How can we, as federalists, profess to believe in a united Canada if as a community we pay so little attention to one of our most important populations? Myopic focus by federalists on "the other solitude" is not only insulting to members of First Nations communities, but only serves to further alienate them from the federalist cause.

The recent water crisis in the community of Kashechewan, Ontario is an uncomfortable reminder of Canada's inconsistent focus on Native affairs. Certainly the crisis has drawn much needed attention to the oft-appalling conditions on reserves, but will anything come of this? Sadly it seems that history is merely repeating itself. The media rushes in, deplores local living conditions, interviews various generations of local families and then leaves. Op/ed pieces and comparisons between First Nations and Third World countries abound for a few days or weeks, and across the south we participate in a bit of carefully coordinated public hand-wringing. But then, then we forget.

Why is that? Why is it so easy for us to ignore the conditions of people with whom we share this country, and what impact will that have on our national future? Granted our blinders are not exclusive to the First Nations: we just as easily and just as frequently ignore the poor and disenfranchised in communities across the country. The residents of Afric'ville in Nova Scotia, of immigrant slums in Toronto and the now-destitute fishing communities of Newfoundland have all experienced this. Yet when it comes to First Nations communities there seems to be a unique resistance to engaging in meaningful discussion and dialogue. Yes, there have been numerous Royal Commissions appointed to look into concerns held by the First Nations, and the recent 1st Ministers Conference on Native affairs did address many important issues. However, we need to go beyond these bureaucratic structures and truly engage ourselves in this debate. It is the responsibility of each of us, of every Canadian, to educate ourselves about our fellow citizens and our history. We need to make efforts on both a community and a personal level to improve education and awareness of all of our founding cultures.

In a multicultural country such as ours, where we pride ourselves on our acceptance of different ethnic groups, this might seem obvious or perhaps even redundant. Why then the South's resistance to learn more about the First Nations and, perhaps more importantly, where will this resistance lead us? Many of us grew up hearing and learning precious little about the First Nations and their place in Canada's history- beyond occasional references to the Hudson Bay Company and the coureurs de bois. We were likely never taught about their participation in the World Wars or Vietnam. If we are of a certain age we might have heard mention of their initial protests against Premier Bourassa's hydroelectric adventures. Beyond that though public education and awareness about the founding populations of Canada has been embarrassingly scant.

This lack of personal engagement shows the First Nations that the majority of federalists are preoccupied with upholding Quebec's role in Canada and that there is minimal political will for keeping all of Canada's communities united. There is no better evidence of this than the recent "Paix des Braves". This treaty, signed in February 2002 by then PQ Premier Bernard Landry and Grand Chief of the Crees Ted Moses, was widely touted as a chance for the Quebec Cree to gain further control of their own economic, social and community development. However at the end of the day it was really the PQ that won out. The treaty allowed initiation of the next step of the James Bay Hydroelectric project, the economic cornerstone of the PQ's separatist agenda. The treaty stated that the agreement was negotiated "nation to nation" and it outlined a commonality between Quebec and First Nations communities. Politically it also created an important alliance between the Cree and the Pequistes (formerly uncomfortable bedfellows) and furthered the idea that Canada is divisible.

One thing is clear. The longer the federalist community ignores the realities of life on First Nations reserves, the more we shall push them into the hands of the separatists and the further fractured this country will become. To say nothing of the fractured lives of the people, the Canadian people, who live on those reserves.