Indian

[cswilson]

Good advice cwilson. There are no natives in my community and no reserves within a two hour drive but we sure aren't without our fair share of problem makers.
Roly, you will likely find that in rural Canada most folks are friendly, willing to lend a hand and that includes natives. If there is a community group where you are moving, I would suggest that you get involved and get to know your neighbours, and you will soon feel a part of your community.

[roly]

the farm is one mile from the Indian Reservation,in central Sask- do you think I will get any problems, I think there is good and bad in all races, and I take every body as I find them, but I have heard people complain about the Indians.

[roly]

Living in a rural area isn't going to be problem free but I would suggest that you do the following:

Install good locks on your buildings, fuel tanks and house.
Never leave keys in vehicles, this is not to suggest that anyone will steal them but it is not a good practice although many farmers still do it.
Get a good dog that barks when anyone drives or walks in the yard.
Get to know your neighbours right away and find out if they have any problems with native or other people.
Once you know your neighbours I am sure that at least one or more of them will ' take you under their wing' and mentor you in the ways of farming in your area, plus keep a look out on your property when you are away.

In my area of Alberta several neighbours watch out for each others homes when any of us are away. Its always good to have tracks in and out of your yard in the winter and have someone driving through in other times of the year.

Don't worry about the natives and lose sight of the real reason you are moving to Canada which I assume is to farm.

Enjoy your new home roly.

[SleepingCowboy]

Roly, I grew up living 3 miles from an Indian Reservation in Central Sask.. I'll tell you what nobody else will; and that is that there will be problems - if you come here looking for them. I was once at a dinner put on by a group from East Central Sask, trying to sell land there. Someone asked the question, "What's it like to have Indians as neighbors?" The Mayor of Yorkton gave the best response that I've heard. He said, "Do you have good neighbors now? If you do, you'll have good neighbors when you move. If you don't now, you won't when you move."

[SleepingCowboy]

roly, one thing that will help you is to gain an understanding of native ways, the legislation they are bound by etc.
Many natives live lifestyles very similar to the rest of us, while doing all they can to adhere to their traditions and their native heritage.
Many natives on reserves are very well educated and take a back seat to no-one when it comes to being articulate. The elders of the reserve are wise in the native ways and certainly one can learn a lot from them if you make an effort.

Like sleepingcowboy said, you will need to be a good neighbour to have good neighbours. This, for the most part means that you will have a much easier time being accepted in a community if you don't come with preconceived ideas about any sector of the population.

[dalek]

We live near one reservation, my wife's parents live near another. I'd say they have about the same percentage of decent people as any other population, however, the few who DO cause trouble cause a lot more than your normal troublemakers around here. Case in point, my inlaws have a lot of deer around their house and barns and were awoken one morning by several shots outside their window. Went out to find 5 young natives dressing 3 deer on their front lawn. They knew from prior experience that there was nothing they could do, the police and MNR rarely bother responding to native hunting calls and the others in the band, although disgusted, refuse to do anything about their fellow natives. Out of about Also there's a problem with natives going off of the reservation and stealing construction equipment on construction sites then taking it on the reserve and parting it out. The police have been led on several low-speed chases but call it off at the reservation border and the band police aren't interested. Out of about 2000 on the reserve here, there are probably 12-15 involved in this but they're cutting a wide swath because they know they can play the race card and get away with it.

[dalek]

I would say that the average native is law abiding, keeps to himself and isn't interested in bothering anyone. Hopefully your neighbours fit that category roly.

[ALLFARMER]

I know of one farmer who had Natives come and help him load up his canola...just put the wrong name on the cheque.

Just east of town of High Level sits a field (aprox 2400 acres) that has a fence around it and is all in grass. I asked some people why don't they rent it out if they don't want to farm it!!! They just laughed an said your cows would be lunch. I used to farm just north of Edmonton where land sell for $200,000 plus a quarter and everyone tries to clear the sloughs I just shake my head everytime I drive by. I guess years ago they did crop it.

Your best bet it to go drive into your future neighbours driveways and talk to them. Some Natives I have over for coffee some I wouldn't turn my back on.

[ALLFARMER]

roly, you have received a lot of advice on dealing with natives, and my final bit of advice is to refer to them as first nation people not indians whenever you are speaking with them or about them to your neighbours.

[cowman]

Went to a meeting once where they were pushing the east central Sask. thing and the speaker had a farm there, where he leased land from an Indian band. He said it was a very good relationship that worked for everyone involved.
The Indians had lots of land bought up with land claims money but were not interested in doing much with it. He needed cheap grass...the perfect match!

[roly]

Thank you Agri-friends
I am pleased to see that freedom of speech is stil alive in Canada unlike the UK

Roland

[roly]

Roly I am sure things will work out for you. There are always bad apples in a barrel but natives aren't any worse than the rest of society.
Please keep us posted as you venture into farming in Canada.