Re: My post yesterday: MNN "Poor sports" in Ontario. 6 Nations "shut out"
It seems that this article from MNN that I posted yesterday did not tell the whole story: MNN "Poor sports" in Ontario. 6 Nations "shut out"Today I've received an email from someone who is on the Six Nations reserve, and was informed that: "The games were called off because one was for Monday when all hell broke lose and the others due to the power outage that effected the reserve as well as all the other people you have heard about. They were told it would take 3 to 4 days to get power back on. So all games have been put over till next week."
I apologise for the misinformation in my previous post, and will try harder to sift through all the information I receive from different sources and hopefully find the gem of truth, since I am a seeker of truth and I do not feel good about my error.
However, the article does give us some insight into the emotions of some people and the need for dialogue, patience and understanding of the different view points. We have not always treated the Native People with the respect that they deserve. Indeed, many grave wrongs and atrocities have been perpetrated upon them by us and our governments. I can only hope that the voices of reason, justice and peace will prevail and that negotiations proceed in this spirit.
posted by Annamarie at
5:12 PM
4 comment(s):
Although people are frustrated and emotions run high on all sides, keep in mind that the Six Nations people were wronged, as indeed were all of our First Nations peoples. These wrongs must be righted, the grievances properly addressed and issues settled in a judicious, just manner.
In Ms. Horn's article I read the underlying pain and frustration of many of her people. It is in this context that I wrote the sentence to which you refer.
Please try to put yourself into other people's shoes before you so quickly judge their actions.
By
Annamarie, at
11:54 PM
Thank you for your comments. Perhaps you can provide me with a few links so that I may read more about the Band Council vs the Confederacy.
The way I understand it, the Confederacy rule is the legitimate rule, according to their Law. (I am not saying this correctly, as I've had a long day with outdoor family events, returned home a little while ago, and am too tired to make sense.)
However, any links you could send me would be appreciated.
BTW, you can email me using the link in my profile.
Thanks!
amd
By
Annamarie, at
12:53 AM
There are two questions that Yokel touches upon here.
Firstly: possible contradictions in the Haudenosaunee's traditional form of government (the claim that supporting the Confederacy means "supporting a system that would see a select few of the families on the rez gain all political power and therefore all economic power...")
And secondly the question of the role of us settlers in the liberation struggle being waged across this continent by First Nations people.
In regards to the first point...
Historically and currently those societies with the greatest divide between rich and poor, and the greatest centralization of wealth and power in the hands fo a few families, are cetainly not the the First Nations. No, that prize goes to that "one person one vote" country just to the south of us, the USA. Which is why many people refer to their system pejoratively as "bourgeois democracy", not as a real democracy.
Currently, in the midst of global capitalist decay, would traditional Haudenosaunee forms of social organization be able to withstand the pressure to adopt capitalist values, standards and practices? I have no crystal ball - and neither does Yokel! - and i admit the capitalist tsunami is difficult to imagine resisting... but i certainly don't assume the Haudenosaunee would do any worst than "our" governments, with their cult of the free enterprise.
Which impacts on the second aspect of this question: there is a liberation struggle being waged at Six Nations, and across this continent. I see no sign that this struggle is either anti-democratic or pro-capitalist. Most importantly, though, it is a struggle grounded in the First Nations, and as such i imagine it will be up to people from those nations to determine the form and content of their struggle.
For myself, as a member of the settler nation, my hope is that we build liberation movements of our own, dealing with our problems and the oppressions (different, but real nonetheless) that many of us suffer, as well as our responsibility to resist the violence done in our name. In doing so we may certainly borrow from and draw inspiration from the more advanced First Nations struggle (as for instance the women's movement and sections of the radical left already have), but we're going to have to figure out a lot ourselves.
To me, this should be our priority, not trying to sort out how other nations should organize their affairs.
By
kersplebedeb, at
11:15 AM
Thanks, Kersplebedeb, for your good, elucidatory comment. I am in full agreement.
By
Annamarie, at
3:01 PM
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