Pubdate: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2008 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 CRIMES COMMITTED IN A SPIRIT OF GREED Criminals who tried to use First Nations' spirituality to justify their actions have shamed themselves and saddened law-abiding true believers. - - - In the long-running trial of six people charged with operating a huge marijuana farm on a Saskatchewan First Nation, there is a little-known victim. Those charged with setting up and running this growing operation ("grow op") testified that they were told by "the Creator" to assemble it, supposedly to grow dope for "medicinal" purposes. The prosecution argued this was just a thin excuse to disguise a criminal intent to raise and sell marijuana in expectation of huge profits. The latter was the clear conclusion of the veteran judge who presided over this lengthy jury trial, which saw three people acquitted and three others convicted (for unlawfully producing marijuana and possession of the drug for trafficking). "Was their motive altruistic or grounded in personal gain?" the judge asked during Monday's sentencing hearing. "Without reserva-tion, I am satisfied that it was the latter . . ." It is a mark of how strange this trial was that one of the three men found guilty, having received their multiyear sentences on Monday, decided to argue with the judge in the vain hopes he might suddenly reverse his verdict. Now, let us turn to the "victim" in this case: First Nations spiritual beliefs. The defendants' claim that they were growing this illegal drug at the behest of the Creator, and that doing so on "sovereign First Nations' land" supposedly made them immune from Canada's drug laws, has left many First Nations people absolutely aghast. They worry that some people unfamiliar with First Nations spirituality will hear this, will think less of that spirituality, in particular, and First Nations, in general. It would be a true shame if that happened, as First Nations spirituality is undergoing a remarkable rebirth and offers much comfort and inspiration to its adherents. Don't be deceived by what the defendants claimed: First Nations faith no more offers a way out of breaking the law of the land than does, say, Methodism or Catholicism. Twisting First Nations spirituality in order to get out of legal trouble seems a particularly cruel insult to believers. This might be a good time to do some research and find out what First Nations spirituality is really about. Learning about each other will make all of us in Saskatchewan a little better. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek