This isn't funny at all.
A group of Canadian Indians have taken over the main street of a small town in south western Ontario,...they've been there for almost 3 weeks, IIRC.
Canada ping.
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
Posted on 05/04/2006 5:51:16 PM PDT by Sabramerican
Native lands HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, THE JERUSALEM POST May. 3, 2006
Growing up in Canada's Yukon, Ricky Vernon O'Brien heard stories from the tribal elders of the devastation indigenous people suffered at the hands of the Europeans and their descendents: discrimination, abuse, forced integration and genocide. They told him it was like the Holocaust.
"I cried when I saw the connection first-hand. In some way it's so similar to what our people have been through. It brought back a lot of bad memories for me," said O'Brien, fresh from a trip to Yad Vashem. "They killed our spirit. That's what the Holocaust reminded me of. It's very sad." In some circles the narrative of the Native Americans has been equated with that of the Palestinians rather than the Jews. Indeed, Palestinian groups criticized the Assembly of First Nations' recent week-long visit here as giving "cover for another form of settler colonialism," i.e. Zionism. here as giving "cover for another form of settler colonialism," i.e. Zionism.
But the leaders of the AFN, which represents the aboriginal peoples of Canada, rejected that comparison and came away with a different paradigm: a parallel between the Jewish and native experience so strong that the former could be a model for the latter.
"We're looking at you [Israelis] as sort of our mentors, how you've gotten your land back, how you're excelling at economic development. You're doing really well," said O'Brien, the AFN regional chief for the Yukon territory.
"One of the most striking aspects of the Jewish experience is the incredible resiliency of the Jewish people. That is quite similar to the indigenous peoples, or the first peoples of Canada. We've had to be resilient to survive as we have, in some ways challenged by the same pressures. We've both been persecuted. We've both been discriminated against. We've been denied our homeland. We've been denied our rightful place in the world," said AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine, as he sat serenely on a bench at the entrance to the Carmel market in Tel Aviv, his gray hair tied in a long, neat braid.
Fontaine pointed to the regeneration of Hebrew as a spoken language as an instructive example of what can be done.
"One of the lessons we will take back to Canada is that it's possible to revive languages, so that they will once against be living languages that will represent who we are."
As part of the trip arranged by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), which also brought along representatives, the group stopped at the National Hebrew Language Institute to hear more about the language reclamation process.
Beyond specific cross-cultural education programs that they can apply to their communities, the AFN members had a lot to learn because it was a first trip to Israel for most.
Beverley Jacobs, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, for one, didn't know that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have their roots in the Holy Land.
And that, she said, connected this place to her traditional Native American faith. "I was always told in my religion that the white race and the red race all come from the same place," she said. "To learn that three religions come from the same place is proof of our oral histories."
Squatting on a plastic bench in the Mahane Yehuda market while sampling her first felafel, Jacobs noted another commonality with Jews: the struggle of maintaining a minority faith in a Christian-dominated society.
"Some of my family say you don't even walk into a church. You don't even participate in Christianity at all, because it will cause harm to you," she related. Jacobs herself puts up a non-religious Christmas tree in winter but said that many other families have stopped the practice as the community has increasingly embraced its roots.
Several of the delegates on the Israel trip are themselves Christians, however - largely as a result of the Canadian government's assimilation program which sent them to sectarian schools. Tina Leveque, chief of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation in Manitoba, described adopting Christianity in addition to traditional beliefs as going "full circle."
"I acknowledge my creator, my heritage. But I also acknowledge that the creator has a son," she said, her neck encircled by a black scarf covered with "I love Jesus" script. "People say you take the white man's religion.
But there's nothing white about Jesus," she added. "Look around here. Jesus wasn't white at all." Leveque wasn't the only member of the group to be struck by the heterogeneity of Israelis.
"I just had no idea that it was so diverse," said Cora Voyageur, a sociologist at the University of Calgary and a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. "All we ever hear about are the bombings."
THE AFN and CJC representatives both acknowledged that their communities had little interaction or mutual awareness before the trip, though they plan to strengthen ties and partnerships now.
They said the trip had been years in the making and was only accelerated by the brouhaha over anti-Semitic comments made by Chief David Ahenakew, former head of the AFN. In a 2002 interview, Ahenakew called Jews a "disease" and asserted that Hitler was justified when he "fried 6 million of those guys."
After being heavily criticized, he profusely apologized and said his statements stemmed from frustration. He was later stripped of his Order of Canada for willfully promoting anti-Semitism, a decision which he has since appealed.
The AFN delegates universally condemned the statements and said they in no way represented the sentiments of First Nations people. Jacobs, however, suggested that Ahenakew had been treated too harshly. "I think the media really overdid it. I'm sure that he said some comments about the Jewish people that aren't right. There are also things that have been said about our society that were just as racist," she said. "He's being persecuted for it."
While the visit to Israel represented an opportunity for healing between the two communities, CJC leaders said it was intended most of all as an education experience.
