I suppose that in this world there are "lumpers" and "splitters". For my
studies, I find that the struggles of indigenous peoples with a variety
of state structures extremely useful. I can entirely sympathise with the
point that such a global view does not directly contribute to winning
local battles - but then there are real limits to what an Email network
can do on that front. In terms of local praxis my time would be much
better spent writing to the premiers of Alberta or Quebec rather than
digesting and downloading the material that comes over the network. I
think that the resources of network such as - a network which can broadcast
accross national boundaries free of charge are better invested in a wider
arena of discussion.
I am hesitant to start dividing up the mailing list. This reminds me of a
long discussion a year and half ago when we tried to do a similar thing. I
think that we decided that the categories became too arbitrary. It is true
that there is an incredible variety of cultures in North America - in fact
so much so that Gwich'in hunters in the Northwest Territories probably have
more in common with Dolgan hunters in the Soviet Union than they have with
the Wisconsin Chippewa who are struggling for fishing rights. The James
Bay Cree certainly must share experience with Brazilian natives who have
been fighting hydroelectric development.
I would like to see a standardised system of subject titles that give an
idea of the length and perhaps geographic content for an article. For
very detailed (almost archival) postings such as the Lubicon saga it might
be best to post the majority of the articles to the listserver with a
short abstract of what is available. I volunteer to abstract, moderate
or otherwise organise material on this side of the Atlantic (Ireland eastward!).
I would like to once again thank Gary for all of his effort! The proof of
his determination is in the wide network of activists that this project has
brought together!
-dave
David Anderson Scott Polar Research Institute University of Cambridge
DGA11@PHX.CAM.AC.UK