In reading the Vancouver Sun editorial about the Cohen report dealing with the
uncertain future of wild salmon on the BC coast, I could not help but
think of parallels in our national experience with bison -- in
particular, the so-called disappearance of the bison from the plains of
North America.
To me, the parallels are striking. In the case of salmon, the word
'decline' has been substituted for the word 'disappearance', the latter
of which was for years associated with the almost-complete annihilation
of the bison.
We now acknowledge that the elimination of the bison was in large part
the result of systematic, quasi-industrial killing efforts, erasing the
wild order and replacing it with cattle & grain production, railroads,
residential communities and fences. This is not to mention explicit
public policy efforts to starve First Nations populations onto reserves.
Over the intervening years, with regard to the uncertain future of wild
salmon, our society has learned to be somewhat more subtle in its
approach to the destruction of the wild. But not a lot different.
Me-first competition among the various fishing interests, introduction
of competing but artificial aquaculture, habitat destruction through
urban and commercial development, all look to me a lot like what
happened to the bison. We even have rough parallels with regard to the
economic and social effects on First Nations of our area.
Perhaps this ongoing assault on the wild is inevitable. But we ought
not to pretend that we are mystified by what is happening.
