Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Yes, some remote indigenous reserves may be unsustainable

An article by an aboriginal woman from the Bay of Quinte area in southern Ontario about why she would never leave her native home has struck a bit of a dissonant chord, judging by the Letters to the Editor it has generated. The article itself was a response to recent comments by ex-Premier Jean Chrétien, suggesting that remote reserves may indeed be unsustainable and uneconomic, and that some people may need to move.
I too sent in a letter, although I knew it was too long to print, but here it is anyway:
It was interesting to read a first-hand account of why aboriginal people might not want to move away from their ancestral lands (Why I won't leave my native home - April 25 2016). But I don't believe that the suggestion is "disrespectful", nor is it necessarily "racist" and "narrow".
I, and millions of other Canadians, have done just that (left our homes and ancestral lands) in coming to Canada.
Interestingly, much of the article is framed in quasi-religious or spiritual terms, but I suspect that not all indigenous people are quite so spiritual, or feel so close to the land. I would think that many of the teens of Attawapiskat, for example, would jump at the chance to leave.
And this does not have to involve a large, crowded city. Canada has many small and medium-sized towns, with good housing, education and healthcare facilities, and many with access to good hunting and fishing to boot.
The remote north of Canada may (or may not) be a sustainable location for a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. But much of it is just too remote to allow for the modern, comfortable, middle-class lifestyle so many people want.
To open up the discussion to the idea of voluntary relocation is in no way sacrilegious, and has nothing to do with "judging" or "hate". The northern wilderness will always be there for those who wish to visit, and parts of it can even be maintained as sacred, protected areas for members of particular cultures if need be. But people should not be forced to live there.
I actually asked that the letter not be cut or edited, and thereby risk losing context, so I am not actually surprised it was not printed. Anything to do with indigenous people in Canada always seems to take on a hypersensitive political aspect, so I did not want to be seen as being dismissive, disrespectful or (God forbid) racist in some way.

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