December 03, 2009
The Inupiat Story CNN Missed
John D. Sutter, not content to mill around while continuing revelations rock the integrity of the AGW community, decided to write a an article for CNN called Climate change threatens life in Shishmaref, Alaska.
It's actually quite a pleasant read, but Sutter seems to miss the real lesson to be learned from the world's impact on the Inupiat people.
You see, the Inupiat were once a nomadic people until a distant federal government saw fit to intrude into their lives, telling then that their children must live by government rules, forcing them to live as the government saw fit and undermining their culture.
Over time, the people adapted to the conditions the distant government bureaucrats forced them into, and as a result, they now have their very existence as a culture jeopardized because the government turned a mobile society into a sedentary people ill-suited to live a life that nature in that part of the world conspired against. Now seemingly helpless and conditioned to look for handouts, their culture faces extinction because they've lost the nomadic ways of their forefathers, thanks to the intervention of the government.
Sutter seems to think his article is about climate change. The climate always changes. The real problem here is a government crippled a society already engineered to deal with that change by arrogantly imposing their will, insisting their ways are better.
Something to think about.
If you want something else to get your dander up, look further in the article. Note that modern influence in creeping into the area in the form of commodities brought in by plane. I hate to tell you this but that is a government action. I can assure you that the people in that area are not paying the full price for the various items in the store and the cost of transportaion. You the tax payor are picking up that little item. This is true in almost all Indian reservations. How do I know, I have purchased items from those stores and they sell at about 10 cents on the dollar.
Posted by: David at December 3, 2009 01:11 PMgee - might we not be looking at what we will become as the government takes more iron fisted control of our lives. Obamacare, cap & tax, Government motors, nationalized banks, presidents firing CEO's, and on and on and on..........
Posted by: slimedog at December 3, 2009 09:46 PM"Shishmaref's people were nomadic, following seals and caribou, until the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs built a school on the island in the early 1900s and forced Inupiat children to attend. Some residents still resent that school; they say it punished those who spoke Inupiaq and stifled other aspects of the Native culture..."
"Morris says the changes in Shishmaref -- the melting sea ice, the disappearing seals and polar bears, the crumbling coastline -- are beyond the village's control..."
"...We've got to move. There's no question about it," he said. "That seawall will stop erosion on this end, but the water will go around it. My ancestors said it will happen. It will happen."
They started moving there in the early 1900s. Heaven knows how long it took for the tribe to settle there. Maybe his ancestors were talking about the nomadic way of life they used to lead.
The estimated cost to relocate one village - $200.00 million.
Posted by: davod at December 6, 2009 06:56 AM
