Symbolism for Colonialism in Moon of the Crusted Snow In Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Crusted Snow, Rice explores themes of colonialism, Indigenous resilience, and survival of the fittest through the lens of a fictional reservation in Northern Ontario. The dystopian novel dives into the struggles and hardships of one remote Indigenous community. One such difficulty involves the character, Justin Scott, a white man, who oversteps his welcome in the reservation and attempts to drastically change the ways of the Anishinaabe community. From beginning to end, Justin acts as a symbol of the settlers who arrived in Canada and stripped everything from Indigenous communities. First of all, he symbolizes the settler’s indifference and lack of respect towards Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, Justin’s intrusive arrival into the community can be …show more content…
Justin Scott symbolizes the colonial damage that can be done when people of power intrude onto land, take advantage of others, and act only for themselves. Throughout Justin’s time on the reservation, he flawlessly encapsulates the colonizer mindset, believing that he is above the Indigenous people he encounters. As Justin first explains his arrival to the community, his lack of understanding as to why they may be hesitant in bringing him in reflects his ignorance towards Indigenous Peoples past in Canada. Justin states, “‘I come in peace’. Then he started to laugh, a mild chuckle, that quickly escalated into sharp guffaws” (Rice 100). As Justin assumes his presence will be immediately welcomed in the reserve, he displays a complete disregard for Indigenous strength and efficiency. This initial disrespect and ignorance towards the community is indistinguishable from the mindset that colonizers have historically held as they stole land from Indigenous
Eden Robinson’s short story “Terminal Avenue” presents readers with the dystopian near-future of Canada where Indigenous people are subjugated and placed under heavy surveillance. The story’s narrator, Wil, is a young Aboriginal man who struggles with his own inner-turmoil after the suicide of his father and his brother’s subsequent decision to join the ranks of the Peace Officers responsible for “adjusting” the First Nations people. Though “Terminal Avenue” takes place in Vancouver there are clear parallels drawn between the Peace Officers of Robinson’s imagination and the Canadian military sent to enforce the peace during the stand-off at Oka, Quebec in 1990. In writing “Terminal Avenue” Robinson addresses the armed conflict and proposes
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,
The unit readings argue that anthropologists insist that global flows also partake in affecting local practices. The beliefs and customs of the Inuit are accounted for their interaction with the environment, but these factors also interrelate with neighbouring societies, global capitalism, and international NGOs, as Martha of the North describes. The Inuit were used by the Canadian government in a form of racism and cruelty. To affirm sovereignty in the vast arctic land, Canada had to have permanent residences residing within these territories. They had created a façade that they were providing the Inuit with the opportunity of a better life when in reality, they did not care about them at all. The government had less than honest intentions. What the people who represented the nation did to the relocation of the Inuit is unacceptable and its effect can be explained through holism but also goes beyond the concept on an international scale. Global practices influenced the local practices of the Inuit in the High Arctic. The government representatives of Canada at that time did not value the lives of these people and only cared about their own
Subsequently, the readers also learn the story of the Haisla community in Kitimaat. Readers experience her life events as she does, which creates a delicate relationship not established in Maus. When Robinson addresses the reader directly and transitions from the first person to second, "Ignore the tingling sensations and weakness in your arms and legs, which make you want to lie down and never get up" (Robinson 366) it facilitates a vicarious experience for the reader. The change in narrative notifies the reader to pay closer attention to the horrific assimilation of First Nations peoples in Canada, which is often repressed in official historical recounts (Mrak 7). Learning the personal trauma of the protagonist reveals the larger issue of the lasting impact of the residential school system and how post memory still continues to affect First Nations people today. As a reader, empathy is felt towards both horrific tragedies, however, the emotion evoked by Lisa's continued suffering is much greater than that of Art
Razack (20020 defines the historical legacy of the “white settler society” that has dominated the legal and historical rights to land usage in relation to indigenous peoples and people of color. In addition to this problem, Razack (2002) also defines the problem of “mapping” that has allowed a primarily racist Canadian government to marginalize or remove people of color from land ownership and placement in the white hegemonic community. In response tot this, Razack (2002) proposes an “unmapping” method in which the underlying racism of Canadian legal policies can be exposed and reconstructed to resolve the problem of racism in land usage in Canada. These are the important aspects of racial identity and spatial organization that define the conflicts of racism in Canadian law and in the “unmapping” of the “white settler society” that Razack (2002) identifies throughout the
Saul’s journey as a Canadian Aboriginal is a resemblance of what other innocent Aboriginal Canadians experience as a result of the government’s imperialistic policies. One of which being, The Indian Act of 1876, which purpose is to assimilate Indigenous youth into mainstream Canadian society through the Residential School system. Moreover, as Canadians continue to deal with the immensely troubling legacy of residential schooling, Indian Horse makes a prominent input to this ongoing process. Throughout the novel, the impacts of the cultural genocide that Indigenous people encounter through the Residential School system resembles a significant part of Canadian history. In addition, throughout the novel, racism is prevalent and in which signifies the discrimination that continues to exist in today’s society. Many Canadians participate in extracurricular activities, whereas Saul perceives Hockey as an escape for his abuse. Indian Horse, written by Richard Wagamese serves as a powerful novel which purpose is to educate the Canadian population on the darkest moments in Canadian history and where Canada currently stands as a
In Canada, settlement question are always controversial, since European explorers came to Canada, Aboriginal people have been taken over by newcomers. “Totem” is a story that talks about how these newcomers in the art gallery treat totem poles to satirize how the outcome damaged the peaceful life of aboriginal people and how the government chose only to accept the problem but not wanted to actually solve the problem.
