Sunday, January 29, 2006
For people who think there is less racism against First Nations than there used to be...
Not unlike my open letter to Dr. Jim Pankiw, this is from one of my strong Heiltsuk sisters who wanted to respond to racism she found unacceptable. WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE!
"Greetings, this is my rebuttal to a message from this person who is obviously uneducated when it comes to Native issues in Canada. I will respond to each paragraph he has written, my comments will be the ones that are in [bold], and his original comments are the ones in [italics]. First off, I will start out by saying that I can understand how this individual came to have such a view that he has expressed, because he comes from a little hick town called Vanderhoof, a place, which a lot like other towns like Prince George, has a history steeped with racism against Native people. Please beware that I use a fair bit of profanity in my rebuttal I’ll admit that my blood was absolutely boiling when I read this forward. Feel free to forward this on to other people.
Did you know that native americans in canada have a card that
allows them to buy things at a cheaper price. Its called a status card. It also lets them hunt
and fish as much as they want without a license. Its not even just left at that, they have
special educational programs at school as well. That fucking cards gives them tons of
advantage over white people andeveryone else.
Did you know that Native Americans in Canada had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of the National registry of Status Indians? This idea was completely the idea of the Federal Government, who believed that it would be necessary in order to regulate Indian Rights, which has been part of Canadian federal law since before Confederation. You see, there is this certain piece of law called the Royal Proclamation, which made it law for all British Colonies to ensure that all Indigenous peoples of lands they colonized keep their rights to hunt and fish as they always have, and that the Crown (aka the Federal Government) would have to look in the best interests of it’s Indian peoples for all time. This law is applicable to many other countries as well. On top of this, the law also made it a requirement for British colonials to sign treaties that would surrender the land PRIOR to settling upon it. Which, in turn, means that millions of non-Aboriginal people live in the province of British Columbia as illegal aliens, as the great majority of Native nations throughout British Columbia never had a treaty signed that surrendered the land, that means that the land is still THEIRS. The way I see it, no non-Aboriginal person should have the right to bitch and complain about the Native right to hunt and fish, especially since they themselves at this point are ILLEGAL ALIENS. Letting Aboriginals do their MINIMAL amount of hunting and fishing is a small price to pay to live on land which to this day is not legally theirs to live upon. Oh also, we only get to buy things at a cheaper price on RESERVE and NO WHERE ELSE, and now many places on reserve charge a special tax for Native purchasers which go towards development of their own lands and programs.
How can a government promote equality, how can anyone promote equality
(seeing as how natives always complain about how they want to be
treat the same as "US FUCKIN WHITIES"), when they're giving or getting free shit for
being a certain race.As a white person I find it very difficult to treat some drunk
homeless fucking indian, the same as I'd treat a drunk homeless white
person. And,let me clarify, that is not because of the colour of their skin or any other
reason. It is because I know they'd had a huge advantage over that homeless white
person.
Natives, in general, have no wish nor desire to be treated the same as the “FUCKIN WHITIES” as you so bluntly put it. If that were the case, then Canadian Natives wouldn’t have rallied so heavily against Jean Cretien’s “White Paper” in the late 60’s, which would essentially made all Natives in Canada the same as the “FUCKIN WHITIES”. Generally, what Native peoples want is this: Control over the resources in their traditional territory, the chance to self-govern their own Nations, and aid in preserving the culture and language which the Canadian State had tried SO HARD TO ABOLISH. So don’t fucking talk to me about equality when Native’s over the past 200 years have gone through massive spurts of cultural genocide, and horrible acts of violence. Which brings me to my next subject: Residential Schools. It is obvious that you know nothing of Residential Schools, which were operational up until thirty years ago since the mid-1800’s. These schools were made specifically to completely break up the Native family structure, so that the schools could have all Native children from a young age, and they could assimilate them into “mainstream” Canadian Culture. Unfortunately, this failed miserably. Many Native people’s were treated like animals, and were raped, starved, and at times mutilated. Then, upon release from residential school, many Native people’s didn’t know how to act in the real world. Many didn’t know how to raise a family, and they didn’t know how to take care of themselves, which in turn had a multi-generational effect where this dysfunctional behaviour was passed down to the next generation. So next time you see a homeless Native person, try to understand the social circumstances that landed him there in the first place. Don’t agree with me? Well let’s do an experiment, let me rape you for ten years, starve you, lock you up in small, dark, cold places, beat the shit out of you for speaking English or talking with relatives or people of the opposite sex, and let’s see if you and any of your descendants end up on East Hastings Street, drunk and homeless.
