by Willie Walkingstick
     Sixty years is not so long ago. It is within the lifetime of people still alive today. But even if it were one hundred years or 200 years, it is not too long ago that we should try to bury its truths in the grave of ancient history.
    This country was founded on racism and genocide, and until we come to terms with that, we will never be free from its painful grasp on our hearts and minds.
     Charles LaFontaine, a black man, was without a doubt the victim of racism. You know that and I know that. There are people alive, right now, who know what happened to him —maybe even had something to do with his death.
     Sheriff Sweet and Vern Van Bibber, and others, say it is too long ago, or it will cost too much money, or it will be divisive. I say, that’s okay. We need to confront it, at whatever cost, in order to heal ourselves and put our community back in balance.
     This entire nation needs some kind of truth and reconciliation process to answer for the genocide of indian peoples and the slavery of Africans. Until we do this we can have no real moral authority in the world, and we will never be a healthy people.
     There’s no cost too great for justice.