Editor:
I have been away from Burns Lake for more of my life than I have been there.
Still it's my home town.
The deaths, injuries, and loss of work have hit my family and friends hard.
I was pleased to hear of the community setting aside racial issues and coming together. It's about time. We all bleed the same colour.
I went back to work, a camp job and woke to my cellphone alarm clock. Turning the alarm off I found a text, advocating that native people as a group use nasty language against white people.
Well I am both. What a nasty wake up message. Growing up I was attacked from both sides, because everyone saw me as the other ... well there was a few exceptions. First off my late cousin, Carl Charlie hung with me and even admitted publicly that he was related.
He was a man even in Grade 4. Second those heros who kept the fatality numbers down didn't check race before pulling people out.
Let's try and respect this.
Right now there is a lot of worry, hurt and anger. We need to be with each other not against each other. You are not the only person in pain.
Look at the person next to you, what kind of pain are they in? Can you help them? Can they help you? Pointing fingers is for the pencil pushers. Northerners are doers.
What can be done now? Does your neighbour need firewood? Maybe you make bread and need some meat. Work something out with a hunter and band together. We need to be in a huddle looking at what can be done, not turning our backs on each other. Try worrying about who is slipping through the cracks and what steps you can take.
Hey, even inviting someone for a coffee maybe just what they need to hold it together. Every single one of us is different. If we were all good at sewing, who would cook? who would fix the car? I pull a mean wrench, bake a decent loaf of bread but when I sing everyone one leaves the party.
So how about it? What do you say? Look at what you do have. Each other ... don't set aside your differences, celebrate them.
Valda Horning
Edmonton