Im not going to lie. I'd feel that the native person, was probably a
shitload scummier, and i can definately say that I'd feel alot less sorry for them. It is
conditional,it depends on what has happened to the person, but in general,
at first glance that would be how I feel. ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE ARE FUCKING
PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY TO HELP HOMELESS INDIANS (NO ONE ELSE JUST
INDIANS!!!!), AND GODAMMIT THEY SHOULD APPRECIATE IT, GET
THEY'RE FUCKING SHIT TOGETHER. If I was homeless I'd have a hell of alot harder
time getting help then some lazy native person.And, as a majority, they really do
not look good as race by the way theypresent themselves. Have you ever been to canada.
The majority of the bums are native. In BC that is. So how am I supposed to feel about
them when the majority of them are poor and homeless, even after they've
gotten all these benefits.
Refer to the previous paragraph, where I talked about residential schools and the sociological circumstances that land Native people on the streets in the First Place. You will see less non-Aboriginal people living on the streets only because for the most part they do not have these dysfunctions that were passed on to our family structure by the GOVERNMENT. The Government is required to set up these programs because it is their DUTY and OBLIGATION by LAW to look in the best interests of its Aboriginal population. Besides, seeing as the ratio of homeless Aboriginal people to Homeless non-Aboriginal people is so lop-sided towards Aboriginal people, doesn’t it make sense to make these programs to handle the specific situation? Just because there are homeless programs geared towards Aboriginal people, it does not means there are not programs for people who are not Aboriginal. There are literally TONS, and they offer all the same services that Aboriginal people receive, only difference is one is geared toward Aboriginal culture so that they can have something to relate to. So please do not spread these lies about homeless Aboriginal people having a so-called “HUGE” advantage.
SO, I think the government should quit. Let everyone be equal,
let there be no reason for racism and see how all the native americans fair
without there free fucking shit. We could be putting money into so much
better things.Now, I'm sure you're all thinking. BUT LOOK AT HOW POORLY THEY
WERE TREATED. WHITE PEOPLE STOLE THEIR LAND. Yes, that was terrible.
But thathappened over 200 years ago. And I'm not going to, nor should anyone else,
feel guilty for a crime they did not commit. I dont feel that I
should have to pay for something I did not do. But that is what our
government is teaching us, feel bad that your white, and that is just as bad
as a white person making some one else feel like shit for being, native, asian, black ect.
“BUT LOOK HOW BADLY THEY WERE TREATED”. Shit, look how badly they are still treated, by ignorant, ill-educated shit-heels such as yourself, who know nothing of Native issues and basically speak out of their asses because they feel that they are being gypped by the Government and are think that everything happened “200 years ago”. How about the Government stop dragging its heels on the ongoing treaty negotiations in BC, that would essentially abolish many of the government-run “programs” you are bitching and complaining about, as well as tax-exemption on reserve, it is after all something that must be done and should have been done before settlers came to British Columbia, by law.
And, all the native kids that I'vetalked to, who come from well off families
(and, let me clarify, these are people that would've made it whether they had
these advantages or not). Saythat they would be just fine if they didnt have a status card,
they dont really care who's land they live on, and they certainly do not
want to be on some fucking reserve eating ferns and hunting for their food.
They are perfectly happy being Canadian.These people, native people, who are
looking for these free benefits and causing shit because they want there land back,
dont have any ground.They're just looking for a free ticket. Its not because they
think they'd be better off if they had they're own land, its because they're
too fucking lazy to work like ever other fucking person in Canada.What the fuck
would they do if they got their land back anyways? They wouldnt set up teepees
and have pow wows they'd just open up acasino or bar and probably manage it
poorly. That's not expressing appreciation for your culture. Thats getting a handout
for doing fuck all.
Native kids that come from “well off” families, are usually the descendants of people who had a positive experience in Residential school (meaning their teachers were not sex-crazed violent psychopaths), or descendants of people who were strong enough to endure the hardships and stay strong and level-headed despite what they experienced throughout their lives, such as my late father. “WE DON’T HAVE ANY GROUNDS TO WANT OUR LAND BACK?” Read the Royal Proclamation. It is our right, and you, as an illegal alien, should probably understand that by now. “WHAT WOULD WE DO IF WE GOT OUR LAND BACK?”, perhaps a casino would be built, perhaps we’d have pow-wows, perhaps we will use it to try and bake the worlds largest pizza, in the end, that shouldn’t be any of your damn business. The economic gain from a casino has proven to be a huge help in a great deal of instances across north America. Profits have been used to buy more land, to set up social and educational programs, and create more employment opportunities. For a prime example, do a little internet research on the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe in Washington State. OH, AND PLEASE TELL ME HOW HAVING A POW-WOW ISN’T EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR NATIVE CULTURE? Oh, and how is a Native owned and operated casino a HANDOUT? If it is built from money that is paid in the signing of a treaty, then I assure you that it was fully paid for, in blood, and tears.
