4 - Wednesday, October 31, 1990 ~ North Shore News Summer will be remembered for military’s excesses in Oka NATIVE LAND claims strike me as being the most “Canadian” issue that ex- ists. If you would still fret about your Canadian identity, consider the land claims issue. Only in Canada, quite literally, could such a situation exist. In fact, if you are serious at all about what it means to be a Canadian, look again —- harder ~~ at the land claims issue. The truth is, to be an unhyphenated Canadian, you must be a native, as in ‘thome and native land.’ Yet the modern na- tion-state of Canada is virtually at war with native people across the entire tervitory, as, indeed, it has teen for nearly 500 years. As the Oka and Kahnawake in- cidents demonstrated so glaringly, racism — on all sides — ruus deep between natives and non-natives in this increasingly troubled tand. I could not believe some of the redneck ravings | caught in the media itself, reporters and colum- nists straining to outdo each other in the rush to put down the Mohawks. All this nonsense about how splendidly disciplined ‘‘our boys”’ were when they went in! [t didn’t take long for word to leak out that the ‘‘legendary’’ Van Doos were in fact screaming obscenities at native women and sneaking around, beating up Indians in the dark, as soon as the television cameras had been pushed out of sight. When the history of Canada’s “Indian Summer’’ of 1990 is writ- ten, it will be noted that the Ca- nadian Army’s contribution to the defence of freedom was the squeezing-out of the media, suspension of civil rights, illegal search-and-seize operations, breaking private cellular contracts to choke off reporters’ voices from the other side of the bar- ricades and rampant censorship at every turn. Just what you would expect if a military junta had taken over. In the face of dereliction of du- ty by the political leade:ship — Mulroney anc Bourassa — the army was allowed to have a little fling at setting u;.2 test-case police state in Canacia, Charter of Rights and Freedom: not- withstanding. (1 belicve it is Clause 54 of the Charter that states none of our guaranteed freedoms count worth a damn if “national security’ ‘s at stake.) Of course, in Quee:, natives and Quebecers stare at each other Bob Hunter ECOLOGIC across the memories of blood- stained batilefields, betrayal, zealotry, a serious legacy of pro- tracted war — language being one of the most tangible results. Most Indians in Quebec speak English as a second language, not French. Most of them sided, after all, with the English against New France, bringing down the French Empire in North America. Think for a minute how it must feel to a guy whose family has lived on this continent for 12,000 years to have to take marching orders from a guy who just wash- ed up on the beach a couple of decades ago from some foreign place like Holland. Excruciating? You betcha! The same antipathy which so many of us feel toward newly- arrived immigrants (with their strange costumes and languages), is what the native people feel toward the rest of us all the time. Supposing those immigrants got together and took over — which of course is what happened with the Europeans. The individual Indians 1 have met and worked with over the years have had long ancestral memories. E have trouble tracing my family back much more than two genera- Gon: on my father’s side (Ho freland, apparently en route from Scodand). But these guys can tell you What life was like for their people centuries avo, This phrase, ‘tniy people,” comes up rather more often than among mainstream eringo Canucks. In many respects, native groups are closer to the kind of tight-knit tribal identity you find among Jews, for instance. To their credit. a lot of younger native guys make wry jokes about ‘‘my people, eh?” Something [ discovered along the way was that natives spend a lot of time laughing at white guys. You can conjure any number of good, solid, psychological reasons for this, based on history, based on culture, you name it, but it still comes down to the fact that natives tell a lot of *‘white man” jokes among themselves, and love it, racist as it might be. 1 know when I used to hire out from time to time as a consultant to an Indian band up the coast (many years ago), I'd have to put up with 20 minutes to half an hour’s worth of white man jokes before the particular band council I was there to help could get all that out of its system and get down to work. I didn’t mind, because ! thought I understood. But it was a sure sign that racial relationships between natives and non-natives had not been worked out of their collective neurotic knot yet. Nevertheless, we are at a new juncture in our ancient quarrel, native and non-natives in Canada. And the settling of land claims is the key, because until these claims are dealt with, Canada as a coun- try will not have found its final shape. Until then, we will be little more than a country in transition from a colonial past to a — hope- fuily — truly democratic future. But we ain’t there yet, that's for sure. ARDAGH HUNTER TURNER Barristers & Solicitors IMPAIRED DRIVING AFTER HOURS 645-8989 [986-4366 | FAX 986-9286 300-1401 LONSDALE, NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. Dr. David Olson and Dr. Dean Greenwood are pleased to announce the relocation of their Edgemont Chiropractic Clinic to 101-3155 Highland Blvd. (at Woodbine) For appointment call B.C’s Children Hospital? 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PHONE 291-3488 ("ee Open Mon-Sat 9.4pin Thurs till fpm Sun Ynoon - Alderman Joan E. Gadsby tc MAYOR, North Vancouver District Joan Gadsby has served you with demonstrated commitment for 10 years as an Alderman. That’s why she’s topped the polls every term. Now she’s decided it’s time to seek your support for the next three years as your Mayor. We're delighted! Because Joan Gadsby has proved she has the experience for responsible leadership. She’s also proved she cares for the unique quality of the District’s neighbourhoods. As Mayor, Joan will work for controlled, balanced and rational growth in your community. Joan has proved she delivers on her election commitments. That's why we're working hard to secure your vote for Joan Gadsby on Nov. 17th. Ten years as an Alderman is enough. It's time to elect Joan Gadsby for Mayor! However, we cant do it alone. If you have some time to donate, please call 980-3228 now! And, of course, we would appreciate cheques to help cover expenses sent to: Campaign te Elect Joan Gadsby for Mayor c/o Delbrook Business Centre, 3741 Delbrook Ave. North Vancouver, B.C. V7N 3Z4 Thank you!