RE:Tkocobalthead,
I am shocked! Simply shocked!!
You, a card carrying member of the BBoS crew, giving any though to New Prosperity. Wasn't the official BBoS position on same subject
- Cow Mountain has nothing to do with New Propserity
- Local Indians around Cow Mountain love Frank and BGM and can't wait for BGM to blow the top off Cow Mountain
But ok, so now you see that indeed New Prosperity is important to Cow Mountain development future. That is progress. Well done!!
However, you appear to lump me in with left wingers who believe all mining is bad and needs to be blocked. That is not the case. I do not have any problem with mine development. I do however have a huge problem with Indians who bang their drums and talk about the happy hunting ground as something they developed and made out barren rocks and sand. Canada was a desert of nothingness before the red man arrived. Only with the sweat and toil of the red man did pine forsets grow, lakes and rivers form, and moose pastures develop... all hail the great red man... maker of all things in Canadian wilderness...
No, I am a great fan of Tom Flanagin, a Calgary prof who is a key advisor to PM Harper. You should read Flanigan's book, First Nations Second Thoughs. It lays out the Canadian Indian problem that was made infinitely worse by Trudeau and Cretion. The biggest error of the past is to treat the Indians as anything other than a nomadic people who did nothing with the lands they found. Sorry, Indians, but the Europeans found the same lands and developed them. The Indian land claims are bogus at best -- they didn't develop the land so they lost it. Period.
But with the legacy of Trudeau, there is a huge up hill battle for Harper to fight. Now that you see the fight I suggest you carefully watch Harper's moves. He is playing a long game where local bands are being forced to choose between accepting economic benefits of development or else forgoing Federal subsidies. E.g. approve mining development or those monthly checks from Ottawa stop flowing. You can keep your land pure but you'll live in you teepee without 50 plasma TVs and federally provided health care. Your choice.
Ok. My summary of the Harper strategy is a bit abbreviated but accurate at a top level. Either there will be economic development on Indian lands and Indians will get benefits from the development or else Indians can forget about continued payments from Ottawa. Ultimately fair IMO. Indians need to have skin in the game. Under the Trudeau Liberals, who spent far too much time listening to stories, smoking wacky tabacy, and drum banging, the Indians were told they were a great culture with stewartship of the land etc etc etc. Well, it isn't so is. Canada is for those living today and with Harper's leadership the Indian problem may finally be solved.
Interesting the American's did it right in Alaska back in the 60s. Same problem. Solution in Alaska was to give the Indians respponsibility for their own future and lands. Now they participate in the economy there to a much greater extent than the BC Indians.