Alan L. Maki
This statement kind of assumes there is no “left constituency” among Aboriginal people. In my travels across Canada I found at least as much of a “left constituency” in Aboriginal communities as in any other communities— on and off reservations.

But you look through the lens of how you have been conditioned to see! To you, any “worker” is somehow automatically a part of what you see as “normal” and “the only” reality. Is it not so?

Indigenous people have their own culture and values, and much of it survives intact, despite centuries of all forms of underhandedness by leading settler “interests”. What if they went around your neighborhood and looked at your lives and called you this or that according to their norms? THEN you would understand better!

I think you would do well to read some Noam Chomsky where he analyzes the phenomenon of internalized values. Try: http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/archive/

>The “we” as it is used is also troublesome. Working people have seldom had a seat in the decision making process…

Ah, such “decision making” is like voting, you get to pick between status-quo elites already “capable” of playing within the lies of politics to supposedly “represent” you, while all sorts of “isolated corruptions” keep systematically rearing their ugly heads (and you Left-wing of colonization folks try, in a constant state of overwhelm, to allegedly “stop” such tresspasses!). Duh! Methinks you’d do well to inform yourself, say here: http://www.anti-politics.net or http://www.anarchymag.org

On the other hand, the village approach of indigenous ways are all about seeing the value of direct approaches to democratic decisions, including not having “leaders” who become dictators. The people are the “dictators” not any false authority of “elites”. But you’re probably not going to “get it” no matter what others say (settlers or indigenous).

May you educate yourself beyond your “normal” and naive political lack of consciousness!

>In fact, Aboriginal people have been very active participants in the “left;” how else does one explain the leadership positions of Aboriginal MLA’s in the NDP?

The people have also been “very active” in the “right” as well. Anything they can do to try to stem the tide of an invader who cannot allow himself to see beyond the narrow confines that we settlers have been ordered to think within!

>Who elected the Aboriginal NDP members to the the Manitoba Legislature? Aboriginal people who have developed a very “left constituency.”

In the context of being attacked if they don’t play along! (And they’re attacked anyway, since Leftist, like Rightist method is, on the bottom line, “interested” in perpetuating colonization by force and deceit!)

>… I suspect most other readers expect more “class” based analysis, too; an analysis that doesn’t let the capitalist class off the hook so easily for what they have done using the “The party of the Right and the party of the far Right, and the media that serve their interests.”

The capitalist “class” is only one aspect of the colonial program. You get rid of the capitalists, and the same underlying arrogance remains unchallenged and unchecked. You still believe uncritically in your perpetual war society and think that it’s “human nature” to be so severely alienated from each other that empathy is put aside and replaced by war war war war!

What a dark age mind-set to keep. But I guess it’s the best you can do, eh?

Indigenous people want a CLEAN BREAK from colonization mentalities, and that includes the Left, Right, and every other arrogance backed by authoritarian b.s.

For one, Gerry’s seeking to wheedle into folks the idea that “adolescent” critique is somehow not valuable! Even when young people aren’t very well-read or experienced in life, their intuitions (and experience in their own lives) speak their heart. And in decolonizing communities, that’s more important than the kinds of appearances you folks seem to believe are so important.

As for Noel’s alleged connection with the indigenous community, well, he doesn’t sound authentic at all. Maybe if he’s on a rez where b.i.a.-styled indians predominate…(the b.i.a. is the u.s. equivalent to the canadian institution managing and attacking indigenous affairs for the colonial interests of the government).

And i for one can see why no one would reply to Noel. The very idea that those values you have, Noel, are even shared by others with a completely different culture and way of being and relating (which i call much more highly evolved than what passes for settler “greatness”). Such arrogance!

Noel Sunby wrote:
Europians and all others who now make Canada their home do so with little help for housing, few job programs, and with no gaurantee of eternal comfort. I’m amazed that the Native population who have treaty rights have not taken full advantage of certain amounts of free post secondary education and govenment agendas such as affirative action positions.

The very “free” status of these colonial programs expose the underhanded tactics which invasion mind-set has a pattern of playing on the naive. That you and Gerry are naive, does not surprise. Perhaps if you had known of (?) the long history of articulate dissent from settlers themselves victimized by these uncritical values of yours, you would not be so arrogant. But methinks you are ignorant of reality in many ways. Too bad for you. Perhaps your native wife, Noel, will one day finally speak up to challenge you and bring you to a place where you begin to truly see.

