Chatter

GLOBE AND MAIL COLUMNIST
Margaret Wente has pushed the envelope with her commentary on Aboriginal peoples before, but nothing like when she came charging to the defence of McGill University Chancellor Richard Pound for his remark that Canada was a land of savages 400 years ago; a comment that resulted in Canada-wide condemnation.
Wente said the remark was stupid, because in today's politically-correct environment such discourse isn't allowed, but Pound's stupidity did not detract from the fact that his remark was nonetheless true: The lives of First Nations pre-contact could not compare in value with those of Europeans.
"They had not developed broader laws or institutions, a written language, evidence-based science, mathematics or advanced technologies," she wrote. Wente has subsequently suffered such wrath that has never before been directed toward a Canadian newspaper columnist, and no doubt has Pound screaming to himself 'Stay off my side!'
"Reading this stuff almost blew my socks off" writes Rauna Kuokkanen at http://rauna.wordpress.com:80/2008/11/09/savage-backlash/.
"Wente dismisses several decades of evidence-based research from disciplines ranging from gene and other biology, archaeology to linguistics, literature, history and anthropology to make sweep(ing) statements about Aboriginal histories, practices and philosophies."
Kuokkanen is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science/Aboriginal Studies Program at the University of Toronto who complains that Wente's views are informed by a single book by F. Widdowson and A. Howard entitled Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry, which to Kuokkanen "sounds like (the) sloppiest scholarship on Aboriginal people in recent years." She said "the problem is that this kind of haphazard, ignorant and arrogant writing (and scholarship) seems to be gaining ground."
Consider, she said, that the "poorly argued book" First Nations? Second Thought has just gone to reprint. We all recall that the author of that controversial, widely-repudiated book is Tom Flanagan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trusted advisor.
In her blog, Kuokkanen sets out to correct the factual errors in Wente's argument, and takes on the "racist, Eurocentric rhetoric that eerily resonates with social Darwinism." In the U.S., she writes, "social Darwinism helped to create a legion of doctrines and ideologies such as Manifest Destiny to justify conquest and expropriation of land."
Now see Windspeaker's story on the study commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on page 8. Their conclusions? Phase out the Indian Act, eliminate reserves, and extend private property rights.

CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSITION
taken by Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Vice-Chief Morley Watson who has called for a public inquiry into the police shootings of First Nations people in the province, joefox at joefox-mytwocents.blogspot.com argues that if Morley's people weren't out committing crimes, then they wouldn't get shot. "If your people could control themselves and get working, etc. instead of just trying to squeeze money out of the government, then maybe these problems would take care of themselves." It's not racism, writes Joe. It's reality. "Stop committing crimes people and you won't get shot." He also complains that Morley's people's population is exploding in Saskatchewan. "We have the highest per captia (sic) concentration of Indians in the country. Not something I'm proud of," writes joefox.
Don't worry Joe, we aren't blaming you.

MAÑANA BROTHER
If you're an Aboriginal person living in the Penticton area, don't you worry about filing your taxes on time. The Canada Revenue Agency office there is giving you a pass because you are incapable or unwilling to meet a deadline. The Vancouver Sun reports that a memo written by a CRA employee on the file of Inuit artist Jonasie Faber Quarqortoq, whose work can be found in such fine institutions as the Museum of Civilization, said "As is typical of Natives, he doesn't have the same sense of urgency as we would have in complying with a deadline. I likened it to the 'mañana' (maybe tomorrow) attitude that prevails in South and Central American countries."
And who says we don't pay taxes.