Canadians are perplexed and surprised by the events which have been unfolding over the summer.

Indians however are not surprised. Indian leaders have been warning for years that such violent outbreaks would be the outcome of generations of government indifference and neglect which have marked the handling of grievances for a hundred years and more.

Common to the current outbreaks is land. There are many more Okas, Ipperwashes, and Gustafsens out there gathering explosive potential in the hundreds of so called claims which dot the map of Canada at the office of the Department of Indian Affairs.

After all it's 1995, 121 years since the earliest treaty in Manitoba was signed. Yet even here, black and white promises explicitly stated in that treaty have not been implemented by federal and provincial governments. In Manitoba alone there are 24 such land entitlements pending.

Other land grievances go back even further in other parts of the country and are layered with history and a complex of issues. Suffice to say that Indians have been waiting a long time for resolution of these matters and circumstances are now at a point where there is a danger of a loss of confidence in the established processes.

Canadians need to look behind the headlines screaming "shooting", "ambush" and "blockade" and behind their political leaders' assertions of these incidents as law and order issues to understand the real causes which have led to the current crisis.

The circumstances that have created these situations are not criminal in nature as the politicians are trying to cast them, but rather political in nature. They are the fallout of the massive failure of the political process and political will on so called "Indian claims."

First Nations are not averse to gaining political processes but Canadians will understand that to be meaningful, processes have to lead to some definable outcome at some point. Neither Canadians nor First Nations see merit in throwing money at phony and insincere processes that lead nowhere or onto a merry-go-round of negotiations and stalling.

The characterization of the confrontations as law and order matters is a specious hypocritical attempt to manipulate an ill-informed public. In British Columbia where an election is approaching, Mike Harcourt obviously sees some political mileage coming from his taking a tough stance to Indian claims in his province. In Ontario, Premier Harris' kneejerk response to the situation at Ipperwash is disappointing to say the least. And the federal minister, Ron Irwin's credibility is dissipating quickly as he resorts to catcalling from the sidelines. Nobody is leading the way here and Canadians and Indians alike are suffering as a result.

The social and economic circumstances among First Nations are worsening instead of improving. A ballooning population of young people, better educated than their parents and with expectations is emerging. They are anxious to realize a better life but are not finding it. Groups of individuals, asserting rights often around a small issue or around a blatant act of dispossession or oppression react. They have no trouble finding other frustrated individuals ready to rally behind the cause and proceed to occupy a piece of land.

A political issue becomes transformed as a criminal issue and suddenly it's now a police matter and not a political one.

Arresting individuals at these incidents and parading them before white courts will not do anything to resolve the underlying issues.

Invoking unilateral interpretations of the "rule of law" and use of the aggressive actions by authorities of the state are inappropriate to these political circumstances. THE fact of the matter is that there is no clear law on many of these issues.

Politicians have to make the effort to understand and respond with workable solutions to the deep sense of frustration and anger felt by First Nations over the apparent unwillingness of governments to negotiate and resolve issues of land treaty and inherent rights.

Canadians must ask themselves what are a people to do when the so called "rule of law" renders only injustice? Even in Canada the rule of law can mean the tyranny of the state.