Notes from Former Political Prisoner Brad Love in Fort McMurray — Native Privilege
I’ve been working up at the Fort McKay Indian Reserve for over a month now and it’s quite a sight up there. Native teens blast up the roads all day on motor bikes, dune buggies, etc. No helmets, no seat belts, no speed limit and the RCMP wave at them as they go by. I try any of this on my street and they’d take my licence, then jail me!
Many homes have hundreds of thousands of dollars in boats, trailers, skidoos and jet skis sitting on their front lawns. Where do they get all this money? Many don’t seem to work and all the day long, the residents there walk (waddle) to the local store situated in a trailer which is run by a Chinese guy (some surprise) who charges them outrageous prices for the junk food that they consume en masse. Everyone seems to smoke and beer cans and liquor bottles lie everywhere. Meanwhile, they blame big oil companies for their alleged health concerns.
There is a school on the reserve and each morning, I see a brand new shiny school bus deliver one kid. There’s also a new hockey arena. No one’s ever there. A small ski hill with an electric tow system and a huge glass and wood theater-style band office, which is cleaned by Filipino foreign workers. Many of the reserve homes have numerous security cameras attached to them. There is also an outdoor amphitheater that would seat 100s and is made from costly-looking square granite slabs. Impressive. Yet, who pays for it? How much does such a reserve receive and why?
I’d ask my local media to delve into this, but chances are, they’d simply call the cops on ME for my “racist overtones”.
Nuts! “Poor Natives,” not a chance! But of course, everything is a big secret. No one questions anything and Whtle homeless guys here sleep outside our hospital has a charity drive to buy much-needed equipment, a local native chief buys a new speedboat and a Cadillac Escalade, Now, half my wage is taken in taxes while well-off natives pay NO taxes. Some Democracy.
Brad
