I think we must understand the horrible history of abuse towards First Nations by non-Aboriginals to gain some insight into their current economic circumstances, drug abuse, anger and other issues.

The link below brings you to a guidebook produced by the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia on Aboriginal consultation for the exploration industry. It is a must read for all of us!

http://commdev.org/content/document/detail/843/

A few "choice" examples of the treatment they received:

-Aboriginals could not vote in federal elections until 1960! My parents, Polish immigrants came to this country in 1950. Once they quickly acquired citizenship, they voted - and continued to vote in every election until they both passed away many years ago.

-And yet Aboriginals volunteered in enormous numbers for World War One and Two and the Korean war. Yet if they were off the reserve for more than four years they lost their status. What a great thank-you from the government for risking and sacrificing their lives! And of course they did not get the same benefits as non-Aboriginal veterans!

-Their kids, who were taken away for residential school, were routinely beaten if they spoke their languages. Can you imagine if Francophone students were beaten for speaking French?

-And these residential schools provided terrible care for the kids, were overcrowded and due to First Nations predisposition to tuberculosis and other diseases, caused the death of many!

-And let's not forget the many pedophiles in the clergy preying on vulnerable children. The last residential school closed in 1986.

Doesn't make you feel incredibly proud to be a Canadian.

There is a reason the "tears flowed freely" when the Prime Minister gave an official apology to the country's Indigenous people a few years ago.

Another series, everyone on this site should watch, produced by the CBC, is called "8th Fire"

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire//2011/11/tv-series-8th-fire.html

Don't get me wrong, I think the mining potential of the Ring of Fire and other deposits across northern Canada is the best opportunity to alleviate poverty in First Nations communities. I don't agree with the mining confrontation in KI. I don't agree with all the tactics some First Nations Groups advocate.

However, I do understand their frustration.

And we all have to give a tremendous "pat on the back" to Wes and his team at Noront for their many initiatives in Webequie and Martin Falls.

Strategic Miner