kr!~~_7.JPG "pigdog47"){kind=avatar}
I admire Mr Brant and always have. At the moment he has a lot to think about, especially his daughter’s illness.
Now the Sun is a fine news media in the minds of...... some, but I have often found that when you do some digging….they put in what they need and remove what they don’t.
In the case of Shawn Brant there was a time when during his demonstrations against the government they condemned him to the pits of eternity. Now however….he has come in handy for the Sun’s subtle attacks on the First Nations people.
So lets look at some facts:
- As of Nov 2012 there were four children on the Rez with this form of cancer. Dr. Mark Greenberg, senior oncologist at The Hospital for Sick Children said this form of leukemia in his words is “common in children”. I’m not an oncologist and to me common or not I think it deserves some deeper investigation.
- Next we move to the water and the wells each home on the Rez is dependent on. In 2012 the wells were checked by the Dept of Health and the medical officer for Health Canada said there were “no concerns”. Do I believe Health Canada….welllllll I haven’t made a decision on that.
- Other test supposedly showed that the water was contaminated near what was the old dump, but based on Health Canada it does not seem to have made it to the wells.
It is shameful that the price of that water is children getting cancer.
Very true. The Dept of Indian Affairs office opens at 9am on Monday. I trust you will be calling…as I will.
And before you call…..here’s some more added information….
- The Chief of the band Donald Maracle has been calling and calling for the Dept of Aboriginal Affairs to provide the Rez with their own water treatment plant. Nothing has been forthcoming from Indian Affairs. I find that interesting and I wonder why? I also wonder if this happened in some other area of Canada or Ontario….to other people…..how fast would the Feds act?
Also with regards to what the Sun said about Mr Brant’s claim that the Chief R. Donald Maracle and the rest of the band council are allegedly ''burying the truth and putting lives at risk''. I question that based on the information previously stated.
However there is also another slight situation from the past. It seems that Mr Brant was given land by the Rez to open up a gas bar and adjacent store. A lot of money was spent on it …..thousands…..but Brant’s business idea failed. The property sat in disrepair for years until another man decided to use the property and through the Band Council and other legal avenues the land was taken from Brant. The Chief at the time was Donald Maracle.
Must shake your belief that the natives are always right.
Could you please show me where I have ever said that! This is the second time you have made that accusation. I have said that Native people are just like anyone else! I have said that there are reservations where the tribal members of a Rez have revolted against the Chief. I have said even I was ripped off by two Natives in the past. I don't know where you come up with these insinuations but ..................could you remember my reply this time!
Gheesh!
It is not that you said it specifically.
Well then don’t say it in a specific way. Try things like “I get the impression…” ….or….”you come across as if…….”. That would be more fair.
But, everything you have said.
You have misinterpreted. I judge people and situations on their own merit. That includes Native people.
If a native said it about a white man; you will be there to agree and tell us 27 reasons why it is right.
Really? Again you are forming a picture in your mind that you want to see. If an Native person said for instance “all white people are racist” (and in person I have heard that), I have said they are wrong. Very wrong. If a Native Chief is proven to not be treating his or her people as they should….or …..is misusing money……..you will see me condemn them for it. The problem is, because of a lot of hatred and bigotry, in the media, all I see and read are assumptions and innuendoes. I hoped that we as a society have learned from the past and grew out of that. I live with bigotry all the time, I know what it feels like.
Back to Shawn Brant.
There is very little credibility in this part of the world for the individual.
A little bit of recent history:
"The dispute involves Miracle, Shawn Brant, his father, Ronald Leslie Brant, and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte over ownership of land on the north side of Old Highway 2.
In 2008, the Brants and Miracle were ordered to return control of the land -- the site of Miracle's Mohawk Liquidation Centre -- to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
The court had determined the Brants had defaulted on payments they had received from a native finance company to develop a business on the land -- never owned it, in fact -- and had sold the property to Miracle when they were not entitled to do so.
Last summer, a court of appeal dismissed an appeal launched by Miracle and the Brants.
They then asked the Supreme Court for leave for appeal, but that was denied and Miracle and his company were bound by the earlier court decision to vacate the property."
Fast forward a few years and now you have the same Shawn Brant going after the band and its Chief. It is personal, it is attempted revenge. The guy and his father sold native land they did not own, land that belonged to the band, and they kept the money. Every court level in the country saw it the same way and agreed with the Band.
So, whatever Brant says, I (like most people in this part of the world) take it with a grain of salt. The guy cried "wolf" too many times. There is no credibility left.
"Is it Miracle or Maracle? "
He actually goes under both names.
"Interesting - same name as the chief. Wonder if it is the chief?"
No. 🙂
There are many individuals with the last name Brant, Miracle, Maracle on the nearby reserve. It does get confusing at times.
Puck, the description you so amicably gave of me, is the same description of everyone else that also believes in what they believe. We all believe we are right for whatever reason.
As for the other area, well I’ll explain that there, by about the end of today.
I do not take one side of an issue and defend it against all comers.
