Government - to control, rule, restrain [View All]

[SuffragetteSal]

While on a hike through Champoeg State Park the other day I came upon the birthplace of Oregon government. It was called French Prairie back then. Picture the 1840's...most settlers were French Canadians whom had come here with the Hudson Bay trapping company. Many settled into the land with Indian wives, farming and starting families of their own. Then the white settlers from the east came and decided that government was needed to protect land ownership. The French Canadians were told they needed to protect themselves (as foreigners) and their land from being taken away so a yes vote for government was encouraged. The vote was 52 to 50. In a circle near the Willamette river is a small monument with the names of the men involved. There is also a painting I have seen of two sets of men, separated into two groups, one the French Canadians and Indians and the other the white settlers from the east.

I sat in this spot for quite a while and pondered what it must have been like back then. The fear of being deported to Canada and losing one's home must have been primary in the mind of those trappers. So, it is fear, fear of loss of land and goods that has brought us to this point. Now many wars are started and going on as we speak to protect their assets (oil) and land. Some call it fighting for freedom but is it really? Who is free, those in control, those that hold the power.

It is rather sad to see how we have gotten to this point, realizing what could have been if only....everyone could have lived in peace with one another.