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
According to conservative conflict theory, society is a struggle for dominance among competing social groups defined by class, race, and gender. Conflict occurs when groups compete over power and resources. (Tepperman, Albanese & Curtis 2012. pg. 167) The dominant group will exploit the minority by creating rules for success in their society, while denying the minority opportunities for such success, thereby ensuring that they continue to monopolize power and privilege. (Crossman.n.d) This paradigm was well presented throughout the film. The European settlers in Canada viewed the natives as obstacles in their quest of expansion by conquering resources and land. They feared that the aboriginal practices and beliefs will disrupt the cohesion of their own society. The Canadian government adopted the method of residential schools for aboriginal children for in an attempt to assimilate the future generations. The children were stripped of their native culture,...
When a native author Greg Sams said that the reservations are just “red ghettos”, the author David disagree with that. He thinks there must be something else beyond that point. After his grandfather died, he somehow changed his mind. Because he could not think anything e...
The world continually changes and yet Canada refuses to change its views on the Indigenous Peoples. In the novel, Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor, a community is suffering under the thumb of society. The theme of acceptance in history regardless of the pain and suffering is explored to bring more peace. Assimilation has harmed many Indigenous Peoples and their way of life in the story. Their society needs to change to preserve the history of Indigenous Peoples. Everyone who lives in the community must know the truth of the land they stand on. The truth is vague because the trickster hid the truth to prevent the citizens from knowing who he truly is. In order to achieve peace and order, the social norm should be replaced with
John McLeod’s “The Shivering Tree,” the modernized adaptation of an Ojibway myth, is a powerful short story that reflects and represents the impacts of both colonization and decolonization in North America. The Juggler represents colonization and the impacts of decolonization, whereas Nanubush represents the impacts of colonization. Throughout the story, The Juggler reflects on the colonizer. The Juggler’s thievery and greed for power emulate those that colonized; the colonial avarice for silver, gold, slaves, and land reflects that of The Juggler's materialistic vain need for Nanubush’s powerful eyes. “I’ve got the most powerful charms of any conjuror in the north” (McLeod 275), proudly exclaimed The Juggler, explaining his desire for such an item and the
In my cartoon I did a vending machine with everything American Imperialism strived for and the cost for either those values, or physical elements. The vending machine is meant to relate the feeling of how American’s were almost greedy for the stuff in it. It was as simple as clicking two buttons and America got what they want. I say that because on page 280 of our books, it writes how Great Britain and America had a treaty regarding a canal. The next sentence is about how the United States got what they wanted, exclusive rights to build the canal. I personally infer from that, that there was no war or anything behind it. It was simply America getting what we wanted easily and quickly. In short, my cartoon is focused on the negative sides of
The colonization of Canada brought with it many detrimental outcomes to Canadian natives and their land, including genocide, disease and danger. This was a very turbulent time in Canadian history, bringing with it terrible times for the colonized Native people and the rise of the white European colonizers. The effect of post-colonialism on the political structure was that of both weakness and strength. While the politics went from strength to strength for the European settlers and white people of Canada, it had many fatal flaws for the native peoples. They were let down in protection, land rights, safety, and respect.
Audra Simpson contemplates on the issues regarding colonialism since the settlers infringed their sovereignty over indigenous sovereignty. “It [sovereignty] resides in the consciousness of Indigenous peoples, in the treaties and agreements they entered into between themselves and others and is tied to practices that do not solely mean making baskets as your ancestors did a hundred years ago, or hunting with the precise instruments your great grandfather did 150 years ago, in the exact spot he did as well, when witnessed and textualized by a white person.” Once colonialism hit indigenous people in the current US, they were forced to give up their sovereignty and conform to settler’s beliefs but still managed to keep sovereign erotic as their healing and empowerment. In sum, the settlers’ idea of the overthrow of indigenous cultures focuses solely on their defeat and their survival of using practices done from previous generations rather their powerful endurance over their form of sovereignty that emphases on their political and social