A Rallying Cry from the Past to the Present
Chief William was one of the leaders of the Secwepemc People. His people claimed the use of the land around what is today William's Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The treatment of the Secwepemc People typifies the treatment of all First Nations and Aboriginal People at the hands of European settlers. They were first promised territorial rights which they never got; then their numbers were decimated by viruses bought from Europe; then in the 1970s government programs tried to 'assimilate' the indigenous peoples. It is only in the late 1990s that the Secwepemc People along with other First Nations People gained any type of autonomy over their cultural identity or any real legal rights to their territory.
In 1879 Chief William made a statement. It started thus:
The white men have taken all the land and all the fish. A vast country was ours. It is all gone. The noise of the threshing machine and the wagon has frightened the deer and the beaver. We have nothing to eat. My people are sick. My young men are angry. All the Indians from Canoe Creek to the headwaters of the Fraser say: "William is an old woman". I am old and feeble and my authority diminishes every day. I am sorely puzzled. I do not know what I say next week when the chiefs are assembled in a council. A war with the white man will end in our destruction, but death in war is not so bad as death by starvation.
This is not a website about aboriginal rights. It is a website about human rights and about how people can come together, band together to effect positive change in the world. What is significant about Chief William's words is that they could equally apply to so many people in the world at the present time.
- They have taken our land /homes.
- They have taken away our means of feeding ourselves. We are starving.
- Industry is destroying natural resources.
- Our young people are angry and are prepared to fight rather than roll over and die quietly.
It is no coincidence that much of the same themes are found in the rhetoric surrounding the recent 'occupation' movements in Wall Street and the City of London. Indigenous people and subsistence farmers around the world complain about pollution, toxic pesticides and the dangers of GM crops. Young people in North Africa and the Middle East have proven that they are prepared to die to bring about political change in their countries.
World leaders are failing us, the people, more than at any time in history. The world is heading for irreparable environmental disaster and all they do is shore up their failing economies by printing more paper money. We believe the trees have more value than the paper. We also believe in real democracy where everyone's voice is heard and the communal will is enacted. Rather than consent being manufactured by the mass media we believe in the freedom of information and the removal of bias from reporting. News is not a consumer product it is a human right.
It is only from the grass roots that change will occur. This is an undeniable law of nature. We must peacefully bring about change by coming together to protect our rights and protest injustice. We must not wait for government initiatives to protect nature; we must live our lives in more environmentally friendly ways. We must learn to channel our righteous anger into constructive projects that will bring about real change not superficial change of leadership. We must embrace our cultural heritages and learn that we are different not better than one another. We must learn that racism, sexism and all other types of discrimination are just ploys by the ruling elite to divide and rule. They fear real democracy. This is our strength and our hope for the future. The 90% of the world that have near to nothing has their voice which if unified can bring about a more equitable and just world.
The Secwepemc people who are also none as the Shuswap, are a collection of 17 tribes who live in the Province of British Columbia in Canada. They are a very ancient people and in fact ancestors can be traced back to the interior of British Columbia for over nine thousand years. When they first encountered the Europeans the combined land of these people covered over 56,000 square miles. Although the 17 groups were independent they had a political alliance to share land and resources between each other when required.
The Secwepemc people were semi nomadic and spent their winters in underground pit houses and more traditional lodges in the summer. They survived as many natives did by hunting, fishing and trading, the traditional diet was thus based on nuts, berries, meat and fish primarily. Their whole way of life though has become under increasing threat over the centuries from the outsiders who settled in their land. In fact in the late 19th century it was estimated there were barely 7200 citizens left.
It has long been identified that in order to preserve the proud heritage of the Secwepemc people that they needed to improve the level of education in order to adapt to the new world they now inhabited. Education was seen as vital to rebuilt the nation. Initiatives like the SCES (Secwepemc Cultural Education Society) have improved greatly the level of education ans sophistication of a majority of the nation. There has been great effort in producing places where the students can learn in a suitable environment. These are called ”Lleqmellcw” which literally means places to learn – like minded students can access resources that facilitate learning. From internet access where they can access global media like the New York Times and even watch BBC IPlayer from anywhere to books and access to many other educational resources.
Education has allowed their numbers to grow and thrive, and now in the 21st century – the nation is as strong as ever.
