Path created by Elders' vision

Page 5

Dear Editor:

After reading Taiaiake Alfred's writing I have to say I agree with his thoughts. I have held the same beliefs for all of my life. I believe we need to take this FNG [First Nations Governance] even further to see how the church has contributed to this same type of thought system that denigrates our people to still being the "pagans" in need of the colonists version of Christianity that proudly proclaims, 'Go into all the world and preach the values of Western, individualistic, capitalistic, nuclear culture, to the poor, backwards, Indigenous, environmental, extended society-based cultures that stand in the way of progress and total annihilation of the human race.'

Too many of our people have sold out and yet as I read this article, I also understand some of their thinking, that being 'if we work at this from inside the organization, we will make better progress than those who are not part of it and stand on the outside.'

I struggle with this concept and way of thinking, since the end result is further alienation of our peoples and our culture from our histories, our values and our past and, inevitably, our future.

I believe we need to listen again to our Elders' voices who have put forward the thought and belief that spirituality is the highest form of political conscience. The relationships between the Native and non-Native peoples need to be based in this context, spirituality, not religion, and with it a respect for the ways in which those people think, live, act, work, progress and view the earth and her resources.

The FNG only continues a process that denies a people their rightful place, with their identity, values and culture intact and for what? More money, more destruction of land mass, more social dysfunction and even further marginalization.

There are ways to develop good healthy communities and to address concepts of good economic development to help our people leave behind the mass of cultural, spiritual, and economic disparity that has afflicted our communities since the colonization process began. But it begins and ends with Indian people being able to handle and deal with our issues, our problems, our dreams and visions, without being told how to do it in a manner that just continues the colonizers agenda of total assimilation of Indigenous peoples. Those are my thoughts.

Onen.

Terry Sakoieta' Widrick