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written by takeiteasy , May 17, 2008 (12:01:24 PM)

Thats one of the worst letters I've read lately. Indians get everything for free, I don't know why you guys think otherwise. Free schooling, No Tax, etc. Sounds pretty good to me. AND we wouldn't be racist if everyone would be treated equal, our govenment drew the line down the middle and gave Indians more.

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written by MustBMe , May 17, 2008 (12:59:32 PM)

The problem is noone knows WHAT the natives want. The natives dont seem to even know what they want. That is why this always seems to be such a complicated issue. Some want to be accepted into mainstream society and treated just like everyone else, if that is done, then other ones cry that they are being forced into assimilation and into the white culture. Some want to be left alone to live thier culture and traditional ways, but others will then cry that they are being forced out of towns and onto reserves in the middle of nowhere. Each native band seems to have its own agenda, some seem to simply want monetary compensation, others want to be an autonomous government separate of the laws and regulations of Canada. The only thing they seem to agree on is that they should be treated differently than the rest of the citizens of Canada. There is no question those that chose to retain thier indian status in the legal sense, get tax breaks, price breaks, more rights to fishing and hunting, and I am sure the list goes on and on. How can you give one group essentially everything they want and still maintain a so-called "everyone man/woman/child is equal" society? It cant be done and that is why there is perceived racism towards natives. I say perceived because it is not racism in the traditional sense but rather an intolerance to what is very obviously a double standard set by our govt, both provincially and federally. And that fuels animosity. The days that natives can have the freedom of 200 years ago are gone, not because they are native, but because that is the way it is for EVERYONE. Labour laws have changed, home-owners laws have changed, land-owners laws have changed, hunting and fishing laws have changed, the freedom to come and go on any piece of land is no longer there for EVERYONE, not just natives. It just seems that things that natives could do 200 years ago that they cant do now is seen as racism, when really all it is, is that society has changed where everyone is more regulated and structured than any other time in our history. We may as well break up Canada and cease to be a country now and start from scratch again, because that seems to be the only way this is ever going to be resolved and everyone starts with a level playing field.

MustBMe
written by StraightUP , May 18, 2008 (10:34:31 PM)

I am sure Geraldine Solonas from McLeod Lake would probably thank you if you actually invested some time in getting what you can from her letter.

She sounds very wise to me and it is only people who seem too busy to get on the road to "somewhere else" that keep us in our narrow minded troughs.

Lets make sure to understand this time. The systematic assault on native culture and way of life was in effect: genocide.

Those who go on to laboriously try to defend this from a position of 'manifest destiny' eventually do find themselves in courts like the one held at Nuremberg at the end of the last world war.

Responses like MustbMe's to Geraldines letter pinpoint exactly the reason why there should be more education of first nations history.

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written by kgs , May 19, 2008 (12:08:44 PM)

Straightup did you read the letter because Geraldine says "There is the saying to look after what is in your own backyard first. There should be more education of our history and current media coverage of First Nations reserves that suffer poverty living conditions." Well the tax payers have been paying for years to clean up the back yard. As for more education of there history well why don't some first nations people become teachers and educated people. We already have coverage of reserves that are horrible. Not my problem thats what all the money was for and your elected chief and counsel should be held accountable for their irresponsibility to properly govern their band and their corruption. Stop blaming the government and the ever thing else on racism. The people on those reserves need to rise and demand change from their leaders and start caring about what goes on in their own back yard and stop whinning about the government or the big bad white man. Straightup you say ' The systematic assault on native culture and way of life was in effect: genocide.' What a bunch of bull @#$$%
and its unbelievable to me why you would say something like that as it sounds like you are throwing gasoline on to the fire to see what happens. Natives need to help them selves first and that starts with learning how to properly govern themselves because right know its not working. If I was a member of a band living on a reserve that was in bad shape I would get involved in band politics and try to make changes. The first change would be to get rid of the corruption that goes on and get more band members involved in the planning of improvements to the reserve.

Well rant off , eh?
written by StraightUP , May 19, 2008 (12:55:56 PM)

I respect the voice and opinion of the letter writer and think her letter has value by itself and the newspaper obviously ostensibly agreed.

I don't think it was meant for people to carry off with main points into some end zone to defend the tenets of manifest destiny. People are replying with homespun manifestos it seems!

It would seem to be that the poorest bands are blessed with the fewest resources. But for many , the windfall of cash influx from sitting on resources such as 'black gold' in Alberta seems more like a curse when we hear of so much crime and ugliness such as found in Hobbemma, Alta.

But we should all remember this, natives had a way of life, a system of values and even a justice system before European contact...and this was a life absent of European introduced diseases and a life without drugs and/or alcohol
and also non-native American diet

By no stretch am I saying a return to life 100-200 years ago but it should at least be remembered.

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written by Raparee , May 19, 2008 (03:36:41 PM)

We should also remember, StraightUP that natives also had slavery, inter-tribal warfare, short life expectancies, and high infant mortality rates.
If you're going to remember what things were like 100-200 years ago, remember it ALL, not just the things you can be proud of.

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written by islandplans , May 19, 2008 (04:04:20 PM)

The courts in Nuremberg were mentioned here. I think the confusion was that it is the 'conquerors' putting the 'conquered' on trial. This concept has always seemed a one-sided hypocritical farce to me - as if there were only atrocities commited by the 'losing' group.

