A4 - Wednesday, January 25, 1984 - North Shore News IN JUST EIGHT YEARS, it will be 1992. The a lot of reserves and got to significance? Well, it will be the 500th anniversary Strictly personal by Bob Hunter of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the so-. called New World. Not everybody will be cheering. Certainly not the descen- dants of the Taino Indians of the Bahamas who made the fatal, mistake of welcoming Columbus and his men with open arms, giving them anything they asked for. In retrospect, from the In- dian point of view, it is easy to see that the peaceful Tainos would have been well advised to slaughter the ex- plorers on the spot. Colum- bus himself took only a half- dozen prisoners to show off when he got back to Spain, but the ships that followed his were slavers. Today, not a single Taino survives. They were exterminated. - After half a millenium of being conquered and decimated, with some tribes being wiped out entirely, and finally being driven en masse into reservations and reserves, the native people of North America have had lit- tle to celebrate except, where they managed it, survival itself. Although perhaps now, at long last, in Canada at least, there is something for the native people to cheer about. the special commons com- mittee report tabled in November, advocating In- dian self-government in Canada is one of those rare parliamentary documents that are almost too good to be true. There’s nothing wild or irresponsible about it. In fact, it is inspired. At a. stroke, it would eliminate the smothering bureaucracy of the Indian Affairs Department’ which saddles Indian bands with so much paperwork, they rarely have time or energy left to get on with anything else. In a time of restraint con- sciousness, it is worth noting that under the current set up, fully one-quarter of the $1.2 billion Indian Affairs budget goes to the bureaucracy itself. So it is not just a ques- tion of paternalism, it is a matter of funds intended to help Indians being syphoned off to feed the mandarins. And meanwhile, everybody knows, housing standards on almost all reserves are substandard. in- dian health care is a national disgrace, unemployment, alcoholism and suicide are rampant, and only onc In- dian in five finishes secon- dary school. Why? | suppose lack of pride was at the root of it. A historical ‘‘conquest hangovcr.’’ A sense of hav- ing been crushed and now suffocated in an claborate welfare trap Whatever the causes, oa solution is in sight. | have heard pcopic grumbling that self-government by the In dians would amount to a Northern version of apar theid. That's utter rubbish. It is the Indians themselves who have been demanding sclif government for over a century. The Indian ‘‘bands”’ with which we are familias in as Canada are only the dismantled remnants of the once-mighty confederacies that existed on this continent. The native people had na- tions in their own right before Canada was a glint in history’s eye. To argue that Indians aren’t capable of governing themselves isn’t just a racist insult, it is absurd. Of course they can. They did. The pro- biems they have now come as a direct result of the frustra- tion and paralysis of NOT being allowed to govern themselves, of being forced to live on handouts. Over the years I’ve visited fee numbers. know quite a few native peo- ple. There is no.doubt in my mind that once they have - thrown. off the yoke of col- . onial domination — or, bet- — ter yet,’ had it voluntarily lifted — their natural creativity and energy will be released in marvellous new directions. Canada will be a better, richer place, its diversity enhanced by the addition of a necklace of mini-provinces. Yet rather than creating bar- riers, this will get rid of them by putting us all, native and non-native alike, on a legitimately equal footing. As far as I am concerned, this proposal is the finest thing the Canadian govern- ment has come up with in my lifetime. If it passes, I will ac- tually be proud of my coun- try again. FERRY INFORMATION | For B.C. Fernes and other ferry systems from the Sunshine Coast to the Kootenays. BORDER CROSSINGS _ Times and points of entry for visitors to the U.S.A. The most valuable glove FROM PAGE A1 problem of money, it would have been solved long ago,’’ he said. ‘*We have had a very serious problem at the Lyan Creek yard — we have the . ‘yard down below, and the residents up above. In order to get a sound barrier that would be-completely effec- ‘tive, it would have to be 40 or 50 feet high, and right beside the track.”’ But the sloping terrain im- pedes the effectiveness of . such a barrier, said Hopewell. A sound barrier already in the area may be ex- tended, he added. Meanwhile, area residents who attended the meeting to ask questions regarding the progress on the sleep- disturbing train-whistling at the Neptune crossing got lit- 198+ | Motorist Kit ICBC’s all-round kit for B.C. drivers. INSURANCE COVERAGE All the answers to questions you might have on Autoplan protection, with a province-wide list of claim procedures, claim centres and Dial-A-Clatm TABLES fingertips INSURANCE CORPORATION Trainmen say they're working on noise woes de satisfaction. ; Hopewell said it would take the Railway Transport Commission at least a year to okay either a mechanized railway signal, or some alternative. Dean asked whether it would be possible to. havea flagman in the interim, but Hopewell said this would have to go through the RTC. A City staff report previously put before council said that having a flagman at the crossing would be con- trary the Railway Act. Mayor Loucks said he’d been discussing alternatives to the whistling with a RTC representative since council last met to discuss the _ Council will meet again with CNR representatives to discuss problems caused by train noise at a future meeting open to the public. Crack down on dogs WEST VANCOUVER dog owners are reminded that it’s time to renew licences for their pets -- and warned that police will step up enforce- ment of the licencing bylaws. 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Jerudment ce diinun af 3 cen «oy aIe we us what a vehi: oe being asvspneind ou baad us wats Ten inva concn ad maby widen ape + dy wg Pattewby poh hb hes laren nf sawong? ant owtwoona init Onectupe so vewerapes apply by tie sehete ond> ant Oe gus coset bye on, or Qantage 0 tate Available now from all the bylaw enforcement sec- tion will be stepping up patrols as they search for unticenced and licenced dogs at large and. dogs in pro- hibited areas such as beaches and school grounds.