Raging against the white man

Page 5

Dear Editor:

I am writing this letter regarding the Caledonia (Ontario) conflict, the Canadian government, its selective/convenient rules of law and its (unjust) justice systems.

My Native family name is Koska Numba (Two Young Men). My Native name is Iyarhe Ozija (Mountain Bear). I am a Native born and raised on the Stoney (Nakoda) Indian Reserve Canadian government's "social/segregation laboratories"), college/university educated, completing my masters degree and plan to do doctoral studies. It never ceases to amaze me of the white man's laws (of ignorance) and mistreatment towards different societies (especially ours, which has been in North America for millennia) and will probably never cease to amaze me as it has been ongoing for centuries (since Columbus got lost, wandered adrift and accidentally landed on our shores.)

It seems that these Canadian (European origin/made) laws always favor and always will favor the Euro-Canadians as it was they that created, implemented and utilized them to their benefit, advantage and (it always seems) their convenience.

It seems that when the stealers of our continents feel it is necessary, they make (twist) these laws to suit their needs and desires (which are mostly monetary by the way).

Now, please, don't get me wrong, as I am not a hater of the white man, as I am part white, but mostly Native American (and not Indian, as I am not from India). My girlfriend is also white (full) and many of my close and good friends are also white.

I am writing this letter (as a Native person educated in the hallowed halls of knowledge) and still learning during my life's journey, working my way towards a PhD. I felt that as a member of our vast Native community that I should stand up for our rights and gifts that were accorded to us by the Creator. We graciously accepted these gifts from our Creator and treated them with utmost respect where we lived and how we lived (in harmony with Mother Nature).

Our lives were good and simple and it wasn't until the white man came that the downward spiral began for our people. It wasn't until these degenerate society members lost their way and inadvertently landed upon out shores, that we took a turn for the worse.

Ever since then (post-1492) it has been a nightmare for us.

Have you ever heard of the guests from hell? Well this is exactly what the white man was, a guest from hell, who took and took and took and is still taking and has never been satisfied and probably never will be satisfied. During this time, he also made convenient laws to justify his greed and murderous ways, and these laws still exist (for convenience sake) and have not been improved upon, upgraded and/or eliminated.

Whereas, for us in our hospitable ways, we signed formal treaties to share our lands, not forfeit them for trinkets. In these treaties we made contractual agreements and obligations which were, have always and probably always will be broken, contingent upon white man's convenience. As a keen student of global governance, history, laws, policies, treaties, the Indian Act, I know these to be true as it seems that we have always been in the wrong, even though we have always been here.

How is that possible? Why is this possible? How come we have no rights in/on our own lands that we have occupied since time immemorial? Is it because of Euro-centrisms and ethnocentrisms, which remain strong in this day and age?

Who is the real North American? Or Central American? Or South American for that matter? It is Indigenous peoples like us, not the Euro-descendents, descendents of the Mayflower.

-L. Greg Twoyoungmen