Comment 43580

By Undustrial (registered) - website | Posted July 17, 2010 at 12:52:20

Assimilation just isn't an answer. If people wanted to "move to the city and get jobs" like white people, they would have already. Many certainly have. Beyond the poverty and oppression of reserve life lies a deep and meaningful culural identity that people still want to be a part of. They were here before Canada, and in one form or another, they will likely be around long after we're gone.

So often I'm asked whether I condone forcing people to leave wealthy urban lifestyles. I'm not. I'm just not in favour of forcing people into it.

The issue of "green" overcrowding comes with how land ownership works on reserves. Each person is entitled to more than a house, they get a chunk of land. Housing is low-density and many lots are forested other than their house. It's a totally different urban model.

And as for "status cards", the whole notion is racist and colonialist. Why does the white government get to define who is native, against the wishes of the natives themselves? Traditional bands and tribes have very specific rules on group membership, all of which get over-ruled. It isn't just a racial or ethnic issue because First Nations aren't ethnicities. People left and joined Nations all the time, even white people. The first step away from race-based legislation is putting native status in the hands of natives.

"Today, the notion of progress in a single line without goal or limit seems perhaps the most parochial notion of a very parochial century." — Lewis Mumford

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