I don’t know about you, but I am really tired of being threatened with violence and other unpleasantness by some native leaders. I’m also pretty tired of hearing that I’m never doing enough to help fix native problems.

I did find yesterday summit particularly annoying. Stephen Harper gave an embarrassingly groveling speech, which was immediately followed by a speech from chief Shawn Atleo demanding more… “We see today’s Gathering as only the first step in a commitment to a renewed relationship. Next must come new fiscal relationships that guarantee and deliver sustainable, equitable services based on mutually agreed standards and shared responsibility.” Why do I have the feeling someone’s about to reach deeper into my pocket?

Stephen Harper can talk about economic self-sufficiency until he goes blue in the face, as long as the federal government keeps handing out billions of dollars to band councils without normal levels of accountability, nothing will change and we all know it. But for some weird reason, nobody ever seems willing to tell the chiefs to put a sock in it and fix their own problems themselves. We grovel and promise more, more and more. Why?

Are we afraid? Chiefs like Terry Nelson don’t seem to mind making threats – he said, back in 2007, that there “were only two ways of dealing with the white man. Either you pick up a gun or you stand between him and his money.” Or Chief Stewart Phillip who warned Monday that an Arab Spring-like aboriginal uprising was inevitable unless Stephen Harper gives clear indications that he takes his concerns seriously.

You know, a native uprising is not a pleasant prospect. One such scenario is detailed in the novel Uprising by military expert Doug Bland (a book I helped edit), and I don’t think I’m going to spoil the book for you by telling you it doesn’t end well for anybody. An uprising would be a disaster for everybody. But this endless blackmail some chiefs subject us too isn’t pretty either.

Canadians – aboriginals as well as non-aboriginals – deserve better.