Thats my opinion. If you want me to elborate even more. Ask.email
address:night_scream9@hotmail.com
I’d rather you not elaborate even more because it is apparent to me that you know absolutely fuck-all about what you were talking about in the first place. So I will end my rebuttal with my obligatory FUCK YOU, AND HAVE A NICE DAY.
Sincerely,
C’aaqayuush of the Mowachaht and Heiltsuk First Nations."
While not everyone spouts off the same ignorance as this person to whom Jean was responding, sometimes this overt racism is the easiest to respond to. Jean's response is essentially the same as what I wrote to Dr. Jim Pankiw, and it's what I would say to anyone who has a problem with "native homelessness" or "educational handouts" for First Nations peoples. Think it's easy to be a "well-adjusted" person who's half-Native? Then you don't know what it's like to grow up with comments like these uneducated ones which leave your heart open and bleeding, not to mention the more covert criticisms that stereotyped, try to put you in a box, and give you the subliminal message that it's "well-adjusted" if you can survive in the "white world" and that being Native is not quite o.k..
No one, NO ONE, unless you have lived this life, can understand why we are the way we are. Too militant for your comfort? Think Jean was out of line to suggest treating people the way natives have been treated? Then go and talk to the drunks in Port Hardy - talk to the man whose heart broke when he was 6 and he saw his older brother being raped by a teacher. Then whose spirit shattered when that same brother he looked up to raped him. Then whose spirit died when his brother forced him to eat a dead rat. This didn't happen to him 200 years ago. It happened to him in the 60's.
The last residential school closed in 1980. That means I could have started kindergarten in residential school. Terrible, I know.
Most of the time I wish wish wish that things were different - that there wasn't sooooo much healing to be done before Native people could have the same starting point in life. It breaks my heart when I'm reminded of the reality. When I'm reminded that no matter how hard I've worked, this history is so close behind me, and I haven't a clue how to try and help.
"Greetings, this is my rebuttal to a message from this person who is obviously uneducated when it comes to Native issues in Canada. I will respond to each paragraph he has written, my comments will be the ones that are in [bold], and his original comments are the ones in [italics]. First off, I will start out by saying that I can understand how this individual came to have such a view that he has expressed, because he comes from a little hick town called Vanderhoof, a place, which a lot like other towns like Prince George, has a history steeped with racism against Native people. Please beware that I use a fair bit of profanity in my rebuttal I’ll admit that my blood was absolutely boiling when I read this forward. Feel free to forward this on to other people.
Did you know that native americans in canada have a card that
allows them to buy things at a cheaper price. Its called a status card. It also lets them hunt
and fish as much as they want without a license. Its not even just left at that, they have
special educational programs at school as well. That fucking cards gives them tons of
advantage over white people andeveryone else.
Did you know that Native Americans in Canada had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of the National registry of Status Indians? This idea was completely the idea of the Federal Government, who believed that it would be necessary in order to regulate Indian Rights, which has been part of Canadian federal law since before Confederation. You see, there is this certain piece of law called the Royal Proclamation, which made it law for all British Colonies to ensure that all Indigenous peoples of lands they colonized keep their rights to hunt and fish as they always have, and that the Crown (aka the Federal Government) would have to look in the best interests of it’s Indian peoples for all time. This law is applicable to many other countries as well. On top of this, the law also made it a requirement for British colonials to sign treaties that would surrender the land PRIOR to settling upon it. Which, in turn, means that millions of non-Aboriginal people live in the province of British Columbia as illegal aliens, as the great majority of Native nations throughout British Columbia never had a treaty signed that surrendered the land, that means that the land is still THEIRS. The way I see it, no non-Aboriginal person should have the right to bitch and complain about the Native right to hunt and fish, especially since they themselves at this point are ILLEGAL ALIENS. Letting Aboriginals do their MINIMAL amount of hunting and fishing is a small price to pay to live on land which to this day is not legally theirs to live upon. Oh also, we only get to buy things at a cheaper price on RESERVE and NO WHERE ELSE, and now many places on reserve charge a special tax for Native purchasers which go towards development of their own lands and programs.
