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People are getting fed up with natives


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And that's a tragedy, in its own way. I sense a growing antipathy for natives where I am. I've see nothing in the media to support that, but then, the media doesn't like to dwell on things like that. But almost everyone I know has a sneer whenever the topic of natives comes up, and most of the people I know aren't very conservative. Even people I barely know are bitching about natives, from the Black taxi driver last week, to the Lebanese Canadian contractor I met yesterday.

There are two unpopular thoughts about natives. The first, of course, is they're welfare bums and criminals, drunkards, drug abusers and prostitutes. They don't work. They don't want to work. Their reserves are a mess because they can't maintain anything and trash their houses and their leaders are self-serving crooks. That's been a longstanding but growing belief.

Lately, as the economy has soured I've been hearing another much angrier complaint. Wherever there's economic development proposed for outside a city, whether it's forestry, a new mine, oil drilling or exploration, a pipeline, a ski resort, anything at all, there you'll find natives howling and protesting and suing to try and slow it down or stop it. That's got a lot more anger than the first complaint.

The problem is both complaints have a lot of truth to them. The miserable plight of natives is due to the application of centuries old agreements which make no sense any longer. They're a drag on Canada's economy, and they're most definitely not in the interest of Canada or natives - except of course, the chiefs. The Indian Act needs to be torn up. Economically unsustainable reserves need to be closed down. Natives need to become better integrated with Canada.

This country is almost 150 years old. It's not going away. It's time for natives to realize they can't live anything approaching a modern life with any sort of satisfaction and purpose while squatting out in the bush waiting for their monthly cheques. I'm all for giving them lots of help. education and job training, as well as buying them houses to live in, but this grinding, neverending mess has to stop, because ordinary Canadians (not the political or media classes of course) are becoming more and more fed up with the status quo and want things fixed. Their anger is growing, and its misdirected towards natives as a whole, when it should be directed against the elites, both ours and theirs, who keep tinkering and kicking the can down the road.

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First, I agree with u to a certain point but lets look at their side. I wonder how they feel with the White Man promises, which seem never get done, are they fed up? It was the English and the French that gave them alcohol that started all this and what about the spread of small pox to kill off the FN. The French and English have done more to harm the FN than they to us. How many non-native bosses would hire them? If u don't like financial support and the Treaties, well can't do any thing about it. Canada took on the responsibly from Britain, so we have to honour them. We better learn to get along with everyone in Canada because we have more new people coming here to live and u may not like them either.

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How do the very poor natives that nobody ever hears about or their grievance against the own chiefs feel. And my understanding these regular folk cant even vote in their elections.

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How do the very poor natives that nobody ever hears about or their grievance against the own chiefs feel. And my understanding these regular folk cant even vote in their elections.

It enirely depends on the way the First Nation is set up. Most have elections with the populace participating.

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First, I agree with u to a certain point but lets look at their side. I wonder how they feel with the White Man promises, which seem never get done, are they fed up? It was the English and the French that gave them alcohol that started all this and what about the spread of small pox to kill off the FN. The French and English have done more to harm the FN than they to us. How many non-native bosses would hire them? If u don't like financial support and the Treaties, well can't do any thing about it. Canada took on the responsibly from Britain, so we have to honour them. We better learn to get along with everyone in Canada because we have more new people coming here to live and u may not like them either.

The treaties and the reservations were themselves racist. The idea that the natives would come and live among us was not something those who signed them ever contemplated. The natives would live out in the bush and hunt and fish. Period. Its ridiculous that they haven't been superseded by something else now. Most of the natives now on these reservations have no purpose to their lives. That's why drug and alcohol abuse is so rife. That's why violence is so bad and growing. There's nothing to do and nowhere to do it. Generations are wasting away there for nothing. The only people who prosper are the well paid chiefs.

Giving more money is not the answer, though of course, it's the only one liberals seem to come up with. We're already spending 12 billion a year, and the natives are living in poverty and misery. Welfare, is welfare, no matter what you call it. I'm not saying we simply abolish it all, or do anything immediately. But we have to start by closing down smaller, more isolated reservations and setting up new, different types, call them halfway reservations, near urban centres where they can get jobs. We have to transition these people into becoming Canadians like the rest of us.

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It was the English and the French that gave them alcohol that started all this and what about the spread of small pox to kill off the FN.

