When Bonita Lawrence wrote that “… in order for Canada to have a viable national identity, the histories of Indigenous nations, in all their diversity and longevity, must be erased” (2011, p. 68), she was not suggesting a pathway towards a united Canadian identity, but rather, she was explaining a national identity as being a goal of assimilation. The concept of a national identity did not exist pre-contact with settlers, as the Indigenous nations were diverse in their cultures and identities. The Indigenous people of Canada are struggling today to achieve recognition and control over their own lives, while creating a national identity would seek to do the opposite for them. To create a national identity would require the Indigenous nations …show more content…
Bonita Lawrence discussed the struggle that Indigenous people face in trying to control the narrative of their nations’ history, due to “the demand that Indigenous scholars attempting to write their histories conform to academic discourses that have already staked a claim to expertise about our [Indigenous] pasts- notably anthropology and history” (Lawrence, 2011, p. 69). There has been a lack of respect and recognition from the non-Indigenous population of Canadian society towards traditional Indigenous records. The value placed on Indigenous records must become equally recognized with historic white accounts so that Indigenous people can control the way their heritage is represented. Without achieving this level of respect, Lawrence explains how “‘Native history’ becomes accounts of specific intervals of ‘contact’, accounts which neutralize processes of genocide, which never mention racism, and which do not take as part of their purview the devastating and ongoing implications of the policies and processes that are so neutrally described” (Lawrence, 2011, p. 69). Non-Indigenous Canadian’s bear the responsibility to reverse the racist systems that were created to assimilate Indigenous nations, and to respect Indigenous …show more content…
An example of this comes from a woman named Hope who described the how the family bond was damaged as a result of residential school: “They [her parents] never experienced a family, didn’t know how to deal with family issues, and our family fell apart. It created self-esteem issues for me, too, thinking that I came from a broken home” (Ing, 2011, p. 124). The children who were forced to attend residential schools were removed from their parents and families, instead being raised through discipline and severe conditions at the schools. The students were given no examples of good parenting to teach them how to raise their own children in the future. In addition to removing positive examples of parenting and family, the children were traumatized as Ing states on page 121 of the text: “Through these painful punishments, terrors, and humiliations, many children were unable to express feelings in any way” (Ing, 2011). The abuse caused manifold repercussions that have become intergenerational challenges. The humiliation and pain taught children to be ashamed of their Indigenous heritage and therefore preventing them from learning their languages and culture in order to pass on the knowledge to their children, which directly resulted in many Indigenous languages becoming
Her book focuses on the myriads of issues and struggles that Indigenous men and women have faced and will continue to face because of colonialism. During her speech, Palmater addressed the grave effects of the cultural assimilation that permeated in Indigenous communities, particularly the Indian Residential School System and the Indian Act, which has been extensively discussed in both lectures and readings. Such policies were created by European settlers to institutionalize colonialism and maintain the social and cultural hierarchy that established Aboriginals as the inferior group. Palmater also discussed that according to news reports, an Aboriginal baby from Manitoba is taken away every single day by the government and is put in social care (CTVNews.ca Staff, 2015). This echoes Andrea Smith’s argument in “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy: Rethinking Women of Color Organizing” that colonialism continues to affect Aboriginals through genocide (2006, p. 68). Although such actions by the government are not physical acts of genocide, where 90% of Aboriginal population was annihilated, it is this modern day cultural assimilation that succeeded the Indigenous Residential School System and the Indian Act embodies colonialism and genocide (Larkin, November 4,
Some of the residential school students were so scarred from the way they were treated in the schools, that they even started putting the same abuse that they had received in the schools, onto their own children. The abuse has left the students with mental trauma and many of the students were unable to erase the memories of abuse from their minds. Many the survivors of the Canadian Residential Schools have been inflicting their children and spouses with physical abuse similar to the abuse that they had received previously in the Residential Schools. In an article talking about the victimization of aboriginals they stated, “Males who had experienced abuse as children were found to be at a significantly high risk to repeat the cycle of violence with future spouses” (Scrim as cited in McGillivray and Comaskey 1996). This sad cycle shows that even though the last Residential School closed in the late 1990’s, the experiences that students had during their time is still negatively affecting their lives today. Many of the former students of the Canadian Residential Schools have turned to substance abuse in hopes to try and cope with their struggling mental health. It is shocking to see that a school this harsh could have such long lasting impacts on its students. In an article related to helping people understand the trauma
Glen Coulthard’s “Resentment and Indigenous Politics” discusses the politics of recognition that are currently utilized within Canada’s current framework of rectifying its colonial relationship with Indigenous peoples. Coulthard continues a discussion on reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the state that recognizes the three main methods of reconciliation: the diversity of individual and collective practices to re-establish a positive self relation, the act of restoring damaged social and political relationships and the process in which things are brought to agreement and made consistent.
Thomas King uses an oral story-telling style of writing mingled with western narrative in his article “You’re Not the Indian I Had in Mind” to explain that Indians are not on the brink of extinction. Through this article in the Racism, Colonialism, and Indigeneity in Canada textbook, King also brings some focus to the topic of what it means to be “Indian” through the eyes of an actual Aboriginal versus how Aboriginals are viewed by other races of people. With his unique style of writing, King is able to bring the reader into the situations he describes because he writes about it like a story he is telling.
