I am Canadian, not an Indian

Page 5

Dear Editor:

What's all this I hear about "Indian Country"? For those who really don't know, Indian Country lies somewhat west of British Columbia (That's where the sun sets.)

The worst part of it is, some of our friends in Indian Country are kind of concerned that some of us are trying to latch onto their identity. Because a few drunken sailors thought they landed in India, we kind of stuck with the name. They all were mistaken and wrong.

Why must we carry on with this? It has now become a lie. You can call me Mohawk, Metis, First Nation or Aboriginal, but my ancestors did not come from India, so there is no way you can honestly call me "Indian."

You may as well call me English, German, Polish, etc. I am as much part of those nationalities as Indian, and so are you.

Next point, if you are born in England, you are English, in Germany, German, in India you are Indian, which means, if you are born in Canada, you are Canadian. You can jump up and down and say you are not Canadian, and the rest of Canada will laugh at you. You may be Cree, Soto, it doesn't matter, white, red, black, you are still Canadians, so don't be stupid.

R.E. L'Hirondelle.