8 - Wednesday, August 28, 1985 - North Shore News

Give Indians
independence

THE INDIANS continue to do their war-dances,
constantly complaining that we are doing them in,
etc., and that-they want self-government. ‘‘B.C.
Tribe Claims Independence’? stated a_ recent

headline.

The Uikatcho “nation” up in
the Chilcotin has made some
modest proposals. Among
them:

That the normal court
system should have no juris-
diction over them; that there
be no mining or forestry on
the lands to which they lay
claim, and that anyone who
wants to hunt and fish in

Ulkatcholand would have to

get a license. From them.

Eee
get this
straight

‘Doug Collins.

“iThese demands, plus their
“declaration of in-

dependence’’ (if. it doesn’t.

make you laugh too much)
hasn’t been in the news these
past few weeks though. Pity.
Because what we should do is
to take them at their word and

‘telease them from bondage. It

would be’ a hell of a lot
. ‘cheaper for us. :

a am " seminded of. ‘this
because a chap of my acquain-
tance has done some research
on the subject. It must have
taken him a week, because he
found. out: how much the
Department of Indian Affairs
has cost us for every year back
to.1955; } won't give you the
whole. thing, but what he dis-
covered: “was that:

,

“ee In 1955, the Indians cost
us $24 million,

“# In 1965, $156 million.

“* In-1975, $843 million.

“An 1985, $2,271 million’

(projected). me : “4
“The total ‘bill for the 30:

years, according to my friend,
comes to more than $18.5

billion. Which is more dough :
than all the, Indians of the

- planned

world could get rid of at a
potlach. And that doesn’t in-
elude the welfare bill.

Pretty expensive, if you ask
me, considering that the total
Indian population is only
413,000. And don’t give me
any of that stuff about most
of the money having gone in-
to administration. Among
other things, it’s gone into fly-
_ing Indians around the coun-
“try to tell other Indians what
a rotten lot we are.

B.C, Attorney General
Brian Smith, one of the few
politicians/in this country to
speak an honest word about
the land claims, has stated that
the Indians don’t really want
the land. ‘‘What they want,”
he said, ‘tis dollars. Billions
and billions of dollars.’’

The independence of Ulkat-
choland, etc., can’t come soon
enough for me. How about
you?

i kkk
My column on all the tears

we shed, over the Hiroshima
anniversary seemed to hit the

spot for many. people. So.
here’s a letter in: The Sunday |
Times from a former P.O.W. °-

It, followed. similar tear-
shedding i in the U.K.

“ey ‘wonder if the Japanese
are being: shown (TV) pro-
grammes reminding them of
the. 50,000. Allied P.O.W.s
who died slow and appalling
deaths in their camps, and the
100,000 Asians who died

alongside them on the -

railway?
“1 wonder also if they have
told their people that they had

prisoners — that is, another
100,000 —
Allied landing, an event the
bombs obviated.

“Last of all, | wonder if they
have. done. anything .to
research and reveal the misery
that many returning prisoners

suffered, and’still suffer, as a.

result of their unprecedented

cruelty and neglect. =

“Is the Japanese attitude that

: to be taken prisoner is a -

disgrace supported by our

- media...? Why else do they ig-

‘nore the 40th anniversary of

to ‘destroy all |

in the event of an

E 3 1,000

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our release from hell? Or do i
. we, for some reason, not wish

to offend the Japanese...who
have never paid one single yen
compensation to those they
destroyed and sought to
destroy?” .

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