The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
By Jonathon Naylor Idle No More has reached Flin Flon, spurring both nods of approval and head shakes of discontent. Idle No More is, of course, the aboriginal-based protest movement that has been sweeping the nation. It's borne out of new federal laws protesters say will mean more government control of aboriginal land, looser reigns on profit-driven resource companies and other worrisome developments. But for many, it has become a broader rallying point for Ottawa to take more seriously the depressing and dysfunctional state of First Nations communities. Given the Flin Flon area's significant _ and growing _ aboriginal population, it was no surprise to see 30-plus Idle No More marchers make their way down Main Street recently. It was also no surprise to see that among the marchers were several non-aboriginals who sympathize with their fellow citizens. But the racial unity on display at the Dec. 28 march cannot be said to apply to the entire community. Across community and country, Idle No More has proven quite divisive. Supporters see it as a necessary step toward ending First Nations inequality; opponents see the millions flowing into First Nations and wonder how much inequality there really is. Whether Idle No More perseveres or withers away, the need for improved racial relations will only grow more crucial with time. Here in Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach, the aboriginal population has been on the rise for years, a trend that is unlikely to reverse as the reserves around us outgrow available housing. Census data shows that between 2001 and 2006, the number of aboriginal residents in our three communities soared by 20 per cent, or 245 people. That meant nearly one-fifth of all residents were aboriginal. Further growth We don't have the statistics from the 2011 census just yet, but anecdotal evidence suggests there has been further (and rapid) growth in this demographic. We are seeing more aboriginal faces _ in our stores, in our public facilities, in our workforce, in our schools. These people want a life they can't have on an opportunity-restricted reserve. What really bothers me is when I hear some people talk about the movement of aboriginal people into Flin Flon like it's a problem. Imagine if the men and women who built this community had that sort of attitude? The Flin Flon of the 1920s and '30s attracted people from all over Canada, and beyond, to work for HBM&S. Early Flin Flon was a veritable melting pot, and people made it work. There wasn't this sense that Ontarians moving here was a problem, that Germans moving here was a problem or that Ukrainians moving here was a problem. Today, some see a minority of aboriginals behave in less-than-ideal ways and in their minds link that minority to all or most aboriginals. It's not so much racism as it is stereotyping. Does stereotyping go both ways? Yes, it does. There are certainly aboriginal people who seem to think all non-aboriginals are racists out to get them _ which as someone who cares about my fellow citizens, regardless of their colour, I find offensive. I don't claim to know how to get from where we are to greater racial harmony. But I do know that the first step has to be for each of us to stop the stereotyping and stop assuming the worst of each other based on race. Local Angle runs Fridays.
