"Why Not Give Our Indians a Break?"

THE Indian's plight in Canada today is not his alone. It's the white man's problem, too, requiring complete re-education of Canadians and new laws that will really make the Indian free."

These are the words of a full-blooded Mohawk who grew up on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ont. He is Brigadier O.M. Martin, 64-year-old magistrate of York county who presides over court in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Legally speaking, Magistrate Martin is no longer a Mohawk. He went through the process of "enfranchisement" shortly after World War I and thus gave up his right to live on the reservation and partake of any benefits from it.

He went out into the white man's civilized jungle with the right to vote, to pay full taxes and to consume fire water. He also had the right to work towards advancement in anything for which he could qualify. And this latter right he has used well.

He is a medium-sized man with bronzed skin, steel-gray hair, the classic nose of the Indian, and easy, friendly way of talking.

Magistrate Martin received his early education on the reserve. He later attended Caledonia high school nearby, night school at Jarvis collegiate in Toronto, and then the University of Toronto. During World War I he was an officer overseas with the infantry, later becoming an observer and then a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps.

He became a teacher, and later principal from 1922 until 1940, at Danforth Park school in the East York section of Metropolitan Toronto. In World War II he rose to the rank of brigadier to hold various important Canadian army commands. In 1944 he was appointed a magistrate.

"The Indian is probably the most poorly understood man in Canada today," asserted Magistrate Martin recently as he chatted in his office.

"From the start, youngsters in Canada get the wrong impression of their Indian brothers," he said. "The history books have been written by their enemies. The Indians are made out to be a bloodthirsty lot.

"The Indian is given no credit for what he did for the white man in this country," he continued. "He guided them on their inland explorations, trapped the furs that the trading companies sold for good prices in Europe, and showed the newcomers where to find the best fishing grounds.

"There are more than 155,000 Indians in Canada today - all suffering to a larger or smaller degree from the picture painted of them in history. They are presented as cruel savages. But that is only true when at war - a time when all nations have shown their ruthless side.

"It would be better if Canada could treat the Indians as tolerantly as they do the Americans for the Hiroshima atomic bombing and the South Africans for their treatment of the Negro," he said. "The Indian's culture, his struggle to make a living, his ability to live with nature - those are the things that should be emphasized."

As Magistrate Martin sees it, several things must be done to raise the Indian in his own eyes and in those of the rest of Canada to free him for a useful life in the 20th century.

Indians in this country should be given the vote without losing their right to live on tax-free reservation land, he said.

An amount totalling about $25,000,000, comingfrom the sale of lands and the leasing of such things as oil and gas rights on reservations, is held in trust at Ottawa. "The reservations should be given their fair right to administer this money as they see fit," said Magistrate Martin.

"And Indians should not be forbidden to purchase liquor. Some provinces still even prohibit an Indian drinking," he added.

"I feel keenly about Indians not having a federal vote. There is no reason why they shouldn't. They pay taxes on everything they earn outside their reserves - and also on everything they buy. The men enlisted in large numbers to fight for Canada in both world wars.

"There is the old saying, 'No taxation without representation,'" he noted. At present, Indians who have served in Canada's armed forces have the right to vote in federal elections. But the franchise is not granted to their wives and children.

In British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, the Indian has a provincial vote, but many provinces feel the federal government should set the example.

Magistrate Martin said many Indians, however, are fearful about getting the vote. They think it would be just one step toward losing their identity - and also their reserve lands.

"The Indian should be given the vote without losing any of his present rights," he said.

Not until 1951 were Indians in Canada permitted to drink beer and liquor in beer parlors and cocktail lounges. Only last year did the House of Commons vote to permit the Indian