How can a government promote equality, how can anyone promote equality
(seeing as how natives always complain about how they want to be
treat the same as "US FUCKIN WHITIES"), when they're giving or getting free shit for
being a certain race.As a white person I find it very difficult to treat some drunk
homeless fucking indian, the same as I'd treat a drunk homeless white
person. And,let me clarify, that is not because of the colour of their skin or any other
reason. It is because I know they'd had a huge advantage over that homeless white
person.
Natives, in general, have no wish nor desire to be treated the same as the “FUCKIN WHITIES” as you so bluntly put it. If that were the case, then Canadian Natives wouldn’t have rallied so heavily against Jean Cretien’s “White Paper” in the late 60’s, which would essentially made all Natives in Canada the same as the “FUCKIN WHITIES”. Generally, what Native peoples want is this: Control over the resources in their traditional territory, the chance to self-govern their own Nations, and aid in preserving the culture and language which the Canadian State had tried SO HARD TO ABOLISH. So don’t fucking talk to me about equality when Native’s over the past 200 years have gone through massive spurts of cultural genocide, and horrible acts of violence. Which brings me to my next subject: Residential Schools. It is obvious that you know nothing of Residential Schools, which were operational up until thirty years ago since the mid-1800’s. These schools were made specifically to completely break up the Native family structure, so that the schools could have all Native children from a young age, and they could assimilate them into “mainstream” Canadian Culture. Unfortunately, this failed miserably. Many Native people’s were treated like animals, and were raped, starved, and at times mutilated. Then, upon release from residential school, many Native people’s didn’t know how to act in the real world. Many didn’t know how to raise a family, and they didn’t know how to take care of themselves, which in turn had a multi-generational effect where this dysfunctional behaviour was passed down to the next generation. So next time you see a homeless Native person, try to understand the social circumstances that landed him there in the first place. Don’t agree with me? Well let’s do an experiment, let me rape you for ten years, starve you, lock you up in small, dark, cold places, beat the shit out of you for speaking English or talking with relatives or people of the opposite sex, and let’s see if you and any of your descendants end up on East Hastings Street, drunk and homeless.
Im not going to lie. I'd feel that the native person, was probably a
shitload scummier, and i can definately say that I'd feel alot less sorry for them. It is
conditional,it depends on what has happened to the person, but in general,
at first glance that would be how I feel. ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE ARE FUCKING
PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY TO HELP HOMELESS INDIANS (NO ONE ELSE JUST
INDIANS!!!!), AND GODAMMIT THEY SHOULD APPRECIATE IT, GET
THEY'RE FUCKING SHIT TOGETHER. If I was homeless I'd have a hell of alot harder
time getting help then some lazy native person.And, as a majority, they really do
not look good as race by the way theypresent themselves. Have you ever been to canada.
The majority of the bums are native. In BC that is. So how am I supposed to feel about
them when the majority of them are poor and homeless, even after they've
gotten all these benefits.
Refer to the previous paragraph, where I talked about residential schools and the sociological circumstances that land Native people on the streets in the First Place. You will see less non-Aboriginal people living on the streets only because for the most part they do not have these dysfunctions that were passed on to our family structure by the GOVERNMENT. The Government is required to set up these programs because it is their DUTY and OBLIGATION by LAW to look in the best interests of its Aboriginal population. Besides, seeing as the ratio of homeless Aboriginal people to Homeless non-Aboriginal people is so lop-sided towards Aboriginal people, doesn’t it make sense to make these programs to handle the specific situation? Just because there are homeless programs geared towards Aboriginal people, it does not means there are not programs for people who are not Aboriginal. There are literally TONS, and they offer all the same services that Aboriginal people receive, only difference is one is geared toward Aboriginal culture so that they can have something to relate to. So please do not spread these lies about homeless Aboriginal people having a so-called “HUGE” advantage.
SO, I think the government should quit. Let everyone be equal,
let there be no reason for racism and see how all the native americans fair
without there free fucking shit. We could be putting money into so much
better things.Now, I'm sure you're all thinking. BUT LOOK AT HOW POORLY THEY
WERE TREATED. WHITE PEOPLE STOLE THEIR LAND. Yes, that was terrible.
But thathappened over 200 years ago. And I'm not going to, nor should anyone else,
feel guilty for a crime they did not commit. I dont feel that I
should have to pay for something I did not do. But that is what our
government is teaching us, feel bad that your white, and that is just as bad
as a white person making some one else feel like shit for being, native, asian, black ect.
