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Brian placed the fingers of his hands in an inter-locking pattern and then rested his hands on top of his head, leaning back in his chair as he did so. "There are a number of modern-day cases, both in the United States and in Canada, documenting the devastating ramifications that ensue from the forced disruption of the links between indigenous peoples and the specific lands on which they have been living for centuries. These forced disruptions have been created through migration projects that are imposed on indigenous peoples by federal governments who are trying to realize political/economic ambitions and desires at the expense of Native peoples."

He pulled his hands down from his head, placed his arms on the table and rested his chest against his forearms. "The incidence of suicide, youth problems, depression, alcoholism, poverty, illness, joblessness, homelessness and family breakdown among the people who are forced to move reaches epidemic proportions.

"Native peoples, even nomadic ones, are tied to the ecology of their habitats, or migratory pathways, in very intricate ways. These ties go beyond the obvious needs of physical survival. Every dimension of our lives is oriented by our relationship with the powers and spirits of the minerals, plants and animals which make up the environment in which we dwell."

Brian rubbed his eyes briefly with his fingers. "Our identities, our purposes, our values, the meaning of life, our way of education, and even our languages are all tied to the land on which we live. If a Native person gets forced off that land, such a person becomes totally disoriented, alienated and lost."

I interrupted Brian and said: "But, as long as they were given new land to live on, surely these people could adapt to the new circumstances."

A look of weariness crept across Brian's face. He sighed slightly. Finally, he said: "David, are you married or do you have any children?"

I shook my head in the negative.

Brian closed his eyes and his lower face went through a few minor contortions, as if he were considering various possibilities, rejecting them, and moving on to evaluate the next candidate. He opened his eyes and started to speak. "Well," he began, "suppose you did have a wife and several children.

"Let us also assume you have been married for, say, twenty years and you still were deeply, deeply in love with her. Furthermore, in this scenario we are painting, not only do you love your children, you live for your children and derive great joy and satisfaction in seeing them grow through various stages of development. In short, your whole life and the meaning of that life revolves around your family."

"Sounds very inviting," I said.

Brian moved his eyes and head in a way which seemed to say: 'Yes, doesn't it.' He looked out the set of windows on the far side of the room and spoke further: "Now, let's suppose someone from the federal government comes to you and announces: "Dr. Phelps, we need your wife, children, house, and job for an economic project we have in mind. I'm afraid you, just you Dr. Phelps, will have to vacate the premises and move to another country. If we can, the government will help you relocate and provide some assistance in searching for a job, language training, finding a place to live, and, maybe, hooking up with a new family."

Brian held his hands up in a way that sort of gave support to what he now said. "David, do you think it would be fair to say you might be totally devastated by such a sequence of events?"

He waited for me to nod my assent to his question. My voice was somewhat paralyzed as I intuited where he might be going with things.

Brian went on as soon as I nodded. "Would not your whole sense of identity, meaning, purpose, self-esteem, direction and understanding come to a screeching halt?"

Again, before proceeding, he wanted me to respond in some fashion to the question being asked. I complied by nodding my head ever so slightly.

Brian observed the affirmation to his query. Another question quickly issued forth. "Do you not suppose that, under such circumstances, you would have to begin to fight a life and death struggle with deep, intense storms of doubt, alienation, depression and emotional upheaval concerning your relationship with existence?"

I managed to voice a single word: "Yes."

Brian acknowledged my response with his own nod of affirmation, as if to say: 'Yes, indeed, what else could one say to this situation?'

"Now," he went on, "lets add a few wrinkles to this story. For example, let's assume the allusion to relocation assistance made by the government representative either never materializes or comes in forms which are of little, or no, use to you. Consequently, you have a very limited amount of money, few food supplies, no job, no job prospects, no stable place to stay, and no family. In addition, you don't speak the local language of your new country very well, and you feel completely lost with respect to having any sense of affinity for the life-style of the community around you."

Having set the scene, Brian raised a further question. "Under the conditions that I have outlined, don't you feel you might be quite vulnerable to the call of physical breakdown, psychological problems, suicide, substance abuse and the life of the street?"

Once more, I could only agree with what Brian was suggesting. There was a whole host of feelings and thoughts which were tugging at me while Brian went through his question-riddled scenarios, but voicing them didn't seem appropriate - at least, not now.

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