Vitriol Flying Among AR Advocates in Niagara Region Over Aboriginal Hunting

[Michael Sizer-Watt]

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2012/12/31/short-hills-park-to-c...

 

It is illegal to hunt within the boundaries of Short Hills Provincial Park near St. Catherine's Ontario (about 1.5 hours drive from where i live.) However, due to a treaty between the Fed. Gov of Canada and the Aboriginals, local Aboriginals will be permitted to hunt deer for two weekends in January within park boudaries. For public safety, the park will not be open to hikers and others who would normally enjoy the park for other reasons.

 

As I hope the rest of the world knows, the Canadian Gov't has an atrocious record (ongoing) of marginalizing our Native population while large proportions of them live in abject poverty, inflicted with substance abuse and family abuse. The social ills they suffer are directly tracable to the forceful extraction of Native children from their families who were then placed in residential schools where they were taught that their culture was savage and that they must adopt western language, religion and ways of life. If that wasn't horrible enough, it is now clear that abuse of the children (physical, emotional and sexual) was commonplace in the schools. Because of this, some of the AR activists are also activists for human rights who speak up very actively on behalf of Native  people.

 

Some very ugly accusations of racism and betrayal have been flying on facebook between those AR supporters who oppose the hunt (as they normally would oppose any hunt) and those who support it (on the grounds of respect for the legal rights and autonomy of the Aboriginals.) I fully admit that I'm not sure which side I stand with, but I'm very saddened by the awful infighting and disparraging accusations. It is happening not only between keyboard warriors, but people that I know are true activists who do indeed lobby frequently and who are very commited indeed to their causes.

 

Thoughts?

[Kerry Baker]

Hi Michael. Much the same situation we have in Australia. And it is tricky when arguing for the animals when indigenous rights are involved. I do not however have any problem with arguing against killing animals irrespective of who is doing it. To my mind, and I don't wish to sound patronising here, to support an indigenous people in killing animals where there is no apparent need I think is really supporting a notion that they are by race exempt from the AR movement. Surely there are AR activists among indigenous people, and I think we need to be connecting with them to seek advice about how best to manage the issue. To ignore indigenous AR activists is again something which may seem to be white people dictating how they ought to live. In Australia the Queensland Aboriginals have been inflicting the most horrendous cruelty on turtles and dugongs under the protection of these types of 'rights' which did lead to the State Govt there enacting legislation to make it illegal no matter who you are after being shown on our ABC TV News. It doesn't matter who you are, what colour skin you have, religion and so on, we are presumably evolving as a race towards more humane attitudes for other species. I don't apologise for standing up for animals, if we don't who will?

[Michael Sizer-Watt]

I agree with both of your replies (thanks.) I'm very annoyed that people here are stating that you have to be either with them or against them and there's no gray area.