"We invited them to learn about Jewish history and culture," said Ed Morgan, CJC national president. "We hoped it would be an opportunity for the First Nations people to get to know us."
Though the trip paved the way for smoother relations between the aboriginal and Jewish communities, it stirred up resentment among Palestinians.
The Canada Palestine Association sent an "open letter" to the AFN signed by scores of pro-Palestinian groups and individuals expressing "sadness], hurt and shock" at the recent visit to Israel.
"The victims of genocide at the hands of European settler colonialism cannot and should not give cover for another form of settler colonialism that has committed and continues to commit wholesale ethic cleansing and genocide against the Palestinian people and nation," the letter reads, referring to Palestinian refugee camps as "reservations." It continues, "Perhaps the chiefs, elders and leaders of the Assembly of First Nations don't know the history of the Zionist movement. In fact, it was coined on the model of the European settler colonialist movement that preceded it hundred of years earlier and committed the genocide against the indigenous peoples." And it adds, "We are sorry that we do not have the means to take you on similar tours to show you what is really happening in Palestine."
Jacobs was reproachful that the mission didn't include time in Palestinian areas.
"I want to learn about what they're going through. We've heard one side and I want to hear about their experience," she said. "That was some of the criticism of the mission, that understanding the Palestinian side should have been part of the mission."
But she said that the concept of Israel as a "colonizer" was unfamiliar to her. "What I'm hearing is that this is the traditional territory of the Jewish people."
Other participants also dismissed or didn't know of any purported link between Israel and colonialism.
Fontaine declined to liken his people's history to that of the Palestinians.
"The purpose of our trip was not to delve into the Palestinian situation. We came here to learn about the Jewish experience and witness very directly the transition of this country and hear it directly from the people who have lived that transition. They've experienced the creation of one nation-state and secured their homeland against tremendous odds."
And that, he continued, "is inspirational, it's spiritual, it's heartfelt, it's hopeful. It's a stay-the-course approach."
He also said that for all of the messages that can be absorbed from Israelis, Israel has something to learn from his people when it comes to peaceful coexistence.
"We have this incredibly uncertain situation in the Middle East: instability and violence and the denial of Israel's existence as a nation-state. In spite of all the ill treatment that we've received, we're still committed to peaceful coexistence. We've lived the principle of peaceful coexistence and sharing the riches of the land." The Jews on the trip certainly received hands-on learning - literally - from their time with the First Nations delegation.
Bernie Farber, the CJC's CEO, got a lesson in Native American healing following the trip to Yad Vashem. As with O'Brien, Farber was shaken up by the experience. Visiting the children's room was particularly troubling for him, since he has family who perished at a young age in the concentration camps.
One of the First Nations elders saw that Farber was in pain upon leaving the museum and gathered the group to surround him in a friendship circle. Farber said the members of the circle try to absorb the pain of the person in distress and restore strength to that individual.
"I found all my pain just disappear," he said. "It's the first time I've come out of the children's room and felt strengthened instead of weakened."
Sounding like O'Brien, Farber said, "It was a remarkable experience."
Canadian Indians visit Israel, figure out that the Israelis are the natives to the land and p**s off the "Palestinians" in the process.
What could be better?
This is funny as Hell
one for the pinglist?
"I cried when I saw the connection first-hand. In some way it's so similar to what our people have been through. It brought back a lot of bad memories for me," said O'Brien, fresh from a trip to Yad Vashem. "They killed our spirit. That's what the Holocaust reminded me of. It's very sad."
Some years ago I spent a few days with a "traditional" Navaho (probably a Haredi Navajo). His questions, which I couldn't properly answer, related to how the Jewish people have maintained their "spirit", more accurately faith and particularly the language over the years.
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Canada ping.
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
ping
From the earliest contact between North American Indians and white European settlers, the Europeans held the upper hand. Almost unremittingly, the Europeans imposed their idea of private ownership of land on the Native Americans, obtaining it from them by purchase, stealth and war. Virtually every Indian tribe in North America found its contacts with white settlers painful, if not fatal, and few Indians trusted or respected, much less loved, the white men and women they knew.
One exception to this generalization was Solomon Bibo, a white trader who won the trust and affection of the Acoma Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. In 1888, "Don Solomono," as he was known to the Acomas, became governor of the Acoma Pueblo, the equivalent of chief of the tribe. Remarkably, the Acomas asked the United States to recognize Bibo as their leader. Even more remarkable is that Bibo was a Jew.
Solomon Bibo was born in Prussia in 1853, the sixth of eleven children. In 1866, two of Solomon’s brothers ventured to America and settled in New Mexico, which in 1848 had become part of the United States after being first a Spanish colony and then part of Mexico. Initially, the older Bibo brothers worked for the Spiegelberg family, pioneer Jewish merchants in New Mexico, but moved on to the tiny village of Ceboletta, where they set up a trading post to exchange goods with the Navajos. In 1869, at the age of sixteen, Solomon Bibo left Germany for America. After spending some months on the East coast learning English, he joined his brothers in Ceboletta.
