[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

This is going to come across the wrong way, and is totally politically incorrect, but after having to cut my workday short in Edmonton so that I didn't get caught up in the QEII blockade, I just feel compelled to rant a bit.

There are times when I really have to wonder why, over 150 years later, we are still paying for the alleged sins of our forefathers. I'm not disputing that European explorers came to North America and conquered and displaced those that were already here, but isn't that the point of war and conquest? Throughout the course of human history, groups of people have entered into conflicts with other groups for land, resources or just because they didn't like the look of them. First Nations peoples did the same long before the arrival of the white man; their history is rife with inter-tribal wars and conflicts, with brutality and suffering that easily rivals the colonial period.

So why is it that this specific conquest has resulted in the current situation where the government and citizens of our country are required to support the descendants of those who were conquered? What makes the colonization of North American unique when compared to Australia or any number of African nations?

I am not disputing that the colonization of Canada was brutal and that white Europeans caused the death and displacement of thousands of First Nations peoples. European civilization had significantly progressed in the field of science, and the colonists possessed an ultimately unassailable edge in the art of warfare. But isn't that the nature of war? There's a winner and loser in every conflict, and if the tables had been reversed and the First Nations had the advantage, then the Europeans would have been driven out and perhaps been conquered on their own soil.

Anyways, these are just some random thoughts by one random individual. I certainly don't know what the solution is to the current situation, but it seems that significant changes are required. As a country, we are spending over $7 billion a year on this portfolio, and it certainly doesn't seem like the money is well spent, from the perspective of either side.

Because the FN people weren't actually "conquered". The government 'bought' their land from them (even though they didn't understand the concept of land ownership and thought they were pulling a fast one on the white man) and have been paying for it ever since. If they HAD been conquered, like any other conquered folks out there, this wouldn't be an issue these days. It would be like any other 'conquered people' situation you are outlining.