There are many areas that I keep an open mind about, even the Native issues. However all I see are insinuations and innuendos about the people with no real proof to back any up.
I go to four Reserves on a regular basis and two Reserves on a more constant basis. I have sat and talked with the young and the elders at great length over the years. I have been on the ground with the people in two situations where Native people have fought for their rights, Ipperwash and Caledonia. I lost a man I knew to a racist police bullet, a man I will never be able to talk to, or sit around a camp fire and enjoy his company ever again. I have a lady in my life who is Cree. An educated woman with several degrees. A woman who is also a Native healer. A woman whose mother was put in residential school and was ‘assaulted’ by the staff and the priest, as happened to many of that generation. She is also woman who worked with the most lost of Native people from the streets of Toronto. Yet with all she has achieved and all those she has helped, both Native and white…..she still faces discrimination just because she is visually….. Native. So if I give off the impression that I get my teeth into something and I stick to it, it’s because in this particular case I know what I am talking about, compared to most others who get their information from the media, or over a table at Timmies or a casual relationship with one or two Native people.
However, there is more than one solution that is possible. It is not cut and dried. I feel that Canada never will completely honor the treaties……. Unfortuately, our forefathers were not thinking of the future when they drafted these treaties.
There may be other solutions but……history has shown that when you let those in power control a situation then those in power will manipulate it for their own agendas, needs and profit. If you made agreements with a company over the years and every time you did, they broke the agreements……..would you ever believe in them again? Would you ever trust them again? No. You would be foolish to do so. What most people would do is just go to another company, however the Native situation with the government of Canada acting as an in-between for the Crown puts the First Nations people in the situation that they have nowhere else to go. In my view and that of many Native people including Chiefs….the time has come to take a hard stance. For 200 and more the governments and the Crown have had their chance to show their integrity and honesty and they have NONE! If you ranked the government’s integrity on the Better Business files, they BB would have to have a whole 10 story building just to file the complaints from both Natives and white people. Do you trust politicians or governments?…….and those are your own people! Now imagine for a moment what the First Nations people have had to endure. The problem with most of the people who have something to say about Native people in ‘various degrees’ is like anything else in life where one person criticizes the other….they have never lived the life the other person has lived.
As for “our forefathers were not thinking of the future when they drafted the treaties”….well all I can say is ….’tough’….deal with it. Unfortunately it is your governments who when people immigrated here or were born here did not tell you that you are entering a land that for the most part you are renting (in a sense) and there are agreements in place with the landlords that become part of your tenancy. That leaves people two choices…..either blame your government, or as George Carlin use to say “if you don’t like the weather…..move!” Don’t blame the Native people. It reminds me of those judge shows on TV where someone has not paid what is owed to someone else and their defence is ….”oh I lost my job”….or…..”oh I had other expenses”…..or …..”I just didn’t have enough money”…… Tough!…..you still owe because you promised to pay and you must live up to your obligations as you would expect others to live up to theirs. If we owe money to the gas company or the phone company and we don’t pay…..they cutyou’re your utility. Be grateful in many ways that the Native people have been so conciliatory....and in my personal judgement way too much. That’s what is increasingly wrong with this world….people who feel in this increasingly narcissist and entitlement generation based on ‘me, me, me’ that they do not have to live up to their promises and agreements.
I learned many years ago (when dealing with unions) that the best way to lose an argument is to get angry.
I agree. I deal with people every day in my business and I run across some very difficult ones and I still keep my cool. Even people on my staff give their own opinions that I am too ‘negotiating’. However they have also seen the other side of me, the ‘I have had enough’ side. This rarely happens in business, but it happens when people cross the line and they think that the more they push the more they will get away with and that is where the side no one likes to see comes out.
It also comes to some people in society such as bigots and racists, I find they love to talk and the more you talk, the more platform they get to spew their hatred in various forms, especially if they are in a situation where they can get away with it. It’s a game they play. In real life it doesn’t last long.
Today, Shawn Brant, now 48, can be found behind the counter of the Two Hawks smoke shack. Is this the business that you refer to?
Not positive but the previous location that failed was a gas bar and looked like one that you would see in any town including covers over the pumps. A smoke shack is basically a slightly larger backyard utility shed that you can buy at most retail lumber stores often in a box.
When he sold the business, he owed me about $150. He "paid" me with a laptop computer - at that time worth about $900 (times have changed). It occurs to me now that the laptop was probably part of the sale as well, as it was owned by the business.
Natives ‘trade’, it’s a common thing. The story reminds me of fellow I knew who had a custom car shop and 4 Wheel conversions. He got into debt and sold off all that there was in the shop……..including items owned by customers. The only difference in the stories is the fellow I knew was white.
Seems he wasn't much of a business man.
Yeah, a lot of them out there like that, all races. I know a Jewish businessman who has lost 4 businesses. I still can’t figure out how he does it because he still lives in a fabulous London home and drives a new car and all the kids are in university and aren’t scraping through. But of course there is that sign above the entrance to the synagogue that I was once shown.
