Comments on: Choices and Consequences

By: Mary Siever

Mary Siever — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:48:52 +0000

:( No one wins in this whole issue.

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:19:06 +0000

FYI, Pauchay pled guilty for the death of his daughters.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081103.wfrozengirls1103/BNStory/National/home

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:38:47 +0000

Iâ€d rather not leave it in the Governmentâ€s hands to fix it.

Probably because it wouldn't get done.

By: Mary Siever

Mary Siever — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:53:02 +0000

Nermalcat, again I am not saying the government has to do everything, or even do much, but until they remove the obstacles they have placed, the efforts by others are going to meet with limited success. They have to fix what they broke, is all I am saying. They made alcohol easily accessible, they have created the reserves, they have set up the programmes where the money is easily accessible. As long as those roadblocks are in place, little is going to change.

By: nermalcat

nermalcat — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:14:45 +0000

Mary, it's true that it's difficult to raise social awareness and support for volunteer organizations, but I would think that rallying to put pressure on the government wouldn't require less effort by any means. Regardless of who is to blame for the problem, I'd rather not leave it in the Government's hands to fix it. If I was to dedicate my own personal time and energy to a cause, I'd prefer to explore options that don't involve the government in this case.

By: Mary Siever

Mary Siever — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:02:35 +0000

Yes it did. The whole "take over/integration" issue was poorly handled from the start. Looking at ancient history (or even not so ancient) they didn't have the same problems we have. I don't know the answers, I just think that there is something that needs to change.

True, I don't mind agreeing to disagree. It's nice when that can happen without it getting personal.

By: rick

rick — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:00:23 +0000

I totally get what you're saying and in some respects we'll have to agree to disagree.

"we donâ€t go in, destroy a culture, take away everything they have and then say â€œBye bye! Problems? Fix it yourselfâ€. "

No, usually we say to the conquered people, "Start acting exactly like us now". Unfortunately the North American situation plays more like the bastard child of a hostile takeover and a cultural genocide.

By: Mary Siever

Mary Siever — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:45:41 +0000

Oh, and I have never seen such blatant and bitter racism anywhere, since moving to Southern Alberta. Granted, I have only live in BC (Lower Mainland and the Okanagan) and Dublin, Ireland. But still. For some reason, so many people here don't think First Nations are in the same category as everyone else. Regular, normal human beings, just like every other person, who wants something better for themselves and their children. And then the first Nations who are bitter against non Natives. Maybe the first step is to get over that prejudice. It seems to have created an immovable wall.

By: Mary Siever

Mary Siever — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:40:07 +0000

Rick

I agree. However, look at history and see how many options the government gave, and the policies they created that opened the door for all of this. People are responsible for themselves, yes, but at the same time, we don't go in, destroy a culture, take away everything they have and then say "Bye bye! Problems? Fix it yourself". I am not saying the government has to do everything, but perhaps they need to clean up THEIR part of the mess and help them find the tools to repair what has been broken.

And the government did create a mess. They have a tendency to do that when they know nothing about anything.

By: rick

rick — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:33:29 +0000

"the mess the government created"

I don't recall anyone being forced to consume alcohol at gunpoint or anything...

NIMBY only applies when you have access to your back yard - these people are on reserves and ask for autonomy. You can be autonomous and still continually ask the citizens not on the reserves for assistance.