Fleras, Augie. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.” Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print.
To start off, I’ll be writing about the life of people in British North America and its significance towards unifying Canada, as well as background knowledge of conflicts that existed. Life in British North America was changing at an alarming rate. New technology and services were being introduced such as railways and steamships. Industries such as building, producing and farming were being introduced. This was in part due to the many immigrants from Britain and France who’d settled. This was dreadful for the First Nations as their land had been taken away even more so than before. More resources were needed for the growing crowd so trade agreements were made. As more people came, the First Nations were even more distanced from the Europeans. Meanwhile, the French and the British wanted the other’s culture to be erased from the
Vancouver currently maintains an image as a sort of maternal ethnic melting pot, a region rich in cultural diversity and with a municipality that is both tolerant and welcoming of various displays and traditions. However, upon closer examination of recent history, it becomes clear that the concept of the city embracing minorities with a warm liberal hug is both incorrect and a form of manipulation in itself. The articles Erasing Indigenous Indigeneity in Vancouver and The Idea of Chinatown unravel the cultural sanitization that occurred in Vancouver at the turn of the nineteenth century as means of state domination. Through careful synthesis of primary documents, the articles piece together the systematic oppression suffered by BC indigenous
Steckley, J., & Cummins, B. D. (2008). Full circle: Canada's First Nations (2nd ed.). Toronto:
Do you know that despite Canada being called multicultural and accepting, Canada’s history reveals many secrets that contradicts this statement? Such an example are Canadian aboriginals, who have faced many struggles by Canadian society; losing their rights, freedoms and almost, their culture. However, Native people still made many contributions to Canadian society. Despite the efforts being made to recognize aboriginals in the present day; the attitudes of European Canadians, acts of discrimination from the government, and the effects caused by the past still seen today have proven that Canadians should not be proud of Canada’s history with respect to human rights since 1914.
Canada likes to paint an image of peace, justice and equality for all, when, in reality, the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in our country has been anything but. Laden with incomprehensible assimilation and destruction, the history of Canada is a shameful story of dismantlement of Indian rights, of blatant lies and mistrust, and of complete lack of interest in the well-being of First Nations peoples. Though some breakthroughs were made over the years, the overall arching story fits into Cardinal’s description exactly. “Clearly something must be done,” states Murray Sinclair (p. 184, 1994). And that ‘something’ he refers to is drastic change. It is evident, therefore, that Harold Cardinal’s statement is an accurate summarization of the Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationship in
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
The Indian Act no longer remains an undisputable aspect of the Aboriginal landscape in Canada. For years, this federal legislation (that was both controversial and invasive) governed practically all of the aspects of Aboriginal life, starting with the nature of band governance and land tenure. Most importantly, the Indian act defines qualifications of being a “status Indian,” and has been the source of Aboriginal hatred, due to the government attempting to control Aboriginals’ identities and status. This historical importance of this legislation is now being steadily forgotten. Politically speaking, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal critics of the Indian act often have insufferable opinions of the limits of the Indian Act’s governance, and often argue to have this administrative device completely exterminated. Simultaneously, recent modern land claim settlements bypass the authority of the Indian Act over specific groups.
Our government’s predecessors have attempted to eradicate Canada’s first people, which is not only an insult to the indigenous people of the past, but to the present. This country did not start off as a joint endeavor of the two general groups of people that inhabited it during its birth, but decimation and forced assimilation of great traditions and people. The assimilation of a great culture, the destruction of oral histories, and the forced loss of language destroyed the chance trust. Only by teaching disgust towards that type of attitude and action, by not excusing it or attempting to justify, will begin a new age of
(Parrott, Z. 07, March 13).All of their history significantly predates the arrival of European settlers. (Parrott, Z. 07, March 13). They were severely threatened by colonial forces, Aboriginal culture, language and social systems have shaped the development of Canada. (Parrott, Z. 07, March 13). There are about 10 cultural areas in North America where the Aboriginal tribes are divided. (Parrott, Z. 07, March 13). But only six areas are found within the borders of what is now Canada. (Parrott, Z. 07, March 13).All of these tribes that are in Canada before our time has had the most major part in founding our country. (Parrott, Z. 07, March 13).Of what they have accomplished then helped us for the long run now. (Parrott, Z. 07, March 13).We should be for respectful towards them and remember what all of them had to go
...ans and the British settlers. So, why are we forcing ourselves to define what a “Canadian” truly is, when Canada has never been a country with one prevalent cultural group? But this is not to say that Canada will never be a unified country. South Africa is an example of the unification of a country that has torn itself apart by apartheid policies. Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to this struggle, seeking equality for all races, finally achieving his goal in 1995. If Mandela unified a country that was deeply racist and apartheid for such a long time, who are we to say that we cannot someday unify a country simply divided because of deferential to authority and differing arrangements of party systems? Canada and its citizens will one day realize the many deeper things they hold in common that unify them, which will help us in making strides towards true unification.