"He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it." - George Orwell, "Shooting An Elephant"

Much has already been said on the Boyden scandal, more than likely too much. I would be foolhardy indeed to attempt to recapitulate the eloquence of indigenous writers and scholars like Hayden King, and will not make any such attempt here. Instead, as a white, relatively comfortable Canadian, I'd like to come at the issue tangentially: in particular, regarding the question of identity itself.

UPDATE: CBC is reporting that Capay has been moved from his solitary confinement cell, where he has spent the last four years, to a different cell "with appropriate lighting and access to day rooms, spending time out of their cell for showers, phone calls and access to TV."

Adam Capay, a young First Nations man, has spent four years in solitary confinement in a plexiglass cell where the lights are kept on 24 hours a day. He has not had a trial. He is now likely to be clinically insane. He has no idea whether it is day or night, his speech is slurred, and he has hallucinations.

Any hopes that the governing federal and provincial Liberals might have had that the Muskrat Falls struggle would remain a remote and isolated matter of regional politics are rapidly evaporating. While the premier hides in his office, Muskrat Falls has escalated into a national struggle.

The Trudeau government should honour its commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and stop Muskrat Falls, said Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians chairperson.

Protesters have long been rallying against the Muskrat Falls hydro project, afraid that the flooding as part of the dam and powerhouse construction may contaminate fish and other wild foods with methylmercury and effect Indigenous communities who rely on the fish and seal meat.

The resulting reservoir would expand over an area of about 41 square kilometres near Happy Valley-Goose Bay.