Is there a natural resource project being built somewhere in Canada? Does it overlap with the title land, reserve lands, or other jurisdictions of a First Nation? If so, expect green NGOs to turn it into another dramatic episode so they can keep fundraising.
It has been 53 years since the infamous “Crying Indian” ad was released, but it still provides the template for how environmentalist NGOs co-opt and intrude into Indigenous affairs. Made by an American NGO called Keep America Beautiful, the ad showed a tear running down the face of a Native American, dressed like he was plucked from the set of a John Wayne movie.
The cause of his tears were industrial pollution and the garbage being thrown in a river as he paddled through it in a canoe. Hilariously, the actor was actually Sicilian-American and went by the name, “Iron Eyes Cody.” Not much has changed since.
For the rest of this column: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/geoff-russ-environmental-ngos-love-using-first-nation-land-issues-for-profit