“We don't have no vegetarians here”

1491:  New Revelations Of The Americas Before Columbus is a great book on the contribution of the "Americas'" peoples to the rest of the world. It looks at foods and the massive contribution of those foods to the poor in particular. He speaks to the "one-time" gift of those many First Peoples to the rest of us, and talks about the ongoing reverberations.... as many in this thread are doing. It also debunks population studies that conveniently state that the "Americas" were mostly empty, etc.

I find tho that most books don't touch on Northern experiences at all, and as more and more of our population concentrates in urban centres that tend to be in the southernmost part of the "country", it becomes harder for people to comprehend the kind of skills and lifestyle needed to live well in the North. Added to that is the convenient little system/ habit called Racism.

This past June I had a chance to hear Sheila Watt Cloutier explain the practices and spirituality behind the "human right to be cold". She spoke of the joy of living in her land, and of the pride of watching young people (men for the most part) learn to hunt. More Canadians need to sit and listen to her and to other Inuit and Northern Nations. But so few have the chance... even when racism isn't actively blocking our willingness to listen.

Thanks Sven, and also the guy that may have learned something from his uneducated post. I learned from the response to it. Culling is something all stewards do. Hoof and mouth nearly wiped out the remaining bison. BSE (caused by Cargill) nearly wiped out the british beef herds. AGW is wiping out the pine in central BC. In my opinion, the only thing that can save the polar bear is the reversal of global warming;they are very specialized animals and I don't believe very much fun to live around with kids. A report this week has Inuit children at 40% malnutrician. An excess of bear harvest could lower the pressure on other game like fish and fowl and perhaps provide a harvest for a bad year. I think that we should remember that the -60 temperatures are also condensing the earth's poplution at the poles.

In the false world of dicotomies; hunting is both a social activity(socialist if you will) and all catches are trophies if they serve the common good. Yeah, I hate trophy hunters too; Buffalo Bill has a special place in the anti-FN hell in my books. I think the native village is some times very wise in their management although ostracising is often their only tool.

 Some times it's said that Thomas Jefferson modeled democracy after the way the tribes worked and then it was later attributed to the Athenians. Now theres an export.