Ever since rather romantic writers and early American settlers like Longfellow, Parkman and Thoreau first wrote about the idea many people interested in the history of North America have believed in what is now known as “The Pristine Myth”. This theory was that before the European settlers arrived the Native American Indians lived here in complete harmony with nature, never doing anything to disturb or change the environment.
More recent evidence has shown that to not be the case though. archaeological evidence has shown that Native Americans made more use of fire than just as a source of heat and light. It seems in fact that they were early adopters of the idea of clearing away large forested areas not only for firewood (that they stacked of course instead of storing in a firewood rack as one might today) but to provide field space for organized agriculture that could produce vital food crops.
These fires had to be carefully controlled if course and contrary to what the new visitors may have thought the Native American Indians were far from primitive and were very adept at ensuring that fires they set did not get of control and damage areas that they were not supposed to. Because the environmental conditions did not always cooperate though the evidence shows that this was not always the case and a number of burned skeletons have been discovered, possibly the unfortunate result of such accidents.
Much of this deliberate, controlled burning was mistaken for the natural landscape of the country by those early explorers and settlers. However archaeologists found a great deal of evidence in the latter part of the 20th century that these controlled burns had been going on for hundreds of years and had in fact in many cases changed the landscape a great deal.
There is no doubt that oppression of fat people continues to happen not just in America but elsewhere around the world and in most cases, learning effective weight loss tips is essential. There are countless sad stories about how obese people are being looked down in society; from the classrooms to the gym and even at home with the family. While it is true that the wellness campaign is making waves in many societies, tolerance for fat people still has a long way to go.
Why do people oppress the obese? For one thing, there are those who have narrow views about health and beauty, and for them the idea of being fat is highly embarrassing, as it would make them feel like losers. There are also others who think that being obese is the result of having no discipline and no control over the aspects of consumption and exercise. And of course, there are those who could do nothing but put others down only because they feel superior about themselves.
Despite the oppression, hope still remains for the obese with the availability of weight loss tips. The good news is that there are countless tips on losing weight and adjusting lifestyle habits that are easily available through the Internet. In addition, there are tips that are simple to do contrary to what some may think.
One simple way to start shedding the excessive fat off the body is to go walking around for at least thirty minutes per day. Another is to drink hot green tea more often as it is rich in antioxidants (that can clean the body), melt the fat and help boost the metabolism to make fat burning more effective. In addition to green tea, drinking plenty of water as well as calorie-free beverages in replacing sodas or other commercialized drinks is helpful as well.
In regards to food, always keep in mind that eating natural is desirable over meat and fatty food. Replacing meat with fish, vegetables and fruits is not only necessary but also more affordable as well. It is also noted that a greener, more natural selection of food can boost the metabolism a lot than consuming meat, oil and high-calorie commercialized food options.
With simple weight loss tips like these, obese people will not only realize there is hope but also realize that changing their lifestyle habits to become healthier can be done quite easily.
As a teacher at one of the nation’s top gunsmithing schools, I like to discuss the history of guns in North America with my students. Inevitably, a discussion starts about the introduction of guns to the Indian people of North America and whether or not it was a good idea. Is it good to introduce a violent weapon like that? I’m not sure.
It wasn’t until around 1860 that guns — rifles — started to be integrated into the Native Indian lifestyle. Popular modern rifles were Winchesters and Springfields. It is said that these types of rifles were used against General George A. Custer in the Little Bighorn. The natives often acquired these guns in trades with Europeans, frequently swapping hides for guns, whiskey, and other products.
Although I am a big proponent of guns for hobby and sport, I often wonder how the world would be different if they had not been introduced and spread across the world. I don’t know — all I know is I can promote and educate their safe use.
If you complete a Walmart application and are hired you will very quickly realize that you are working for a big company. You may have even heard or seen some pretty amazing sales figures. But these comparisons really put how large Walmart has become into perspective:
Walmarts Take up a Lot of Space – If you were to put all the Walmarts in the US together they would take up a space equal to 880 million square feet.
Walmart Could Raise an Army – If all the Walmart workers were to form an army they would be 2.1 million strong – second in the world only to China’s 2.3 million, currently the largest army in the world.
Walmart Drivers Could Drive to the Moon – Walmart has one of the largest trucking fleets in the world and employs over 8,000 drivers on a full time basis. Between them they cover over 712 million miles a year – which is about the equivalent of 45 round trips to the moon.
