In News/North on November 20, 2017, a big headline; Delta Chief Wants land claims settled next year. My goodness, the Northwest Territories joined Canada in 1960.
The three Aboriginal groups, the Inuit, the Dene and the Metis, each formed their own group. The Inuit in the east, Inuvialuit in the Beaufort Sea region, the Dene and the Metis along the Mackenzie River and the Yellowknife region formed the Dene Nation. In the beginning George Erasmus was President of the Dene Nation. Since there wasn’t a Metis organization, George invited the Metis to join the Dene nation; which I did along with a few other Metis. So I am a Dene. I never joined a Metis Association.
What I want to point out is; it seems like our friends, the Inuit in the Beaufort and the Eastern Arctic work and manages as one people. But, in the MacKenzie region, the Dene and the Metis, especially in the southern parts, the Yellowknife and the Hay River regions, have Metis forming their own organizations. I can count about three or four. You may say, the Dene and the Metis worlds seem scattered and disorganized!
As I said, the Inuvialuit and the Eastern Nunavut seem to be fine and managing. The Dene and the Metis in the west should all join under the Dene Nation like we used to be and to start by managing our huge region with development for jobs and create businesses of every kind. That should liven up our huge Mackenzie River with steamboats for tourists and advertise the most magnificent real estate in the world! They need to encourage and invite the public to come visit us. Use all your technology. The world is just next door with technology, as they say.
For heaven’s sake, we are all to be blamed for our isolation with the high price of everything. The food we eat and travel is impossible for many with the high costs to get out of isolation. And, in reality the people are to be blamed for our own sad situation because we elect people we like or a friend, etc. We should look at and into the backgrounds of the people we vote into political office. We should be voting in people with track records in creating and management, and the personalities who can see the big picture. For instance, the big cry and problem in the North is the price of food. They have had more meetings and consultations on the price of food. It is the great “what to do?” Well, ask the old timers. How did they manage long ago?
They had steamboats with huge barges and each town with stores like the HBC etc., who made sure they had big warehouses to store their supply of food and dry goods to last the year. Simple as that. That is what is lacking today. Warehousing and river boats (barges) to make the cost of food cheaper. But, the only region that needs help for cheaper food is the Sahtu region. Every other town in other regions have roads and highways! The only region who should be crying over the high costs is our Sahtu region.
So, the other regions who cry about high costs; they should check on companies who haul freight. What are the costs?
Maybe the Sahtu region had better start investigating into the horse and wagon business and break trail from Wrigley to the five communities in the Sahtu, open up a new business. Perhaps even tourists will come and use the trail for an adventure. You never know! In desperate times, nothing is impossible. Right? The GNWT and the people in the NWT have researched, travelled to communities, and have had the feds involved in this cost of food business in the NWT. Too costly! Crying about the high prices of food for years, about 57 years now, when the simple solution to the high cost of food is the transportation problem. The money wasted since 1960, could have built super highways throughout the NWT. “Amen.”