In 1979, Harvey Oberfeld joined BCTV‘s Legislative Bureau, making the switch to television during the station’s “Golden Era” under News Director Cameron Bell and Assignment Editor Keith Bradbury. Their strategy of hiring accomplished newspaper reporters to bolster the flagship News Hour news program helped propel BCTV to the top of the ratings, a position it still holds under its new owners CanWest Global.[2] Oberfeld was a key reporter in the station’s coverage of British Columbia’s “Dirty Tricks Scandal”,[3] which eventually saw eight B.C. government employees lose their jobs amidst allegations of election-boundary interference, phoney letters-to-the-editor and secret election-fund bank accounts.
In 1981, BCTV moved Oberfeld to Ottawa where he became the station’s first full-time bureau chief during Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau‘s final term in office. He also covered Parliament Hill under Prime Ministers John Turner and Brian Mulroney. Oberfeld returned to Vancouver in 1989 where he did political and investigative reporting for BCTV / Global until he retired in 2006.
Oberfeld currently writes a blog called Keeping it real ….
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Reconciliation or $hakedown?
They stand towering skyward and majestically dominating the Great Hall of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec … on the shore of the Ottawa River, across from the Parliament Buildings.
Totems … rising as high as 13 meters … most of them from the Pacific coast … and, although I am not First Nation, I always feel a certain pride as a British Columbian whenever I see them
They are breathtaking in their beauty.
But on my last visit, three weeks ago, I noticed something startling.
The descriptive explanations beneath the poles spoke of their meaning and the way they paid tribute to Great Chiefs, who possessed not only power and riches … but also slaves.
Slaves?
Yes, slaves … according to anthropological researchers, something quite common historically amongst West Coast First Nations.
UBC has a published treatise on it: Aboriginal Slavery on the Northwest Coast of North America; Wikipedia has outlined the practice in detail: “Some of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, such as the Haida and Tlingit, were traditionally known as fierce warriors and slave-traders, raiding as far as California. Slavery was hereditary, the slaves being prisoners of war and their descendants were slaves.[9] Some nations in British Columbia continued to segregate and ostracize the descendants of slaves as late as the 1970s.”
And there was this revealing expose, not for the faint of heart, from respected Vancouver Sun columnist Douglas Todd: https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/buried-truths-about-aboriginal-culture.
BC First Nations were slave holders!
Of course, that was MOSTLY long time ago … the 1800s, the 1900s, but there were thousands. Where are THEIR graves? Did their First Nations Masters and Owners of those poor, abused unfortunates leave their burial places unmarked?
But the damage from their actions/abuse/victimization affected descendent survivors right up until the 1970s! Just like the Residential Schools.
Shame! As part of Reconciliation, shouldn’t the First Nations also be looking for where their own slaves were unceremoniously buried?
How many of them were abused, tortured? Which Chiefs/bands were the worst human rights abusers? The TRUTH should come out!
Apparently, it’s okay to tear down statues of Canadian historical figures going back to the 1800s (or even Christopher Columbus!) and demand apologies; shouldn’t the First Nations ANSWER FOR and APOLOGIZE for having had and mistreating slaves and their wives/children too?
Shouldn’t BC First Nations leaders tell these slaves’ descendants WHERE ARE THEIR RELATIVES UNMARKED GRAVES?
That’s the problem with the current Truth and Reconciliation process: it’s totally one-sided.
It’s a sham! And many believe a scam!
Since history tells us these descendants were mistreated by First Nations right up “as late as the l970s”, shouldn’t the First Nations PAY COMPENSATION to the slaves’ descendants, who they segregated, ostracized and no doubt psychologically traumatized?
After all, Canada is supposedly dealing now with TRUTH and Reconciliation …. requiring examination and self-examination by ALL Canadians … including the First Nations!
But where are the historic TRUTHS being discussed about the First Nations’ human rights abuses across Canada?
Historians say the First Nations not only took/kept slaves but even enslaved their children as well!
Surely the descendants of these First Nations’ victims deserve apologies and compensation … from the First Nations themselves … not Ottawa.
These truths too MUST be addressed as part of any REAL Reconciliation!
Many Canadians see it as little more than a one-way shakedown.
The politicians may pretend not to have noticed, but the “people” see it: how every call for “reconciliation” and “healing” is also accompanied by “and give us more cash” demand in some form?
Not just for actual victims, but generations beyond … 100 years later!
Ka-ching!!
Certainly, those who suffered personal or direct injury/trauma attending Residential Schools, for example, deserve care, compassion and compensation.
But the other day, I saw a First Nations band member on television, born well after the last Residential schools closed, claiming he and his daughter, about 12 years old, are suffering from “multi-generational psychological damage”.
Ka-ching!!!
It does look like a modern day shakedown … taking advantage of today’s naïve “do-gooders” and pandering politicians.
At some point, our politicians are going to have to develop some backbone and start saying “NO” to these constant demands for multi-generational “compensation” for manufactured, invented or even self-inflicted damages and traumas.
And the cowardly Canadian “national” media should start doing their job as well: reporting historical blemishes/wounds on ALL sides; questioning the ever-escalating demands for “reconciliation” money for/by generations of First Nations not even born, affected by or living anywhere near residential schools; and, maybe even question DETAILS of how/where the billions already handed out have been spent?
The goal of “Truth and Reconciliation” should be to bring ALL Canadians together, to respect each other, to move forward together … not just be a one-way street for activists or scammers to develop new ways for First Nations to cash in for unwarranted millions from Ottawa and the provinces.
And if they really do believe in TRUE RECONCILIATION, First Nations’ leaders should acknowledge, apologize for their own historic failings … and pay compensation to the descendants of their former slaves, who they harmed, segregated and ostracized for generations.
Harv Oberfeld
(Reminder: Follow @harveyoberfeld on Twitter to get FREE First Alerts to new topics on this Blog. No spam, just alerts to new topics up for discussion.)
He writes a blog called Keeping it real ….
Editor’s comment – Harvey and I worked at the same time in Vancouver in big time media – He at BCTV and me at CJOR, CBC and CKNW. He was a character and I think I was too trying desperately to be normal lol – he did not care about that. I only worked in Vancouver and Edmonton for the CBC and all other stations in the BC interior and Vancouver – tough work in the sewers.
As to the article published on ODN – some of my best friends are indigenous. Most of them hate that word after a life time of being called an “indian” and governed by a paternalistic control by silly people implementing the Indian Act.
Despite this article we ALL must reconcile. Move forward and find the win win.