When people are shopping for fashion items such as designer shoes they are not thinking about the effect that the actual production of the item has had on the environment. Why should they, I hear people ask and this is the way I also used to think. The view that the manufacturing industry is trying to change is one that all shoes made in the Far East must have been made in a factory where conditions are terrible and workers are underage and taken advantage of.
This is the way a lot of manufacturers used to work but with the increase in goods being produced in the likes of China and Vietnam there is also an increase by consumers as to where their shoes are being made and what kind of conditions they are being made in. Big companies such as Nike received a very bad press over the years but have turned this around by focusing great efforts on the factories they work with to ensure that the employees working conditions are met to a good enough standard. Any company wanting to work with Nike have to meet a minimum criteria before they will be considered. This in turn improves conditions in these factories as Nike is the biggest manufacturer in the footwear market and suppliers want desperately to work with them.
It is hard to imagine today what the old Secwepemc people of Williams Lake would make of North American society today. We have a come long way from the Native American tradition of living in harmony with the land. These days we take from the land everything we can get and more.
The nations that were here before European colonization took their food from the land, but did so in a sustainable manner. They respected the animals they culled, and would utilize as much as possible of what they hunted. Wastage was almost unheard of, something quite remarkable given that the best refrigerator they had available at the time was immersion in cold running water.
In industrial societies like ours, food production is separated from those who eat. There are many people who have never seen a sheep, cow or chicken alive – either in a field, or in a factory farm. A lot of us just think of meat as something that comes from the refrigerated section of the supermarket.
This distance from our food encourages us not to think about the animals we are getting our protein from. I believe that the old Native Americans would be horrified by this concept, and find it deeply disturbing.
Honoring of the animals that give their lives so that we may live is a common thread in many so called primitive societies. Even more ‘sophisticated’ groups – such as certain First Nations who engaged in agriculture – still recognized the debt they owed to the land and the products it yielded.
While there are many benefits to living in a so called modern society – including technologies such as refrigeration – I think our loss of kinship with the lands we live on is a significant downside. In my mind, societies that do not put appropriate value on the underlying source of their wealth – the places that they live and feed themselves from – seem destined to strip that land and thus destroy themselves from within. There is a lot we can learn from the traditional thinking of the original inhabitants of our lands.
For many people sleep apnea can be treated in a rather easy manner. For some it’s just a matter of learning a new sleeping position or losing a few pounds. But for most the sleep apnea treatment method of oral appliance therapy is working quite well. The dental sleep appliances help to position the tongue so it does not collapse into the airway and as an end result produce the snoring associated with this condition. Many dentists nowadays are getting into the field of dental sleep medicine since sleep apnea has been getting more buzz and awareness. People now understand there is something that can be done to stop their snoring.
Due to the horrible events that have taken place in the economy over the past few years many people have been devastated financially. This only worsens our economy even more than it already is, and will greatly prolong the day when we can recover from this nightmare. One thing that will surely help people to start contributing to a growing economy again is for these folks to get out of debt. Getting out of debt can greatly help, because then people will have freed up money to start being consumers again and helping to pump up the desperate numbers we are currently experiencing. Many sound debt relief programs are currently on the market so find one that suits you best and get out of debt today.
Rosa Parks raised awareness of the need for racial equality on the Montgomery Bus system in Alabama. Her well known act of public disobedience is been widely publicised (see Rosa Park: How I fought for Civil Rights). The question we shall be looking at today is not one of the color of our skin but of the weight and size of our bodies.
Whether a black, white, brown, yellow or red, man, woman or child sits next to you on a bus really makes very little difference. But if a 300 pound behemoth sits down next to you, they could really begin to encroach on your personal space. So while it’s right that in a civilized society, we do not discriminate against people based upon the color of their skin. Should there be any special treatment for people who weigh too much?
Rather than ridiculing those who are obese, it is a genuine matter of concern. If every single passenger on an international flight was obese, that would add thousands of pounds to the overall weight of the plane. If airlines charge for excess baggage, which they do, should they also charge for excess body weight?
These are serious issues and in Western society are in this day and age, very serious. More children than ever are now obese. As people get older, middle aged spread is an accepted part of grown older. Things do not have to be this way however. Simply by eating the right kinds of foods, we can easily improve our own health as well as effectively manage our weight.
