These are trying times, these are times when
we need to dig deep down and realize that change is eminent.
I've sat and read the stories about the corruption in and
around the Dokis First Nation Indian Reserve.
Yeah, I still call it an Indian reserve,
because that's the name that the non-native government gave to
us so many years ago. Just around the time when they decided
that it would be best to put us far away from the white
societies. They did this because we were different, we looked
different, we spoke different, but fortunately for us we knew
how to live without the everyday essentials that now give most
people sicknesses and cancers.
I guess you could say we were very
self-reliant then. You see, many years ago, this is where we
had to go and live. These were the ways of old, and now I'm 43
years of age. Hopefully a little wiser and obviously more
opinionated than I was at the young age of 25 when I found
employment off the "Rez."
Today it seems, is a whole new ball game.
Today the tables have indeed turned. They have turned in ways
that let us voice our opinion in media with stories and remarks
that can damage the work of many years of growth in amongst a
society that has fought tooth and nail to get where we are
today.
A society that has endured a racial fight to
fit in, in a time when racism was very definite in a white
society. It's true we are supposed to be smarter and more
educated but it seems we still have some late bloomers amongst
us. It doesn't take a genius to understand that politics is
alive and well.
To the newspapers that have gladly written
these protesters feelings and opinions in the pages of their
papers, I have a question to the reporters who have chosen to
do this. How much research and interviewing has gone into these
headlines? How long have you known of or even cared about the
Dokis First Nation or the people who still live there? Does
society really even care about who has a disagreement or the
way that business is being resolved there?
I've lived off the Rez for awhile now; I can
read the minutes from each meeting that council holds on its
web page. If I have questions I pick up the
phone and call someone for information, and
if I really didn't like the way something wasn't being handled,
I'd show up at one of the monthly council meetings and voice my
opinion.
It's a shame the way someone can influence
the media and shatter the work that people have done and are
still trying to accomplish in a society that has struggled to
make progress in the years not so long ago.
These remarks are strong and malicious, and
to the people who choose to do this, it's your human right, but
please be aware that words are a powerful tool, especially in
the hands of the media.
Chris Restoule
Band Member
Dokis First Nation