Oh, hell, and that Wikipedia article is just AWFUL. "annoyance"? Twice?
On another front, local First Nations people as well as Canadian Inuit expressed annoyance concerning the choice of an inukshuk as the symbol of the Games, with some Inuit leaders such as Nunavut Commissioner Peter Irniq complaining that the inukshuk is a culturally important symbol to them. "Inuit never build inuksuit with head, legs and arms," he says. "I have seen inuksuit build more recently, 100 years maybe by non-Inuit in Nunavut, with head, legs and arms. These are not called inuksuit. These are called inunguat, imitation of man," he said. Local First Peoples also expressed annoyance that the design did not reflect West Coast native culture such as that of the Squamish or Haida, but rather that of the Inuit, who are indigenous to the Arctic far from Vancouver. One chief also said that the design lacked dignity, comparing it to Pac-Man. However, other First Nations and Inuit leaders praised the design. The First Nations governments of the Squamish, Musqueam, Lil'wat and Tsleil-Waututh (the "Four Host Nations"), on whose traditional territory the games will be held, signed a protocol in 2004 in support of the games.
Oh, I oppose the 2010 Olympics too. No Olympics on stolen land!
If that were to be the case, the 2014 Winter Olympics would also be out; it's being held in Sochi, which is traditional Ubykh land, although apparently the Circassians on the whole would be happy with recognition of their culture within the format of the Games. Love the irony of the fact that the 2014 Winter Games will mark the 150th anniversary of the 1864 invasion of the Caucasus by Russia, too.
Name a country that wasn't taken from someone else.
Agreed total hypocrisy!
I think that attitude exists because people see what is happening in Tibet as worse than mere cultural appropriation. Most people don't even think of appropriation in their day to day life at all or even think it a crime. Look at the "Tomahawk chop". Most laypeople I know couldn't even understand the "beef" properly.
However they would say the Tibetans are being "directly and obviously" oppressed and that is a "in your face" sort of oppression.
That is just my take on the matter but I can't speak for everyone. I'm mostly taking from a laypersons POV as I understand it and even I'm far from apolitical on the matter so I could be speaking out my ass!
Both Tibetans and aboriginal people in North America were colonized and annexed by a foreign power.
Totally agreeing with you. For some people the idea of current vs. past excuses everything...they are dumb.
Beijing says that Tibet was under an uninterrupted series of Chinese governments that has ruled Tibet and China since Genghis Khan. They assert that Tibet has been an "inalienable part of Chinese territory" from the time of the Mongol conquest onward.
Edited at 2008-04-17 20:40 (UTC)
Tibet was no more a part of China for most of that history than Korea or Vietnam. In all three cases, their rulers acknowledged the Emperor of China as a superior, and the Emperor (at least in theory) had the power to determine succession. In practice, however, they were largely sovereign entities.
That may be and I'm inlined to agree that they have a point however land claims IMO are as worthless in terms of determining those peoples fate.
People claim alot if things as far as territoriality goes accurately or not...
While I won't deny that there is a similarity, and I am not suggesting that we should not examine Canadian actions with a critical eye and in the aim of restoring a healthy and balanced relationship between Canadians and First Nations people in Canada - there is a vast difference between Canada & China. Canada has, for example, officially appologized for many of the crimes committed against native peoples; Canada has settled many (though not all) land claims made by native peoples; etc. I do not mean to say that Canada's behaviour is beyond reproach - it is not, and I do not want to silence those who critique it - but Canada's behaviour *is* very different from China's behaviour, in terms of some movement towards recognition of wrongs committed and attempts at restitution/reconciliation. China is light years away from Canada; Canada is, of course, arguably light years away from ideal behaviour.
Tis true. I'm more concerned about Tibet right now than I am about Canada's First Nations, mainly because people are getting themselves killed, and the Chinese government is being very stubborn about this issue. But maybe it is uncomfortable to think about your own situation as opposed to others. It's easy to say, "China is fucking everything up right now! They need to sit down and start talking with Tibet!" but I really don't have any solutions as to how to solve our own problems in Canada. (In my personal opinion the system we use to deal with First Nations people is kind of broken, but I'm not going to get into it). I don't know how to solve poverty issues or land claims, but I do know that fighting about things get us nowhere and only creates more problems than it solves.
Yeah, us Northerners did a serious "WTF?" when they adopted that inuksuk logo. Like, "WTF does an inuksuk have to do with Vancouver?!"
I mean, we're not Inuit or anything, but at least we have some kind of a clue, having lived (in my case, for 30 years) or been born (my kids) in the NWT. I might build an inuksuk in my front yard for fun sometime, but at least there'd be this connection, you know, like "Hey, it's an important symbol of the place I lived most of my life."
I know a Haida-style orca or whatever would've been seen as more boring and typical, but at least it'd have a local connection. Hell, they'd've done better picking the shape of a Starbucks cup if they wanted to symbolise Vancouver....
Most of us Vancouverites did a similar "WTF". Both with the inukshuk and the 3 mascotty things that were unvailed last year. What were the designers and the organising Committee smoking anyway?
I never really liked the mascots. They look like Hello Kitty replicates with a pasted on theme. Could we not have come up with something more original? Something more dignified? Something more representative of Vancouver? Probably. But now we're stuck with our goofy little chibis. I cringe.
Yes, as a Vancouverite I can back up arthur_sc_king. The sculpture is on the beach in English Bay and has a plaque explaining that the NWT government donated it. So for the past 22 years it's become a Vancouver symbol too. Summer sunsets line up with it beautifully. Evidently, however, VanOC has done a really bad job of communicating that it represents the singular sculpture in Vancouver and not an element of local culture itself.
I think that it mostly just has to do with supporting "Free Tibet" being fashionable, whereas examining our own actions in the west is uncomfortable.
Hey, saving people's lives never goes out of style! :D
Seriously though, I don't know why "Free Tibet" is such a fashionable campaign. I've found it interesting recently, ever since I started to research Tibet for a story I'm working on. I know why it appeals to me, but I can't explain its mass appeal. Maybe because it's so far away, it's as distant and removed from ourselves as you can get.
I do hope that China matures though, and starts talks with the Tibetans instead of oppressing people with military strength. Fighting dun solve nothing.
Just to be clear, a lot of Vancouverites *are* indeed concerned about the 2010 Olympics, and there have been protests to that effect. But the Olympics in China are happening this summer and the Vancouver ones are almost 2 years away. So in the run-up to Beijing, those same concerned people are shouting louder about Tibet. I don't think that's hypocrisy; I think it's a matter of timing, and a matter of what the media is covering right now. At the end of this summer, all Olympic eyes turn to Vancouver for 16 months. | 
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