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‘Another wedge to divide us’

It is difficult to express how angry and hurt we felt upon reading the article in your August 28 edition about the MD meeting in Calling Lake . While there are only two names attached to this letter, there are a lot more who feel the same way.

It is difficult to express how angry and hurt we felt upon reading the article in your August 28 edition about the MD meeting in Calling Lake. While there are only two names attached to this letter, there are a lot more who feel the same way. There should have been more effort to make this gathering public, so that local community members could better answer the general allegations of being a “crime capital.” This is a prime example of how attitudes toward First Nations people are still patronizing, negative, and marginalizing. What people need to understand is how such actions end up targeting the community as a whole, when in reality it is a very small number of local individuals perpetrating these crimes. It should be noted that many of these individuals have been caught and charged but just end up back home shortly. Police do their part.

Using fear to incite action is something we should leave to our southern neighbours; what’s next, a WALL dividing them from the rest of us?

Calling Lake attracts many cottagers or seasonal people; most of whom we never see within the community. We have thousands of transient recreation seekers, but do not reap any economic benefit as some summer resorts do. The beautiful sandy beaches are monopolized by these ‘residents’ doing all the complaining.

Our community is burdened with many complex layers of social issues since the residential school system and other colonial measures nearly decimated our people. It has certainly decimated what healthy family, education, and governance practices we once enjoyed. Also, when there are only two or three main employers in a community, it is not reasonable to expect all of its members to be economically sustained.

To counter this negative narrative, Calling Lake has advantages besides the wonderful scenery and recreation. For seniors, this translates to subsidized land taxes and heat, free garbage, water, and sewer service, and modern facilities like the senior’s centre. Being this close to nature has unlimited benefits.

We do not deserve a reputation for crime. Many of our community members have been successfully educated in mainstream ways. It is no small task to overcome the anxiety, fear and hatred of the education system since many were forced into the horror of residential schools. Unfortunately, these feelings have remained over generations.

We think people who want a great community should be putting more effort into making it great. That meeting was just another wedge to divide us.

Linda Gladue & Charity Jardine

Calling Lake, AB

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