Actually it was illegal to sell First Nations people alcohol until the middle of the 20th century. And the smallpox spread because their immune systems were not exposed to European diseases, not because of a devious 19th century plan for biological warfare. The one example in the U.S. of a blanket infected with smallpox being sent was a unique incident. The genocide in the U.S. was mostly accomplished through starvation and firearms.
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BubberMiley.. CBC had a program on at one time called the history of Canada (I think), and it told of the history of Canada and one thing mentioned was how the French gave blankets to the FN with small pox virus on them to kill them off, which many did die. I was totally shock because we were never told this in history class in school. What happened in North America then, is the same thing that is going on with other countries today, like Israel.

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Why, because he thinks they could be treated better with an improved agreement?

In any discussion where First Nations "agreement" to anything is discussed, Argus falls squarely on the side of "f*** 'em if they get in our way!" This isn't so much about crafting a mutual agreement as it is unilaterally changing the terms of the past. But then why would you give a bunch of "lazy, jobless, drunken savages" a seat at the table with "civilized" people anyway?
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BubberMiley.. CBC had a program on at one time called the history of Canada (I think), and it told of the history of Canada and one thing mentioned was how the French gave blankets to the FN with small pox virus on them to kill them off, which many did die.

An isolated incident in the U.S. and it probably didn't work. Smallpox spread among First Nations perfectly well on its own.
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Why, because he thinks they could be treated better with an improved agreement?

To some, natives are these quaint, cute sub-human people, like dolphins, say, or orcas, not really up to doing anything useful, but they really make for great pictures when they've got their feathers on and dance around fires. And that's how they should remain. Forever. Living museum pieces. To some, the idea they ought to be living in cities and wearing suits and ties and working as software engineers or teachers or store clerks like everyone else is anathema. No, no, no! What's of real importance is their retaining their 'culture' and unique identity!

Conservatives want to get natives into the workforce as taxpayers. Liberals want to pat them on their heads, pinch their cheeks, and send them back to dance around the fire till the end of time.

Edited by Argus
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To some, bigots are the most disgusting people on the planet.

Read what said fer chrissakes....he's not saying that HE thinks that they are these quaint, cute.....he's saying some people, usually bleeding heart lefties treat them as such. But don't let that stop you from crying "bigot" any time you disagree.

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Read what said fer chrissakes....he's not saying that HE thinks that they are these quaint, cute.....he's saying some people, usually bleeding heart lefties treat them as such. But don't let that stop you from crying "bigot" any time you disagree.

You only need to look at the history of his posts to understand how he really feels.

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You only need to look at the history of his posts to understand how he really feels.

You do drive-by smears, and then you cry whenever anyone says anything the least bit insulting to you....

Edited by Argus
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Sometimes, when I read comments like some of what I've seen on this thread, I want the "Islam Invasion" to be real and successful, so that entitled white guys get a taste of what it really means to be the demographic that is systemically denied opportunity in favor of the power group. Of course, I'd be in an even worse situation - instead of being #2 (entitled white female) on the totem pole, I'd be at least #4 - maybe lower.

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Sometimes, when I read comments like some of what I've seen on this thread, I want the "Islam Invasion" to be real and successful, so that entitled white guys get a taste of what it really means to be the demographic that is systemically denied opportunity in favor of the power group. Of course, I'd be in an even worse situation - instead of being #2 (entitled white female) on the totem pole, I'd be at least #4 - maybe lower.

Its unfortunate that whiny left wingers and their ignorance insist on keeping natives as quaint little cigar store indians but then facing reality is not something progressive have any talent with, and their bigotry can't see natives as real human beings.

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There are supposedly over 600 "nations" out there. Some reservations are well run and some even prosper. Many, perhaps most live in poverty, if not squalor by any reasonable standard. Yet do we see the well to do nations helping the poor ones? Where does the help for Attapiskawak come from - other "nations"? No - it's left to the government. I'd feel a lot more engaged with the First Nations quagmire if they showed that they cared for their own more than they cared for handouts. Hey - I'm spitballing here - but why not have a roving First Nations "Best Practices" engineering corps - like the WWII Seebees - a hundred or more skilled First Nations people who can build quality housing and schools, who can implement clean water facilities......and yes, why don't the collective of First Nations transition the poorest, most destitute reservations to places where a decent life is more viable. Why have First Nations - after all these years - not taken control of their own destiny? When they start helping themselves, I'll be more engaged. Until then, we're perpetuating a losing proposition.

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Why have First Nations - after all these years - not taken control of their own destiny? When they start helping themselves, I'll be more engaged.

I think what's likelier is that you'd be calling the cops and the army if they started doing that and I'd likely join them if you did. I've been engaged with them for decades now myself.

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