All three Bibo brothers developed reputations for fairness in their dealings with the local Indian tribes, who used to bring the Bibos the farm produce they grew. In turn, the Bibo’s, under contract to the U. S. government, supplied the army forts in the area with this produce. The Indians were paid a fair price by the Bibo’s, which encouraged the Indians to improve their farming techniques. The Bibos also became deeply involved in mediating the many disputes over land ownership that arose between the Indians and the Mexican residents of the area, who for centuries had coveted the Indians’ lands. They also tried to intercede with local white Americans (Anglos) who tried to purchase Indian lands at below market prices. The Bibos were considered pro-Indian and were not particularly embraced by either the Mexicans or their fellow Anglos.
None of the Bibos became more endeared to the Indians than Solomon was to the Acomas. In 1882, he arrived at the pueblo and set up a trading post. He learned Queresan, the Acoma language, and helped the tribe fight its legal battles to restore its traditional lands. By treaty in 1877, the Acomas had been granted 94,000 acres of land by the U.S. government, far less than the Indians thought they were entitled to according to historical evidence. The Acomas were determined that they should lose no more than had already slipped through their hands.
To accomplish this end, in 1884 the tribe decided to offer Bibo a 30 year lease to all their land, in exchange for which he would pay them $12,000, protect their cattle, keep squatters away and mine the coal under the Acoma lands, for which he would pay the tribe a royalty of ten cents per ton for each ton extracted. Pedro Sanchez, the U.S. Indian agent from Santa Fe, learned of the deal and, jealous of the success of the "rico Israelito" (rich Jew), tried to get the federal government to void the lease..
The Bibo family fought back. Simon Bibo petitioned the Board of Indian Commissioners in Washington to the effect that his brother Solomon’s "intentions with the Indians are of the best nature and beneficial to them – because the men, women and children love him as they would a father and he is in the same manner attached to them." In 1888, convinced finally that Bibo had acted honorably, the Indian agent for New Mexico wrote, "To the people of the pueblo of Acoma, having confidence in the ability, integrity and fidelity of Solomon Bibo. . I hereby appoint [him] governor of said pueblo."
In 1885, Solomon married an Acoma woman, Juana Valle, granddaughter of his predecessor as governor of the Acoma Pueblo. Juana was originally a Catholic, but observed the Jewish faith and raised her children as Jews. In 1898, wanting their children to receive a Jewish education, Solomon and Juana relocated to San Francisco, where he invested in real estate and opened a fancy food shop. Their oldest son was bar mitzvah at San Francisco’s Ohabei Shalome, and the younger attended religious school at Temple Emanuel. Solomon Bibo died in 1934, Juana in 1941. Solomon Bibo, governor of the Acomas, America’s only known Jewish Indian chief, is buried with his Indian princess in the Jewish cemetery in Colma, California.
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More images of the Bibos of New Mexico from the collections of the Bloom Southwest Jewish Archives.
When Fredrick the Great asked the court preacher for an unanswerable proof, in one word, of the inspiration of the Bible, he replied, "The Jew, your Majesty". ( A bush burning yet unconsumed).
I really think it time people got over the past.What worries me is that it seems to have become fashionable for aggrieved groups to look back to some holocaust to justify their grievances. Often the realities of what happened in the past have been lost over time. Time to move on.
Alas, the guilt trip foisted on ordinary decent Canadians, has rendered debate virtually impossible. Six Billion dollars per year is funnelled to Native Bands. The first government official that bemoans lack of accountability, is called a RACIST.
The death of a native protester over ten years ago, at the hands of a police sniper, is costing millions in "enquiries". The man was Dudley George. The death of a police corporal, three years before,by a shot from a native reserve, is all "old hat". One quick enquiry and no charges. He left a young widow and child, plus one child on the way.
I remember Corporal Lemay. Quebec Provincial Police.
That's not what I see in this story. The emphasis here is about learning how the Jews revived their own nation and finding ways to apply that knowledge to their own situation.
Peter, When George was shot I was working about 30 miles away. News like that travels fast and I very distinctly remember part of the story , not told in the press , was that George had with him what became known as "oh, that was a walking stick '. Well , the walking stick disappeared and was never heard of again . Maybe it never existed but I do know one thing . If George was carrying anything it was not a walking stick. And George may have been a loud mouth and a jerk but that's not enough to get him shot.
Police snipers do not just arbitrarily shoot people.
If the "Indian" Vernon O'Brien feels he has been so mistreated by the White Man why is he carrying a good old Irish Name? Why not Two Feathers or some such?
Australia has had the same problem.
The Jews are unique.
The word ODD certainly applies to the British Israel theory. Apparently it has been around for a long time but never taken seriously. It's amazing the things that the Internet has revived.
Come to think of it, this could provide the plot for the next best-seller after the Da Vinci Code.
Thanks for the post and the *Ping*! Great find!
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