Indigenous people want to be LEFT ALONE to their ways of seeing and being in the world. But your governing body FORCES its will on them, and has done so systematically for centuries now.

If aliens from another planet tomorrow invaded canada, and “your” government could not adequately defend itself, the aliens would likely poo-poo you for not seeing the alleged Greatness of Their Way. But of course, your hard-headedness would not see the parallels, right?

>Or on the other hand have not embraced a hunting, trapping lifestyle that is there for the taking. How many times after a hard day of punching the clock I thought how relativly stress free it would be to just take a rife,axe and a few supplies and head out to the vast Canadian wilderness to just hunt and trap for as long as I felt like it. But maybee I’m a little envious. Ironic. Perhaps.

There are many natives whom have done just this. Except that due to industrializing the “trade” “game animals” are much more scarce than they used to be.

The whole idea of “taking” and taking without bigger-picture consciousness is another example of settler dim-wittedness, it seems. This is the problem with cultures which do not think of others, and which enculturate their peoples to be so selfish.

Of course, everyone would like to escape wage slavery. And it is possible, especially if we realize the value of escaping cultures which are competition and profit-oriented, and regenerate cultures which bring back the ancient village spirit and extended family solidarity.

I don’t quite understand this statement coming from Canadian Dimension.

This statement kind of assumes there is no “left constituency” among Aboriginal people. In my travels across Canada I found at least as much of a “left constituency” in Aboriginal communities as in any other communities— on and off reservations.

In fact, Aboriginal People— in their overwhelming majority— are working people. Aboriginal workers are members of unions, and active in unions at every level.

The “we” as it is used is also troublesome. Working people have seldom had a seat in the decision making process… when they have it has been very limited to the political sphere; at these times they have always fought to elevate the struggle for equality… case in point the NDP governments in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; and the communist city council members in Winnipeg— Jacob Penner and Joe Zuken.

As far as having any decision making power when it comes to economic decision making— the only decision making power that really counts… working people, the majority of Canadians, have never been privy to the decision making that takes place in the corporate board-rooms; this has been the exclusive territory of the capitalist class.

The responsibility for the terrible racist conditions that exist in Aboriginal communities lies squarely on the shoulders of Canadian business, Canadian big-business, and most especially the multi-national corporations, of which U.S. corporations are number one.

In fact, Aboriginal people have been very active participants in the “left;” how else does one explain the leadership positions of Aboriginal MLA’s in the NDP?

Who elected the Aboriginal NDP members to the the Manitoba Legislature? Aboriginal people who have developed a very “left constituency.”

On just about every question these Aboriginal MLA’s take the most left and progressive positions on issues… because their left constituency expects this of them, with working people of all nationalities, ethnicities, racial backgrounds providing support.

I would expect more of a “class” analysis from Canadian Dimension than what has been provided in, “New Clothes, Same Old Canadian Thinking (Editorial)”… I suspect most other readers expect more “class” based analysis, too; an analysis that doesn’t let the capitalist class off the hook so easily for what they have done using the “The party of the Right and the party of the far Right, and the media that serve their interests.”

This is the first time I have ever felt compelled to write in opposition to anything I have ever read in Canadian Dimension… a great progressive, “left” journal.

there’s lots to say about this:

Prices of wholesome foods in isolated northern communities are, in fact, scandalous. There appears to be a degree of ‘price gouging’ by some of the retailers. Of even greater concern, much of the food actually shipped and sold by these stores is far less than wholesome and has created significant public health concerns. However, the whole discussion needs to be had in light of the use of local food resources; for the most part locally produced wild meats and fish are underutilized now — for example, cannot be used in schools because they are not government inspected — and as the hunting economy gets further devalued there will be even less use of healthy locally produced foods. With contaminant scares and the ‘everybody has to live in a suburb to have a good quality of life’ mentality, northern Aboriginal people are being driven from their traditional very healthy diets to the only affordable food available in stores: pop, chips, chocolates. If the price of milk seems high, bear in mind that many fruits and vegetables are simply unavailable, what are available are high priced and poor quality. The whole issue of food security in northern communities needs to be examined, with attention paid to the hunting economy, community garden and greenhouses, and some subsidization of healthy dietary choices.