133 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
133 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
___ ___ ___
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___|: |___|: \ ___|: \ DizDate: 12/95
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_______\___ \___ \___ ___\_______ WordCount: 1188
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«¬¬¬¬¬¬| |: | |____| ___|¬¬¬¬¬¬«
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«¬¬¬¬¬| | |: | |: |¬¬¬¬¬« Subject/Topic is on:
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«¬¬¬¬| |: | |: | |¬¬¬¬« [Rising Anger by native people]
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----\___|: |\__ |\__ |---- [about land claims and equal ]
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úúúúúúú\___|cd!|___/'úúú|___/'úúú [rights. ]
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`, a c e ,` [ ]
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`, e s s a y s ,` [ ]
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Grade Level: [ ]Grade School Type of Work: [x]Essay/Report/Term
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[x]High School [ ]Informational
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[ ]College [ ]Notes
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[ ]Misc
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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ANGER & RENEWAL IN INDIAN COUNTRY
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Now I believe the rising anger and determination by native peoples
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towards land claims and equal rights has created a situation which must be
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addressed immediately.
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Man has come a long way in time, as he has learned to master the powers
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of fire, and to hunt and fish for food. All of this was done by a
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collection of knowledge. With these thought patterns, he reached a way of
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life which was suitable and which created a sense of balance throughout the
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world's complex ecosystem. But one group of people wanted more. They
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progressed and educated their minds through time. To some it may be known
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as plain greed and to others known as common day evolution. To this day
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the answer remains in the hands of the philosophers. The European
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continent hosted the group of human beings that thrived for ultimate
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knowledge and a perfect civilization. The famous quote Trial and Error was
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appropriate for the European's escalating achievements. Some were fatal
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and some were rewarding, but they were all eventually accomplished in the
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great European continent. They then set out to other continents to broaden
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their horizons and reach total knowledge and enlightenment.
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The 16th century was the setting for the early days of the arriving
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Europeans to the North American continent. Countries such as England,
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Portugal, France and Spain entered the continent and set up colonies which
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were widely spread out over the land. The natives of the area had formerly
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agreed upon their occupation of the space, and so welcomed the newly
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arrived settlers. An agreement was made in the two-row wampum treaty which
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was signed between the natives and the settlers from Europe in 1664. The
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agreement would allow Europeans to stay among the native people and use a
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certain amount of their land, while in their own areas they would continue
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to exercise their own laws and maintain their own systems of government.
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The agreements allowed both sides of the fence to be happy and gain from
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one another. Soon the Europeans took advantage of the friendliness that
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the natives were offering to them. A series of lands were taken without
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consent, as natives were being plundered through trade agreements. The
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rising anger of the natives resulted to the royal proclamation of 1763,
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whereby King George the third issued a treaty process. This new treaty
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stated that all colonized land which was untreatied land, would be returned
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immediately to the native people of Canada. Today, there are still many
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cases of untreatied land, such as the Yukon, parts of the North West
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Territories, and seventy to eighty percent of British Columbia was to
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remain untreated or claimed by the crown.
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As the years progressed, more and more land was being clutched by the
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foreigners and all treaties were neglected. The royal proclamation of 1763
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which allowed natives to have some sort of status, was shoved under the
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carpet, and the natives were tucked away in a small designated corner of
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Canada's large bountiful country. The rising anger and determination by
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the natives was beginning to rise.
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The front pages of the nations newspapers have never been the same
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since June 1987, when the native people of Canada decided to confront the
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Canadian government with direct action all across the country. Native
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bands have embarked in a process of blockading roads, setting up picket
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lines and demonstrating on government properties. The action by the angry
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natives is an attempt to publicize their thoughts to the government. Their
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has been many kinds of actions engaged in by the natives in all kinds of
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different shapes and sizes. Some points are outlined as follows:
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"1.-The Haida of British Columbia stood in front of large logging machines,
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that were on their way to clear out their ancient forests.
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2.-The Lubicon of Northern Alberta and the Teme-Augama Anishnabai of
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Northern Ontario both were involved in the blocking of roads into their
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ancient lands.
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3.-The Mohawks of Akwasasne continue to struggle for the right to cross the
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international border of Canada and the united States freely, as they used
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to when no boundaries were imposed upon them.
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4.-The Mi'kmaq and Malaseet of Nova Scotia are involved in a dispute with
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the provincial government, which are trying to restrict ancient hunting and
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fishing rights and that has recently been confirmed by the Supreme court of
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Canada.
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5.-The Innu of Labrador invade a NATO airbase in protest against low level
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flights by jet fighters that threaten the animal population on which they
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depend on as a source of food."(1.)
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Many of these struggles have shaken Canadians. In fact thousands of
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Canadians, especially those in the environmental and human rights groups,
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churches and some unions, "have struggled with the natives to moderate the
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power of industrial revolutions as it smashes into the Hinterland."(2.)
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The natives of Canada have for certain, a land claim problem, but they
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also have a huge society disorder. The living conditions on reserves is a
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hideous almost nauseating disgrace, which the government must attend to
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immediately. there is high unemployment rates on reserves, which in turn
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results in poor living standards, and thus the natives become restless,
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turning to alcohol and drug abuse. There must be a political will, to put
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all those long fancy words into practice. But, the Canadian government has
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not completely ignored their situation. Efforts have been put forth to
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help the natives, such as a saw mill that was constructed within Northern
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Alberta for the natives to make use of, and hopefully reduce the
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unemployment in the people among that particular region. After five years
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of function there was still no change in the unemployment level. The plain
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and simple reason for that is that one cannot take an already drunken
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Indian and expect him to work. The reason for that failure was that the
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government only attacked a symptom of the problem. The bigger the problem
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the longer it's going to take to solve it. The natives have been revolting
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for many years, in order to obtain only one goal, which is self government
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within Canada. They don't want the whole country, but a small section in
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which they can govern themselves, where they can have their own courts and
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laws. Before the arrival of the European's, the natives had a very highly
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developed society, with a perfect system of government. Now, many
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centuries later, they see that their common future has been torn to shreds.
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If the self government proposal was put into effect, a natural resource
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would be needed for it's survival, and at the present time the reservations
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do not hold great possibilities. A better location in the reservations
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could quite possibly open a few new doors to the suffering natives. The
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current government has constituted the suggestion before, but no actions
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were ever taken. In conclusion, it is clearly evident that if the natives
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were ever given more responsibility, which includes a greater authority in
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the decision making process of Canada, it would most definitely allow them
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to plan a new and powerful role in Canadian society.
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