[Cowperson]

A breath of fresh air?

“My first rule for success is ‘Show up on time.' My No. 2 rule for success is follow Rule No. 1.”

“If your life sucks, it's because you suck.”

“Quit your sniffling.”

“Join the real world — go to school or get a job.”

“Get off of welfare. Get off your butt.”

He pauses, seeming to gauge whether he dare, then does.

“People often say to me, ‘How you doin'?' Geez — I'm working with Indians — what do you think?”

Now they are openly laughing ... applauding. Clarence Louie is everything that was advertised — and more.

“Our ancestors worked for a living,” he says. “So should you.”

He is, fortunately, aboriginal himself. If someone else stood up and said these things — the white columnist standing there with his mouth open, for example — “You'd be seen as a racist.” Instead, Chief Clarence Louie is seen, increasingly, as one of the most interesting and innovative native leaders in the country — even though he avoids national politics.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/National/

Cowperson