middle class of professionals.
Result: the so-called “Industry” will continue in another form. It will merely mutate and move to a new host to survive.
Widdowson may actually believe she’s provided the solution to the “problem.” I suggest it is the same “solution” with only slight changes in wording that Duncan Campbell Scott’s pass laws and residential schools, Jean Chretien’s ‘69 White Paper, Tom Flanagan’s Conservative policies, the National Post’s editorials, and not a few truly hideous bloggers have suggested for more than a century – erase Indigenous peoples of this land from this world once and for all.
I suggest that people like Widdowson and Flanagan, and their cheer leading section led by folks like Joe Quesnel and Calvin Helin, are the real problem. They pander to the lowest common denominator in Canadian society and all it’s worst prejudices. Worst, they hinder or prevent real change from taking place.
@balbulican – Also, Widdowson implies that Gilbert Oskaboose slammed the Aboriginal Healing Foundation recently (use of the present tense), as though the problems he describes exist today.
He actually posted his criticism of the AHF on his blog in 2000. He had a stroke that same year which forced him to hang up his keyboard forever. I knew him, liked him, and respected him and his writings which were often ascerbic and overly-critical, much like my own.
The situation Gilbert described at AHF is light-years from the situation today. But Widdowson doesn’t seem to be bothered by such inconvenient things as facts. I doubt she talked to anyone with first-hand knowledge of the AHF today for that bit of anti-Indian propaganda.
The National Post must also be condemned for allowing that piece of drivel to appear in its pages apparently without concern as to factual basis. Shame on that editor (and I think we know which one was responsible).
[...] (sigh) go on over the StageLeft. Read Balbulican’s nail the latest load of horsesh*t that faux academic, Francis Widdowson, had published in that rag pretending to be a newspaper [...]
These people have no idea how wrong they are, not because they’re being politically incorrect, but because they’re wrong. They’re a homogeneous group of awful people, who tend also to be politicians and pundits, defining “good” as “people like us”. There’s no point in attempting to reason with them, they should be boycotted.
Mocking and debunking is a lot more fun than ignoring.
Oh absolutely. I must have thought I was Ti-Guy there for a moment. Carry on.
Read “The Best Man for the Job” by Harvey Simms.
fyi: Frances has written a follow-up piece to Degagne’s letter.
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2430480
Could she look any more foolish? Better yet, how on earth did she manage to get hired at Mount Royal?
And just what, exactly, are the “appropriate credentials” of aboriginal “healers”? “Healers” are privileged community members who divert money away from effective scientific health services.
This theme of science über alles pops up a lot in her screeds. She argues a lot like Dawkins, Harris, et. al.
That’s pretty funny, but utterly, typically Widdowson.
In her blog, she claimed that no evaluations took place. Then she claimed that the evaluations were done by the Foundation itself. Now she acknowledges that they were done by an independent evaluator, but “paid for” by the Foundation.
Uhh…yeah. The Foundation is required under the terms of its funding to hire an independent evaluator. They did. And they published their findings, and their methodology, online. Frances provides not one word of actual critique.
She’s taken seriously by the other race baiters – not by anyone credible. What astonishes me is that McGill published her book.
“This theme of science über alles pops up a lot in her screeds.”
Yes, that’s one side of her that her more virulent conservative fans tend to ignore. She’s a fairly aggressive atheist (as opposed to us kinder, gentler atheists).
According to Frances’s logic, any “independent” office funded by government must be as corrupt by implication. i.e. Auditor Generals, Police Complaints, Ombudspersons, etc.
I’ve been putting this response off for a while, but I think I have to respond.
I have no intention of making you defend yourself or your work here Balb. It’s nothing personal, like I said (I’ve never even met you).
What I am interested in is discussing the industry throughout aboriginal communities in Canada. I do see that there are good people who work in the industry – hell, I’ve worked in the industry, and many of my colleagues had motives as ‘good’ or better than my own. It was my time spent within that industry that made me dislike it so much.
I don’t like the industry because it has grown fat. I don’t like the industry because as with any organization or network that has grown to a certain size, it has become preoccupied with itself. I don’t like the industry because back-scratching takes a higher priority than problem-solving. I don’t like the industry because it props up incompetent leaders. I don’t like the industry because as kind-hearted, helpful, selfless, or well-meaning as individuals within the industry are, the industry consumes resources that can be used better elsewhere. “Don’t hate the player, hate the game” is a line I’ve heard in a movie somewhere (I think it was Bad Boys), and is applicable here.
^That is why I can respect you, read your stuff, learn from this blog, and not judge you personally, but cannot agree with the ‘game’.
For a real life example – how often do you see RFP’s coming from large Inuit organizations? I don’t see many. Why is that? All part of ‘the game’ I guess.
There are many Inuit at fault for this too. I imagine it’s very similar among the First Nations communities. The industry does not discriminate, it is concerned with it’s own existence.
I wouldn’t get rid of the PM, I’d just limit the PM’s communications budget. There is room in between ‘getting rid of the PM’ and ‘business as usual’ for a more moderate solution.
“There will always be research and policy consultants, community development advisors, governance and health care experts, lawyers specializing in land claims, criminal or constitutional law, and a small army of others milling about Ottawa and elsewhere across the country looking for work in their areas of expertise. many of them are Aboriginal peoples, representative of an emerging indigenous middle class of professionals.”
Yes, there will always be these folks. I may even be among them. I’d just prefer they didn’t make their money in my backyard – at least not until my backyard is bountiful enough to support them without itself suffering from abject poverty. Heck, I might even be among this emerging indigenous middle class of professionals. But they (we?) might be of better use back where they (we?) came from. Life is good in Ottawa…it’s easy to forget how life ain’t so good back home. Kinda like African Medical Doctors who immigrate to Canada…we’re grateful because we need Doctors, but from time to time you can’t help but think the countries they came from might need them more than we do.
I do appreciate how you guys argue with me gently – I know you could lay into me pretty hard here. But I’m sure in all my ramblings you see what I mean. And I wouldn’t mind a response.
“And I wouldn’t mind a response.”
I will, in good faith. But frame it so that there’s something I can respond to. Because what’s there is your anger.