Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
The narrative that Canada's indigenous peoples are sacred custodians of the land, and conservationists by tradition, is an attractive one. It fits the myth of the noble savage fending off corruption by modern society. But it's not true. Native bands have demonstrated a capability to exhaust natural resources like fish and game just as readily as non-Natives.
I covered a case in the NWT where several indigenous hunters using snowmobiles and high-powered rifles took down 10 caribou in a few minutes, cut only the prime parts off the animals, and left the rest to rot. Fish and wildlife officers were hated by the locals because they tried to enforce limits on hunting and fishing.
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All native people are tree huggers. It's actually one of those racial stereotypes similar to ones like "Asians are all good at math", or "black people are naturally gifted athletes". Dressing up racism as a compliment is still racism. People are not mindless automatons beholden to their ethnic background. Plus, the narrative is false. It suggests people are locked into a task because of their genetics and takes away their creativity and hard work. By applying that stereotype to aboriginals, it creates a climate for people to judge them negatively if they aren't pursuing that racialized agenda.
I work for an environmental firm in BC with a few First Nations as clients, and I can tell you that most are very driven by economic growth through development of their land and resources. And yeah, they want to do it in environmentally sustainable ways, but most people (aboriginal or otherwise) want the same thing in that respect.