"Indians got more"
written by sharing , May 19, 2008 (07:01:27 PM)

I disagree with takeiteasy. The original people of this land didn't get more. The Europeans brought them small pox and liquor. The populations were decimated.
More education is needed about what the original peoples went through. I would suggest a course in Anthropology. 101 would do and keep going until you come to the Native people of Canada and learn what a rich culture the various tribes had. It is an eye opener.

The big ? is. Who knows for sure?
written by Sojourn , May 19, 2008 (07:22:30 PM)

Who’s to say what the ‘original peoples’ would/where be now had the Europeans not arrived.

There may have been other killer diseases, conquest or peaceful assimilation by the Incas, Iroquois,Mohawks etc., just to name a few of the other possibilities.

Besides, I think the European population in Canada itself will soon be facing assimilation. too.

err,
written by Sojourn , May 19, 2008 (07:28:35 PM)

I mean Canadians with European ancestry. Ok?

History
written by P val , May 19, 2008 (09:17:19 PM)

Well the history of the Natives/first nations/aboriginals is suspect due to the remains of a "whiteman" skeleton being discovered way before any "Natives/first nations/aboriginals " being found on this continent.. The natives history has showed they took all they could from their local area to the point they had to move to find more areas to abuse..but yet they spew forth their "oneness with the earth" so run thousands of buffalo off cliffs to take the few parts they wanted..and let the rest to rot ( buffalo jump is still seeing methane gas spewing from the rotting buffalo left by said natives) then they say its their rights to hunt like they used to.. well does that not mean ..without the whitemans guns and boats.. no of course not.. they want their supposed ancient rights..as long as they can use modern way to impose those rights.. interesting to say the least

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written by Jules , May 19, 2008 (10:23:51 PM)

While we're all arguing this issue into oblivion, we're becoming more Americanized. What a perfect political 'Trojan horse' for resource hungry Americans?

re: Sharing
written by btls , May 20, 2008 (01:41:09 AM)

Yep we euros brought pox liqour and exchanged it for the no cause of cancer...tobacco, two side to every street, lets just get over it and all be equal...pay your taxes

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written by Buzz , May 21, 2008 (01:43:39 PM)

I don't know...how much looking backwards should any of us do? When I was a kid I was hideously bullied. The Germans totally wrecked my Mother's life, the Vikings screwed my ancestors completely...blah blah blah. I have such mixed feelings about "assimilation", but personally, the history of our world is filled with wrongs (if that's what you choose to focus on), and I'd rather look out my windshield at what's ahead of me...and my rear view mirror is just to keep a lesser eye on what's behind me. I crash less often that way!! I also used to think of myself as a 'rebel' when I was younger. Now, I see the benefit of working with society and fitting in and being a part of it all. Is it fair to expect everyone to try to fit in? At this point of my life, I'd have to say a resounding "yes"...and life isn't fair, but who said it was supposed to be fair?

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written by Alwaysaboutus , May 23, 2008 (11:45:52 AM)

Seriously, it's time to stop passing blame to Canadians for the problems in native communities. "Assimilation never worked on us in the first place. It only created the many problems we have today in our society" That happened generations ago, and yes what happened is unfortuneate but it was our ancestors, not us, we should not be paying for events that occured long before our time. The problems in these communities now are not caused from events that happened thousands of years ago; they are caused by the unwillingness to change now.
I am from England, and my ancestors were raped and pillaged but you don't see us (England decendants) running to the Vatican demanding money and passing blame thousands of years later. We recvered, we moved on, and we are doing just fine.
Things change, time changes and people change. It is time we (people of Canadian ancestry) stopped being blamed for the unfortunate events and poor decisions of our ancestors.
In regards to this quote, "Do you expect current immigrants to assimilate into today's society. I would say not", are you kidding me? You don't see immigrants from, for example, India coming to Canada and demanding money, no taxes, free schooling, the ability to hunt/fish 100% of the time with no rules, etc. No, instead they immigrate from India, they get an education, they get a job, they support their families, they even relocate their families left in India to Canada and it starts all over again.
"I do agree that we should be Canada's top priority as that has been my belief for years" And why should Canada only have top priority for just one of the many different cultures. Because you were here first? Take a minute and ponder this: What if Eurpeans had never come over? Natives would not have what they have today. Gone would be the clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet, gone would be vehicles, entertainment, education, houses even. Everything Europeans brought would be as though it never exsisted. Your reserves would be the same as they are today, and then who would you blame?
Go out, get a university education (as you will get it for free) then you can get a good job, buy a house, provide properly for your family; make sure your daughters and sons grow up with good morals and values, and then this supposed racism will stop.
"There is the saying to look after what is in your own backyard first" Please enlighten me as to why we should be 100% responsible for cleaning up your backyards? Why can't it be a joint effort? It should be a 50/50 responsibility, not left weighing down on Canada's shoulders to, for lack of a better phrase, take care of natives. Your people need to make an honest effort as well.
kgs I agree with you 100%
And Straightup "The systematic assault on native culture and way of life was in effect: genocide." The keyword in that phrase is WAS.

Re: Alwaysaboutus
written by Jules , May 26, 2008 (06:29:46 PM)

In order to build a legitimate argument, you at least have to have a legitimate basis to build it upon. Clearly, the evidence surrounds us that European settlers benefited from the undiscovered, unmolested wealth of the Americas. Furthermore, several cultures, such as the Japanese, have contributed to the technological revolution we all enjoy. I mean, it's not like the early Europeans showed up with cellphones; quads; 4x4s; computers; information, and the accompanying wisdom that comes from living in the year 2008?