Atrocities in our own back yard

I read the letters and web and it seems quite clear the native population does not have a lot of fans, it is claimed Idle no more are not being realistic, I admit that after hundreds of years of accumulated injustices any attempt to rectify the situation is bound to look a might convoluted, the popular myth says they are lazy parasites living off the hard work of all the rest of us upstanding citizens and they want to steal my house. 

Many Canadians just can’t fathom why after hundreds of years of genocide, residential schools, racial discrimination, Herculean attempts by the Canadian government to wipe out their languages and culture, customs, stamp acts, potlatch laws, theft and destruction of their lands and children and no serious attempts to live up to or sign treaties with the original Stewart's of this country. Why can’t they just be happy with what we give them? 

Well let’s look at that, we have taken away most of their land and in doing so their customs and way of life and given them nothing but a bag of beads if you will,  the first nations people are by far the poorest demographic in Canada with the average reserve wage of less than $12,000 dollars a year and due to the 2% cap on core services that has been in place since 1996 it only gets worse every year, not to mention all the other horrible statistics that comes out of the reserves, see suicide rates for one. 

If this situation is to change I am afraid the first nations will have to go outside of Canada for any justice as the Canadian government and yes many Canadian people are as far as first nations go extremely racially prejudice, maybe you think that is to strong a statement to make because after all it wasn’t you who did all those horrible things to the natives, that was those guys back hundreds of years ago wasn’t it? 

I have news for you in 2002 in BC which is hardly ancient history, Gordon Campbell held a first Nation referendum that was was little more than an immoral, racist mockery of democracy that was a blatant attempt to take away ceded native rights or more simply to break another treaty and 80% of the people that voted, voted to extinguish those native rights, and don’t think that Robert Pickton got away with killing 33-49 mostly native girls because he was a mastermind serial killer, no he got away with it because they were just First Nation girls, people that have been systematically dehumanized to the point that they do not even count anymore, tell me you really believe Pickton would have got away with this slaughter if the girls had been white. The latest update to this is that in a resent poll most people in BC would vote for the Federal Conservatives so it would appear that the voters of BC are quite comfortable with the Harper dictatorship and the direction it is headed.

No I don’t see justice being served with this sad Canadian reality, First nations will have to go over our heads to the UN, International criminal court and Amnesty International and generate serious international pressure, to change this entrenched racist behaviour and the sad plight of our First Nation people.

They will need the support of all Canadians of good heart to bring this ongoing tragedy to an end.