This
Special Tribute is dedicated to the fond memory of the late
Jim Bourque,
great leader, great comrade and great friend.
The
following excerpts are from Jim's
"A Special Message" from the booklet "This Land Is
Our Life".
Jim's words of wisdom and truth are well worth reading, heeding and
remembering.
Photo from "This Land Is Our
Life"
"Animals, fish and sea mammals we harvest
are
used as our primary source of nutrition and money from the sale of the
products manufactured from the skins and furs is used to supplement the
precarious and fragile economy that exists in most northern settlements.
In recent years, however, the sealskin boycott and
anti-trapping lobbies have created marginal fur prices forcing many of us
to abandon our traditional lifestyles.
What is not understood by many non-native Canadians,
North Americans and Europeans is the nutritional, educational, social and
total cultural dependence we have as aboriginal people on the use of what
non-native people call wildlife resources. To us, these resources are our
agriculture base -- a base that we have harvested for thousands of years.
More importantly, we have adopted the scientific
tools of animal husbandry developed in the 20th century to
ensure these valuable resources are there for our use, the use of our
children and for future generations. Modern society's concern over
environmental pollution, access to clean water, protection of animal and
sea mammals, and the wise use of the land are our concerns as well.
We
are anticipating that the consequences of prolonged boycotts of sea mammal
products and the effects of the anti-fur lobby will be disastrous to the
aboriginal peoples of the Canadian Northwest Territories.
We ask that you consider our side of the story in
detail and that you question the value of supporting emotionally-based
anti-sealing and anti-fur boycotts and lobbies in light of their effects
on other cultures which depend upon the harvest of animal and sea
resources for their way of life."
Jim Bourque
Deputy Minister of Renewable Resources
Northwest Territories, Canada
For
more information about Mr. Bourque please visit the
Fur Institute of Canada web
site.
Some
information and graphics used on the this site are from the booklets
"This Land Is Our Life" and "Our Daily
Bread"
These Booklets are publications of
The Gov. of Northwest Territories and are available through The Fur
Institute of Canada.
