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Native Cigarettes

One of my previous blogs dated Feb 26, 2012 I wrote about contraband cigarettes.  Last night on TVO (a public broadcasting station) there was an interesting documentary on the subject. The narrator explains how tobacco has been here (North America) for centuries and it’s a gift from the creator.  A smoke shack owner on the Rez said selling cigarettes helped pay for her house and would rather work then be on welfare. Similar stories also came up in the documentary. One man said the RCMP gets involved because the Govt like any business doesn’t get a piece of the profits. 
Good example on how the Federal Government works: If a native is selling moccasins on the roadside the RCMP couldn’t give a shit, but if the native is selling cigarettes out comes the shotgun. 
Producing and delivering Native cigarettes is a dangerous game. The person risks their cartons of cigarettes being confiscated, heavy fines and later possible jail time if the fines are not paid.  There is no job security in the tobacco plants and the employees are aware of it, yet they keep on going. Why! Because it’s better then being unemployed and on welfare.  The irony of all this, the majority of the customers that buy Native cigarettes are Caucasian.
In Hamilton I know of one Native guy who lives outside of KMHC and sells cigarettes in the downtown area, recently he told me all his smokes were confiscated and received a $350.00 fine. I asked will that stop him from selling cigarettes again. He replied nope…I have bills to pay.  
Is it organized crime run by selected Natives!  Possibly it depends on your point of view.  I’ve heard stories of wealthy natives living on the reserve in their fancy homes and vehicles while down the road there’s a family struggling to make ends meet living in a shack. 
On a personal level I know smoking any kind of cigarettes is bad regardless if they come from Rothmans or the factory/warehouse on the Rez it’s unhealthy and causes lung cancer so I rarely smoke. Like so many other disputes ie: land claims, cutting down trees, Govt funding for rural reservations, The cigarette war will go on for a long time.



tk

Comments

Tony King said…
At the last tenant meeting a fellow tenant slipped up by mentioning he plants tobacco in the garden located outside the building. I'll bet KMHC will give him shit for it or there will be a general notice warning tenants what can be planted in the garden. *rolls eye* :P
February 16, 2014 at 4:17:00 PM EST
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