Today's Indians should be thankful that Captain George didn't kill all of them . He no doubt could of and as others have hinted if it were another person, or organization would of.
Really? He could have? With the all but 153 men he left England with, some of whom undoubtedly died along the way and those still alive would have been in rough shape after 3 years at sea given the deplorable conditions on those ships? No, more likely George was thankful those 50 odd natives paddling out to his ships came bearing gifts of smoked salmon and not weapons. Thankful that their more numerous population (the native population of Howe Sound before contact is estimated to be in the tens of thousands before small pox wiped out 1/3 of their population in 1770) had a prophecy that the coming of a strange group of people would precipitate a calamity to follow and chose to offer gifts to these newcomers to try to avoid the calamity. They could have just as easily decided to chase them off or even destroy them to avoid the prophetic calamity, but George was thankful they did not. In fact there would not be a Canada today, if the First Nations across the country had not been so welcoming of these small groups of Europeans, and so willing to share their land with them. The first explorers owed their lives to the good will of the natives that showed them how to survive the harsh winters, showed them what local plants were safe to eat, and provided them with food to replenish their stores for the return journey. Those First Nations had no idea of millions of greedy people waiting back home to come and take advantage of their hospitality, to steal everything they had, and then to whine and complain that they want to save a few of their "entitlements" in an attempt to preserve their cultural identity in their own land now dominated by a culture not their own in a country of which they had no say in its creation.
That was 1793 for gods sake. 1793. 219 Years ago. I feel for THOSE poor Indians. But it is 2012. In this day and age it is called reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination is a term referring to discrimination against members of a dominant or MAJORITY group, in this case non Indian, or in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group. Identical treatment may sometimes act to preserve inequality rather than eliminate it.
The problem here is that YOU are not being discriminated against in order to preserve their right to fish. You have lost nothing to preserve their right. Reverse discrimination applies when I give a FN applicant a job that you wanted when you were more qualified
just because she is FN. But you lost nothing to allow them to fish, no more than you are discriminated against to give a commercial fisherman the right to catch salmon with a net when you are only allowed the use of a hook and line. You still have your own rights, they are just not the same as theirs. The problem you have is understanding that our Country was created on a fundamental injustice and we a still trying to figure out how to come to a place where we (FN and Canadians) can both exist in the same place. Forcing them to accept that they are Canadians just like us (however brilliant that seems to us) would be no different than the Chinese marching in here and telling you that you must accept that you are now Chinese just like them.
I can understand the Indians wanting to preserve their way of life. I am jealous as hell. I just don't get it though. If I had of fought to maintain the way of life "we" had in the 70's I would have been called a racist. It would be great to have affordable housing, smaller class sizes in school, lots of trees and beautiful wilderness. I would love to go back to the few people we had on the rivers with abundant fish. The few rules we had to deal with limits, gear etc. The fishing was amazing. The reality of the situation is times change. The world evolved. Immigration occurred. Over population has happened. And I or we have had to deal with it. Looking at it now I guess I should of acted like the Indians. Preserved my way of life. Stayed entitled.
Yes! You should have! and it is not too late! Write letters to your government! To the Newspapers! To anyone who will listen! Demand affordable housing! Demand smaller class sizes! Fight to protect the few remaining trees and wilderness areas left! Preserve your way of life! Do NOT roll over! You ARE entitled!
Maybe the time is now to actually do something as small as it may be. That area below that bridge. Is it designated Indian only land? I know we will have very different ideas whether it is or not. Are non Indian allowed on that piece of river? If we are I would be willing to go in there with a group and remove those weirs. Will anybody join me?
Yes that land is on their Reserve, the small scrap of land your government set aside for them to live if they wanted to maintain their status as an "Indian". Non natives are allowed on that piece of river only with permission of the band. The weir is, of course, in the middle of the river which is not technically native land, but you would need to cross native land to get to it to vandalize it. I would hope that no one else would join you, but good luck as I am sure the native lads would defend it vigorously.
Author
Topic: Mascaucre Hoes (Read 30885 times)