Would integration of indigenous peoples into the eventually dominant culture have served their interests better than separation?
AD: Yes, I do believe that integration would have served us better. I think this obsession with being separate because we have lost our identity has become an excuse. It’s a deeply engrained excuse and we should stop using it. FC: Much of the despair that afflicts Canada’s native communities is expressed in a collectivist framework that overplays the importance of cultural integrity and de-emphasizes individual decision-making. Can you state your position on the relationship of individuals to their surrounding culture? AD: On a personal basis, I believe in individualism and generally I’m not much in favour of the collective model. But I’m not such a purist that I think everything about the individualist concept can never be challenged. I think there are good sides to both. FC: Your position on affirmative action is cutting: “They’ve even set up a separate Maori writers’ art council organization,” you said. “That’s so stupid – they may as well set up a separate grouping for red-headed w
