Aw shite!!!! I don't like getting in on these types of threads much anymore, and I would PM the Chief if I could, rather than post, BUT...

Hey Chief. You said "...when the white man arrived we welcomed them. But, did they adopt our customs? NO. Did they learn our language? NO! Did they kill all the bison? YES. Did they give us smallpox infested blankets? YES
When we were in charge men fished and hunted. Women cut firewood, built the tee pees, did all the cooking, carried water etc. and you lot think you improved on our system? HAW!"

First, the welcome. Damn straight you did. We had ships - you had canoes. We had guns - you had bows. We had a shitload of stuff you guys had never even dreamed of... and we shared it with you.

Your customs. Like, say, deciding what place a boy would take in society by what he took a liking to as a one year old in a ceremony where, if he chose a woman's tool, he would be raised as a female and consequently become a wife, in work and sexually, perhaps to a boy who chose a man's tool at the same ceremony? What's your word for this guy, pronounced like "bare-dash", I can't recall. Or the custom of stealing women and land from opposing tribes, such as the Mig-Maw did with the Maliseets here in New Brunswick. Or Rain Dances. Enough said.

Your language. No. You didn't have any text books.

Bison. That was a travesty, shooting them just for coats. But, thanks for all the help. Couldn't have done it near as fast without you guys.

Smallpox infested blankets. You'd have to make me believe that the military brass actually formulated the plan to infect the blankets and distribute them, thereby placing their own people at peril. Granted, it's not beyond the White Man's capacity for cruel and unusal tactics, no matter the losses to one's own side.

Men versus women. I need only say, "WE'VE come a long way, baby."

I am truly sick and tired of Natives telling me that I owe them. The bush that my forefathers choked a living out of did not BELONG to anyone except those that worked it. That was one of YOUR customs. And one of OURS. The only difference is that we put ours in writing, developed a system and the science to define boundaries, set up a legal system to determine usage (NOT ownership - no individual owns land) without bloodshed, and set up a taxation system to ensure those who did not use the land forfeited it.

Boil it all down to this. I have title (usage) to my property because I EARNED it. I retain title because I PAY my taxes. A portion of my taxes go to your education, health, housing, businesses, free land, etc. You have more "chances" GIVEN to you than me or any of my forefathers ever had.

YOU are welcome.