If you are serious about wanting to manage your weight then it is imperative that you consume more healthy foods. Find out about the power of fruits and vegetables by reading the best juicer reviews on the Internet.
When I think about the trials and tribulations of native people’s in North America, I can hardly believe the history and the horrific events which occured to them so many years ago and continue to happen today.
In that vein, I’ve always asked myself, what is the most responsible way to bring about policy change?
I had the conversation with the proprietor of my wine of the month club, which seems like a weird place to start, but he was talking about their struggle with regulators and deciding if they should be part of class action suits against states which are discriminating against out of state retailers.
How do you bring about change? The question in many ways is never going to be answered.
It’s a small world. Just back from BC and we visited the Williams Lake area while on our tour paid for as one of our golden wedding anniversary gifts from our family.
There’s not much at Williams Lake other than the golf and tennis club and a few houses to the west of the lake. Whether the Secwepemc people should have rights to the land is not for me to answer, but I do question what they would do with the land if they had it. I doubt the land would support many people living off it, so maybe the people would develop the area as a tourist spot, much as it is now. The time we spent in the area and in that part of the world was most pleasant and a golden wedding anniversary gift that was much appreciated.
I think the lesson here is that life moves on. We can’t turn the clock back just because a collection of people had rights well over a century ago. Life today is more about making sure the poor and weak are looked after and don’t have to fend for themselves. That, to me, is what we mean by strength in unity.
In the late 1970’s, when the rest of the world’s scientists and political leaders were fast asleep to the ensuing issue of global warming- James E. Hansen was wide awake and publicizing his alarming scientific findings. Dr. Hansen is the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the countries foremost climate scientists. He became alarmed of Global Warming when he started playing around with his top of the line computer simulation of the earth’s atmosphere. As he added CO2 to the earth’s atmosphere, the temperature went up- way up, and Hansen realized that we might have a very serious ensuing environmental catastrophe on our hands. However the then current Reagan administration wanted to hear nothing of it and quickly began fighting his findings with everything from funding cuts to hiring scientific skeptics of their own. Hansen is not easily bullied however and has continued ever since to share his findings to anyone and everyone who would listen.
Hansen has been heralded as a hero of the environmentalism for his insistence on publicizing the implications of his data findings despite recent pressure from NASA and the White House to muzzle his statements. He unabashedly calls for the need to reduce greenhouse gas to an anyone who would listen. And more and more people are starting to pay attention to Hansen’s warnings. After giving a speech last December, Hansen started to receive phone calls from government officials instructing him to pipe down his rhetoric on the perils of global warming. Rather than backing down under pressure, Hansen fought back and has started a campaign to not only spread his findings on global warming but share his experiences with government bullying attempting to revise his message. He has stated “I think its chilling, because a democracy requires that the public be well informed. And I think that what’s happened over the past few years (regarding the lack of well informed public discourse on global warming which he attributes partly to the editing of scientific knowledge by the US government and other powerful stakeholders) is unprecedented in the United State’s History. Cheers to someone standing up for what is right. Isn’t that after all what democracy is all about?
Individuals can help reduce global warming. Although some actions may cause only a small impact, collectively they add up. Many of these options save money in the long run and have other environmental benefits such as reducing air pollution and resource consumption.
- Drive less, walk, bike, take public transportation, or buy vehicles that burn fewer amounts of gas or uses bio-diesel fuel. Average annual CO2 reduction: about 20 lbs for each gallon of gasoline saved.
- Plant trees to shade your house during the summer, and paint your house a light color if you live in a warm climate or a dark color in a cold climate. Average annual CO2 reduction: about 5,000 lbs.
- Replace old appliances with new, energy-efficient models. Average annual CO2 reduction for the most efficient refrigerator, for instance: about 3,000 lbs.
- Insulate your house and seal all drafts, enhancing the efficiency of the heat. Average annual CO2 reduction: 1000 lbs
- Produce less waste. Average annual CO2 reduction: about 1,000 lbs for 25 percent less garbage.
- Replace standard light bulbs with long-lasting compact fluorescent ones. Average annual CO2 reduction: about 500 lbs for every bulb.
- Wash laundry in warm or cold water, not hot. Average annual CO2 reduction: about 500 lbs for two loads per week.
- Buy renewable energy from your local utility if possible. Potential annual CO2 reduction: about 30,000 lbs.
