I see the government as utilizing.... This is another thing I didn't get a chance to say. We're tired of being held hostage. We feel as though we're being held hostage. My family feels as though we're being held hostage, because we're being negotiated. This is perhaps an agenda to go further. It's mixing membership, band membership, self-government, and decision-making and self-determination. We're not talking about that. That is for a bigger debate and a bigger discussion with all other nations and other leadership.
We're talking about discrimination in the Indian Act, as well as our ability to pass our lineage on to our children and grandchildren. This is not being respected. We are the only race for which the government dictates who we are as a people. This is unacceptable. I have a daughter and grandchild. To me, it's as though the government is saying this child cannot be recognized, even while that child carries ancestral blood and lives in our community.
The children want to learn the language. They want to be part of the community, but we're not being allowed to because of the status number. It has to do with Bill S-2, and it's cultural. Yes, it is cultural. Everything about living in a community is cultural. We live in a holistic and inclusionary way. When that is being blocked and the funds are not there, you're not included. People start internalizing this racism. It's said to them that they are not native. Cousins are telling cousins. We've heard this before. This is not the new dialogue. Everybody's been talking about this, when children get pulled off the ice because they don't have a band number. They're no longer recognized. This has to stop. It's being perpetuated by the government and the policies within the government.
Bands can determine their membership. There are membership codes they can adopt. Some communities have them. They're worried and concerned about who their members are going to be, so they have a membership code. However, do not put us all into this whole thing about self-determination. The government is muddling everything all together. We're on the sidelines, standing still and waiting for 40 to 50 years to have our equality. We are the only race to be treated like this. This is unacceptable.