Last night I was thinking about a life changing experience that I had on a Ojibwa Reservation in Ontario several winters ago. I was traveling in same manor that Eric and I are traveling now and had a handsome sled dog named Tundra as my only companion. Tunda and I were walking down a road outside of the village heading back to our camp. A truck pulled up and a man rolled down the window to comment about the nice dog that I had. I asked for a ride, he said "no problem", and I hopped in. I soon learned that the man was the Grand Chief, head of about 40 Ojibwa reservations. He was home visiting for a few days and invited me back to his home. His home was a nice, modern home, very similar to one you would find in Chicago suburbia. We sat in his living room talking for several hours. Members of his family coming and going to pay their respects.

The horrific stories that he told of being taken away from his parents to live with white families and be "civilized" were as troubling as the rampant alcoholism that plagued the village for many years. Hearing his story first hand drove his message home more than any history book could hope to do.

The Chief's life story brought new meaning to an excerpt form Joseph F. Dion's My Tribe the Crees.

"The Queen Mother says, 'I hear that the natives are hungry at times. My arms are long; I shall uplift everyone of my children. You will never again suffer for want of food.' "

The quotation is from an Indian agent speaking on behalf of the Queen in the 1870s to a group of Cree along the Saskatchewan River. The Cree had agreed to move onto reservations in return for money and promises given by the white man. The buffalo that the Cree depended on for food and shelter had been killed of for their hides and the people were starving.

Traveling through reservations today you can see how problems started during the fur trade are still being dealt with.