I found the Pioneer's Aug. 16 special section "Bemidji Bonds" to be quite interesting and informative. I hadn't realized there were so many people bonding together for fun activities-whether it be for sports, hobbies, the arts or simply chatting over a cup of coffee or sharing a special dinner together.
But what I did notice is that there didn't seem to be any "bonding" between people of different cultures.
Also, in the same edition of newspaper, there was a full color, one-page ad for national friendship week. In all but one photo (two young girlfriends), the friends were all white.
I don't get around town much as I'm a handicapped person, but it seems to me that just about the only place you see a friendly mingling of cultures is at the casinos or pow wows.
What does this say about our community? What could we do to create more bonding between native and non-native folks? The Boys and Girls Club is a good start.
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Kathy Eggers
Bemidji
