THE METIS OF BLACK TICKLE, LABRADOR a culture under siege.
Why is it all to familiar the needs of Aboriginal people always take a back burner by the conquering people? Such is the case of this impoverished fishing village of about 250 residents. Predominantly Metis, they do not have clean and clear drinking water and no sewage system what so ever. They use “Honey buckets” for their personal needs and use other buckets to fetch drinking water from polluted wells that contain e-coli bacteria. Boy that sounds all to familiar since this is more common than not in Native enclaves across the America’s.
Is the Canadian government learning lessons in ambivalence from their neighbor to the south? Yea never know eh. But any hope for economical growth has been effectively silenced since Canada turned a deaf eat to their cries for autonomy and equality. They just wanted a small piece of the pie Canadian oil is bringing. If only they had a link to the Trans-Labrador Highway. If only they had a chance at the brass ring for its isolated location would make a wondrous tourist destination. And possibly they could have running clean water and flushing toilets. The kids who graduate high school would come back home after college.
The ambivalence of government officials is all too apparent to the residence in Black Tickle as Canada looks the other way. Many elderly residences say they have nowhere to go and are too old to relocate so they will most likely die unnoticed by the rest of the world. And another aboriginal community simply dies a slow and agonizing death. The governments excuse for not giving these people access to the Trans-Labrador Highway is because there is no infrastructure. Well as one local resident Livenda Keefe said, “How can we develop an infrastructure if we are not given a chance to make our way and find our place in the world, why can’t we have bed and breakfasts and tourism like Newfoundland and Labrador are promoting?” This is their home, this is where they come from and they don’t have anywhere else to go.
Like the Native’s of Alaska suffering the direct effects of global warming, the Canadian government is simply letting these people fend for themselves in the face of adversity. This is a primary fishing grounds with a rich bounty of sports fishing and crabbing. This had the makings of a great tourist industry if they were allowed access to this highway. Then there would be infrastructure since sports fisherman and tourists would come from all points of the globe to fish and play in this potentially fabulous community.
I would hate to think this is intentional like many of the residence believe. They said the government is slowly removing and vestige of hope and economical growth. They believe the government is slowly placing a strangle hold on this community so they will eventually move away.
If this was happening in the USA it would be obvious that this was intentional. Whence the impoverished people were finally gone then developers with the big bucks would open up the link to the trans-Labrador Highway and develop the hell out of Black Tickle and turn this once humble fishing village into a fabulous resort and possible make this a port of call for the luxury lines filled with big spending tourist.
Oh Canada, why are you allowing this to happen? Have you actually turned into the 51st State and are now following George W. Bush’s lead in embracing Corporations within the tourist industry at the expense of the people you are supposed to serve? It would be terrible to think this was actually a conspiracy.
Oh Canada, this story is going world wide and the eyes of the world are upon you.
And let it be known to the good people of Dark Tickle of all cultures,
We hear your pleas for help and you are not voiceless anymore.
Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
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Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind
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