Also, each of us can conserve much of the water we use and avoid water pollution. Water is vital for human race existence and benefits of drinking water are countless & irreplaceable. For that reason we should be cautious how we use water. This can be achieved in many simple ways and following the next advises:
- Don’t flush every time you use the toilet. Take shorter showers; don’t wash your car so often.
- Don’t let the faucet run while washing hands, dishes, food, or brushing your teeth.
- Dispose of used motor oil, household hazardous waste, batteries, etc., responsibly. Don’t dump anything down a storm sewer that you wouldn’t want to drink.
- Avoid using toxic or hazardous chemicals for simple cleaning or plumbing jobs. Hot water and soap will clean brushes more safely than organic solvents.
- Water your grass and garden at night, not in the middle of the day. Consider planting native plants, low-maintenance ground cover, a rock garden or some other xeriphytic landscaping.
- Use water conservation appliances.
- Use recycled water for house plants, car washing.
- Check your toilet for leaks. A leaky toilet can waste 50 gallons per day. Add a few drops of dark food coloring to the tank and wait 15 minutes. If the tank is leaking, the water in the bowl will change color.
There are Indian tribes scattered all over North America and the challenge for most is to hang on to their heritage while at the same time providing economic opportunity for the younger ones. It is hard to keep the young adults interested in staying as there is so much more opportunity elsewhere and they want to move to the big cities to make money.
Williams Lake has been the home for hundreds of years to Indians and this band now only numbers in the hundreds. Every year the number seems to go down a little. The ones that remain struggle on and have to deal with setbacks from nature and the bigger world as a whole that beckons to our tribe members. While everything is being done to preserve the past, it is feared that someday no one will be interested in living here anymore. The temptations of the bigger more modern world are just too great.
What makes an internet marketing company stand out? This is one of the most important questions we need to answer before exploring the potential earnings of online marketing. With so many companies offering similar products or services, we should always go for those that are ahead of the pack and on top of the game. This is the only way we would be successful. Otherwise, we are just wasting our time, money and effort and we would sometimes be better off in a typical 9 to 5 job.
There is no need to do things by ourselves. We live in a time where a lot of people are ahead of us in the affiliate marketing world. We can use this to our advantage and learn from their mistakes and best practices in order to do everything faster and in a more correct fashion. Market research can now only take hours, not days, and assist us in finding which company works for us. The basic things we need to do in order to choose wisely is look for a topic or niche that caters to a significant number of people, and confirm if the company offers a fair and stable compensation plan.
Choosing the right seo agency is just the first step. Real work starts when you decide to promote the company through various means. One company which worked for another person might not be the most feasible choice for you. Looking for product reviews and comments from existing customers or affiliates may also help a lot in your decision making.
The first colonialists to the New World had two important advantages. Although they were vastly outnumbered by the locals they brought two things with them that proved decisive in the fight for land that was to inevitably happen after the initial pretense of friendship passed and settlers arrived looking to appropriate land. These two advantages were technology and viral disease.
In both South America and North America the white man bought with him guns, cannons, horses and an array of martial equipment and understanding. It was this technological advantage that led to the massacre of many indigenous people in decisive battles on both continents. Of course, technology was employed in unison with duplicitous policy. Convenient deals and pacts were made that were later broken at opportune moments.
The other important weapon for the white man was disease. As is well documented the colonialists brought viruses from the Old World that the people in the New World had no immunity to. The grand scale of death in South America among indigenous people caused by viruses is well known. Weakened by disease the Indian peoples were greatly disadvantaged in their fight for survival.
Perhaps not much has changed. Many indigenous communities still lack access or understanding of modern technological advances that will help their communities. This is partly to do with education. It is noticeable that several reservations are lacking in green technology such as Honeywell thermostats, photovoltaic panels, compact fluorescent light bulbs, composters and decent insulation. The future is one where natural resources will be limited and so it is important that indigenous people empower themselves now with technologies that will help them lower their carbon emissions and energy bills.
Furthermore, health care and health care education is an important part of protecting indigenous communities. Babies must be immunized, education about alcohol and drug abuse must be available to all and better health services must be provided. Whereas the white man in America is happy to let his fellow white men die who don’t have health insurance this is not the attitude of indigenous peoples.
It seems that some things never change; but they should.
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