Justice for labor history of Natives There is a commonly used expres- sion that a people can not have justice unless their history has also had justice. Nowhere and for no- Native peoples in Canada as the history of racism, colonialism, ex- ploitation and genocide which bears on their existence today has been systematically denied or buried in the official ‘‘histories.”’ But if the historical record with regard to racism and colonialism is a cover-up, the labor history of Native Indians, outside of an- thropological studies, scarcely ex- ists. At least that was the case until Rolf Knight published his fifth little-known book, ‘‘Indians at Work’. This book is likely to become well known, however, as it is a significant and major contribu- tion to B.C. labor history which challenges and crushes popular misconceptions about what Native Indian. workers were, or were not. There are two. giant misinter- pretations of Native Indian history. One is the right wing slur that Native Indians are lazy- and backward and have chosen reserves and welfare over work. The misinterpretation from the left holds that Native Indians were victims of colonialism and herded on to reserves, excluded from the growth of indigenous Canadian one is the adage truer than for : INDIANS AT WORK by Rolf Knight, New Star Books, Vancouver, 1978, $6.95, paper, available at. Co-Op Books. capitalism of which they had little to do with. Closely related to that idea is the popular myth that the co- operative, communal and spiritual aspects of Native culture made Native Indian workers ill disposed to integrate into a competitive in- dustrial society. That attitude is nothing short of condescension, and historically it is hogwash, Knight argues. To back up his argument, Knight has pro- duced over 200 pages of detailed and documented evidence of In- dians at work in B.C. — fishermen, loggers, farmers, railroad workers, longshoremen, seamen and so on. Native Indians were, and _ are, workers, he contends, and without that appreciation, the labor history of Native Indians cannot be understood. A relevant fact is that in 1870, a year before B.C. entered confedera- tion, the Native Indian population was estimated to be anywhere from 65 to 80 percent of the total popula- tion of the province. By 1901 the proportion was reduced to 12 per- cent and by 1931 to three percent, but the decline was much less mark- ed in large areas of the province outside of the Lower Mainland, particularly the north coast and Vancouver Island. Throughout this entire period the development of B.C.’s_ basic resource industries would have been unthinkable without Native Indian labor — a fact which puts the lie to the myth of a forgotten people living in “reserve irrelevancy.”’ The breadth of Native Indian labor extended to all of the key sec- tions of B.C.’s developing economy. Until well into the 1900’s they were a decisive component of the cannery work force, where they are found still today in large numbers. Native Indian fishermen were a major part of the commer- cial fishing fleet, also like today, and in 1900 at least half of the fishermen on the central coast were Native. By 1910 Native Indian workers from more than 50 bands -were active in the logging and and Native were found in sawmilling industries, dock: ‘ workers A Squamish band longshore gang on the Moodyville docks, around the year 1890. substantial numbers by that time in Burrard Inlet, Victoria, Alberni, Alert Bay, Port Simpson and Nanaimo. There was hardly a work crew during the railroad construc- tion boom in B.C. from 1880 to 1920 without Native Indian labor. Native Indian ‘workers helped found some of the first labor unions in B.C. in the fishing industry and on the docks. At times, Knight’s detailed fac- tual material can be a bit dry. But his polemic is lively and humorous. At one point he recounts how a Kwakiutl Indian from Rivers Inlet became a Royal Navy captain of a motorized infantry transport ship, supporting the British Mesopota- mian campaign on the Euphrates River in the seige of Bagdad, during WW I. ‘‘Undoubtedly,’’ he dryly quipped, ‘‘some will say that he was carrying out the cultural im- peratives of Kwakiutl men by being a fearless warrior canoeman.’ and aca In bringing a measure of justice to Native Indian history, Knight has | helped to bring the problems of Native: people today into sharper focus. ‘‘The need is basically for In- dian workers to be able to enter the new and old industries, as so many of their grandfathers did,’’ Knight points out, ‘“Separate development, penny-ante capitalism, dual § economies and other rabbits out of the hat will not provide jobs for a growing number of Indian people. That the Canadian economy cannot | provide jobs for a growing propor- tion of its people, Indian or others, is the most fundamental problem to be solved. Without such solutions, all the patchwork efforts of income and job creation for Indians will be founded on sand.’’ —Fred Wilson 9 Nino Garofoli dyes his hair blond to try and pass as a Swiss in Brusati’s Bread and Chocolate. Brusati film a bitter comedy Among the many myths that flourish in this country is that of Canada’s benign treatment of its many immigrants. It’s a notion that wouldn’t survive a visit to any of the numerous sweatshops across the country, but even for those who never make the trip, Franco Brusati’s tragi-comic film Bread and Chocolate may help to nudge them a little closer to reality. Winner of numerous film awards, Bread and Chocolate is the tale of Nino Garofoli (memorably portrayed by Nino Manfredi), an Italian immigrant whose three years of labor in Switzerland have earned him more trouble than money. Fighting despair and loneliness, he works diligently as a waiter in a fine restaurant, competeing with a Turkish immigrant for the job, and looking forward to the day when he can afforé to have his family join him. But for Nino every silver lining has its cloud and his Struggle for Success in Swiss society goes about as smoothly. as a drunk’s. stroll through a minefield. Photographed BREAD AND CHOCOLATE. Starring Nino Manfredi. Directed by Franco Brusati. At the Denman Place Theatre, Vancouver. urinating in a public place, he loses his job and thus his work permit. Facing deportation, he wonders how he can face his family. ‘‘What can I tell them?’’ he cries, ‘“‘that I peed?”’ Initially, director Brusati allows the comic element to prevail, even including a few slapstick gags and in many places Bread and Chocolate is quite funny indeed. But as Nino stumbles from one personal disaster to another, the film’s tone gradual- ly changes, the pathetic quality of his existence becoming painfully obvious, Nino eventually: finds work on a farm, only to discover that the other Italian hired hands live in a converted chicken coop. He wat- ches in horror as they amuse each other with disturbingly realistic im- itations of the chickens which they slaughter for a living. When the Swiss farmer’s fairhaired and well- dressed children frolic in the woods PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 16, 1979—Page 10 nearby, they take on almost a godlike quality to the coop-dwellers and Nino’s humiliation is complete. Brusati risks losing some of his audience at this point. It’s almost as if he has enticed people along with humor and now dares them to con- tinue laughing at, this scene which, although initially uproarious is ultimately not funny at all. There is also an air of fatalism throughout the film. Although at one point Nino decides that im- migrants must do something about their plight, nothing ever comes of his insight. The same ambivalence affects the ending which, while intended as an illustration of human strength and courage, actually becomes depress- ing, particularly in light of what has gone before. But perhaps this is just as well; rather than make a pat statement, Brusati has given his au- dience a humorous but seriously“in- tended invitation to consider a sub- ject that is all too often ignored. And Bread and Chocolate is so well done’ that it is worth seeing whatever your reaction might be. —Shane Parkhill Geer FORUM Million dollar machine met N.Y. disaster Allan Young, Vancouver, writes: Just a note on the terrible disaster that took place in the financial cap- tal of the western world, New York: it wasn’t a minor matter-of a few stock failures, no it was much worse — a multi-million dollar machine was clobbered on a sheet of ice by a bunch of Soviets. Even the urbane and suave ‘‘Al Eagleye’’’ was studying his shoelaces. Not even a raised middle finger, much less a tour across the - ice with his usual insults. I wonder if he is concerned about his future negotiating clout? His seat partner ‘‘Joe Who’’ was not asked for comment on the disaster. He was probably still wondering who won. And anyway “‘where did you say those guys came from, Al?’? “Howie Meek’’, the- brilliant hockey strategist known for his “heads up or off it goes’’ theory, allowed that the machine could pro- bably be rebuilt in about four or five years. ‘‘We have to reassess what it is we’re doing wrong,’ he said. Some knocker in the discussion group went so far as to question our life style. The nerve . . . But a more sour note crept in when someone mentioned “long term planning.’’ | just knew associating with those red sweaters would bring on a crisis eventually. Nothing succeeds like suecess, Mr. Meek, but ‘‘long term planning?’’ I know its only to’ be used to rebuild the hockey machine, but you know the story about the wedge. First thing we know, some dangerous type will want to use it to rebuild the economy with work and wages for all who want it. Incidentally, the disaster took i i j ' place in the International Year of the Child. I wonder if it has occur- red to Al Eagleye and the rest of the’ hockey moguls that practically: without exception all those red — sweaters have spent many weeks of» their childhood at world renowned | Soviet pioneer and holiday camps. “Everything for the child’? means _ programs to develop the physical and mental potential of children, ~ and some are likely to turn out to be great athletes. Virtues of free enterprise cited John Tanche, White Rock, writes: While the honorable Bill Bennett extolls the virtues of private ownership and enterprise, some of us are getting skeptical about the things we are being told. For instance this government has _ raised Hydro rates, hospital fees, school taxes, automobile insurance — rates, ferry fees and so on. It ob-— viously has only one end in view: to — show Wall St. that it is sponsoring © their cause, and to make the public — pay through the nose in the process. } Is this what he would like taught — in our schools? Young socialist Fred Wendish, Castlegar, writes: I — am an old timer who came to Canada in 1923. I have been a socialist since 1919 when I joined in 7 the USSR and then again in Ger- © many in 1921. In the Depression of the 1930’s Iwas one of those who helped to found the CCF. ~ : I saw. your paper for the first time — three years ago and it reminded me ~ of the Leipziger Vokszeitung (Leip- — zig People’s News), an old German socialist paper. Your Pacific Tribune should be read in every worker’s home and- should be on hand in every unio meeting to educate the working people in politics, and on which sid they belong.