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Over 30,000 km it was Canada everywhere (57)
Like the other provinces, each Ontario city offered full tourist information. Having seen there was an Indian reserve and also good fishing points near there, I got off the highway at Brantford. Just by the interchange was the rich visitor information centre. All the officers were White. I asked a lady why Brantford, a small city, has such an extravagant information centre. "Because a lot of people visit here for Six Nations, an Indian place," she replied. I asked what tribe they belong and if there are any Metis people around there. She knew nothing about them, on the contrary she misunderstood that Metis are defined as the descendants between Indians and French, despite the fact that there were a lot of interpretation displays of the Six Nations though. The visitor information centre seemed to be having almost no contact with Six Nations people.
Finally, I got to 'Six Nations Tourism' in Ohsweken, where was in the Six Nations territory. The manager, Alan D. Emarthle, gave me a brief explanation: Six Nations derived from piece agreement among the Iroquois and Algonkian tribes, who have been residing Grand River area for over thousands years. This community is also famous as most developed First Nations in North America, because many men earn and bring money by engaging in high-rise building construction sites mostly in the US. They have been inheriting the occupation for the blood of Mohawk who don't fear high places.
When it comes to their history, his eyes turned dark. "In this Canada, our territory used to be the whole Grand River area; however, whenever treaties were concluded between governments and us they broke the promises, thus our place became smaller and smaller finally to this area." According to him, the government always changes their attitude depending on the situation. I understood just what he said; I am afraid, but there is a tendency among English descendants to behave for their own convenience regardless of what the promise might be. Many of them claim in such cases that it was so difficult situation that for them no other choices, but I have to say this tendency is a peculiarity for them.
Since Ontario is known to the base of Canada as well as many English descendants' home, to behave strong to the weak and, on the other hand, to behave weak to the strong might well be called as the way of Canada or Britain. Those who were deprived of their land cannot expect to recover such.
The community of Six Nations was quite a clean and beautiful Western town with developed infrastructures; no one would be aware that it is a reserve if he/she wasn't told it. Refueling at a major brand gas station, the girl staff completely appeared to be White with their fashion and fluent English. The landlady of my inn, too. They were to be called Metis, but not and were residing in the reserve. This was not only the case; even though many people pointed out that mix-bleed haven't been allowed to live in tax-free reserves, I always met many Metis. Also, there was even a restaurant run and cooked by a Chinese. This ambiguity might be one of the proofs for Canada's time-serving.
While staying at Six Nations, I tried Rainbow Trout fishing at Grand River outside of the reserve. It was late October and Rainbows were ascribing rivers for spawning. The point was just before an artificial dam, and a lot of fishermen were standing in the river even it was a week day. At the parking pavement, I saw a huge Rainbow was trying to jump beside a mini-van. Wow, it's beautiful, besides nearly 1 m.
I accosted a man ordering his fishing stuff inside the car. With his remaining excitement, the White man showed me orange fish-eggs which he used for fishing. The method here seemed a bit different, but my expectation was about to explode. Standing at the bank, good points seemed occupied by the others. Their way of fishing was the bate and a float on the shallow but fast flows.
I wondered if Rainbows as I saw existed in such a shallow part and that with a lot of unnatural babbles under the falls. I asked one of them what the babble is and if this river was polluted. He replied that the bubble should be natural as a matter of course after falls and that the river was pretty clean. He also said at the other side of the river was a good point for Walleye or Pike.
I casted a lure just for a try from the bank. However, the method mustn't be suitable here for the hook always had to be caught by the rocks of the bottom. I changed the side of the river. This place seemed better, but no one was trying a lure. Soon a man in front of me got a hit; his long and soft rod bent large and then in a distance a Rainbow jumped up the surface. He then ran about the bank busily chasing the fish reeling little by little. That figure looked somewhat humorous. When he finally landed it, he took the picture on the edge of the water with a disposable camera hurriedly. I felt a fisherman is all the same in the world.
After his releasing the over 50 cm Rainbow, I went down and tried again. The flow seemed too fast to fish by lures, when a strong bite came. Wow, I couldn't be calm enough to wait and see until the fish get weaker, so reeled up strongly. Then the fish I thought there was already here; I have no words to express this. The fish was so quickly moved widespread-range, which was the famous Rainbow's fight. He this time came to a pool apart from the flow, still violently trying to escape. I thought lucky, so wind the line up at a stretch and by force. He was now at the muddy edge of water just before me, but the moment I realised he was already away.
Getting back to the inn, the landlady asked me, "Did you get fish?" "Well, yah, but he escaped from me when landing," replied I, she smiled at me. I asked about the cleanliness of the river. As a descendant of the Indians displaying her honorable ancestors' photos in the facility, she admitted honestly that it was getting better now but still polluted mostly for a lot of pesticide used in farms along the river. If the fisher, who told me Grand River was clean, thought seriously so, it means he didn't know a real clean river even living in Canada.
When I leave Six Nations, the land lady playing with a black cat said me to give her an email. But I thought, if I did, I might fell in love with her. Her husband was absent and I imagined he might have been away for his construction work for high-rise buildings. As the manager of Six Nations Tourism said, many such workers spend most time in the United States. In the yard of the inn there was a swing along with children's toys without children, which scene was just the same as what I saw in Labrador's B&B.
I was running on a road near Lake Erie. Both sides were rough black soil fields and few up-to -date buildings were to be seen. I felt a bit an illusion of my turning back in Nova Scotia now. A small old general shop that might have some food I entered had no washroom inside. The old guy handed me a key to a temporary plastic toilet outside. Getting back, he already put a map on the counter marling 'YOU ARE HERE' on it. Eating a sub in my car, he appeared and brought nuts picking up from back. He knocked the window, "This is good for dessert." They were Black Walnut, he showed an intimate feeling to me saying his wife is Korean.
According to him, this area of Ontario has rich natural resources not only these foods to pick up but even gas to stoves; people there can live on foods fallen on the ground using gas taken from their yard for free! I asked if the government put regulations and taxes on the usage of natural gas. He said they tried once but failed. It sounds like Canada!
As for fishing in Lake Erie, there still exists commercial fishermen for Lake Erie is so shallow that it is easily blown up by winds and keep clean. However, he deplored the Smelt that used to be his favourite and were easily caught in large quantity at coast in his childhood has long disappeared. The off-shore fishing point he recommended me smelled terrible by a steel company and no atmosphere for fishing.

Over 30,000 km it was Canada everywhere (57)_f0154674_8284376.jpg
Over 30,000 km it was Canada everywhere (57)_f0154674_8285926.jpg

by tetsu95jp | 2008-02-09 08:30 | 23.Ontario southward
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