“BUT LOOK HOW BADLY THEY WERE TREATED”. Shit, look how badly they are still treated, by ignorant, ill-educated shit-heels such as yourself, who know nothing of Native issues and basically speak out of their asses because they feel that they are being gypped by the Government and are think that everything happened “200 years ago”. How about the Government stop dragging its heels on the ongoing treaty negotiations in BC, that would essentially abolish many of the government-run “programs” you are bitching and complaining about, as well as tax-exemption on reserve, it is after all something that must be done and should have been done before settlers came to British Columbia, by law.
And, all the native kids that I'vetalked to, who come from well off families
(and, let me clarify, these are people that would've made it whether they had
these advantages or not). Saythat they would be just fine if they didnt have a status card,
they dont really care who's land they live on, and they certainly do not
want to be on some fucking reserve eating ferns and hunting for their food.
They are perfectly happy being Canadian.These people, native people, who are
looking for these free benefits and causing shit because they want there land back,
dont have any ground.They're just looking for a free ticket. Its not because they
think they'd be better off if they had they're own land, its because they're
too fucking lazy to work like ever other fucking person in Canada.What the fuck
would they do if they got their land back anyways? They wouldnt set up teepees
and have pow wows they'd just open up acasino or bar and probably manage it
poorly. That's not expressing appreciation for your culture. Thats getting a handout
for doing fuck all.
Native kids that come from “well off” families, are usually the descendants of people who had a positive experience in Residential school (meaning their teachers were not sex-crazed violent psychopaths), or descendants of people who were strong enough to endure the hardships and stay strong and level-headed despite what they experienced throughout their lives, such as my late father. “WE DON’T HAVE ANY GROUNDS TO WANT OUR LAND BACK?” Read the Royal Proclamation. It is our right, and you, as an illegal alien, should probably understand that by now. “WHAT WOULD WE DO IF WE GOT OUR LAND BACK?”, perhaps a casino would be built, perhaps we’d have pow-wows, perhaps we will use it to try and bake the worlds largest pizza, in the end, that shouldn’t be any of your damn business. The economic gain from a casino has proven to be a huge help in a great deal of instances across north America. Profits have been used to buy more land, to set up social and educational programs, and create more employment opportunities. For a prime example, do a little internet research on the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe in Washington State. OH, AND PLEASE TELL ME HOW HAVING A POW-WOW ISN’T EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR NATIVE CULTURE? Oh, and how is a Native owned and operated casino a HANDOUT? If it is built from money that is paid in the signing of a treaty, then I assure you that it was fully paid for, in blood, and tears.
Thats my opinion. If you want me to elborate even more. Ask.email
address:night_scream9@hotmail.com
I’d rather you not elaborate even more because it is apparent to me that you know absolutely fuck-all about what you were talking about in the first place. So I will end my rebuttal with my obligatory FUCK YOU, AND HAVE A NICE DAY.
Sincerely,
C’aaqayuush of the Mowachaht and Heiltsuk First Nations."
While not everyone spouts off the same ignorance as this person to whom Jean was responding, sometimes this overt racism is the easiest to respond to. Jean's response is essentially the same as what I wrote to Dr. Jim Pankiw, and it's what I would say to anyone who has a problem with "native homelessness" or "educational handouts" for First Nations peoples. Think it's easy to be a "well-adjusted" person who's half-Native? Then you don't know what it's like to grow up with comments like these uneducated ones which leave your heart open and bleeding, not to mention the more covert criticisms that stereotyped, try to put you in a box, and give you the subliminal message that it's "well-adjusted" if you can survive in the "white world" and that being Native is not quite o.k..
No one, NO ONE, unless you have lived this life, can understand why we are the way we are. Too militant for your comfort? Think Jean was out of line to suggest treating people the way natives have been treated? Then go and talk to the drunks in Port Hardy - talk to the man whose heart broke when he was 6 and he saw his older brother being raped by a teacher. Then whose spirit shattered when that same brother he looked up to raped him. Then whose spirit died when his brother forced him to eat a dead rat. This didn't happen to him 200 years ago. It happened to him in the 60's.
The last residential school closed in 1980. That means I could have started kindergarten in residential school. Terrible, I know.
Most of the time I wish wish wish that things were different - that there wasn't sooooo much healing to be done before Native people could have the same starting point in life. It breaks my heart when I'm reminded of the reality. When I'm reminded that no matter how hard I've worked, this history is so close behind me, and I haven't a clue how to try and help.
