If we treat everyone how we treated the First Nations, the world would be a terrible place to live. The First Nations were assimilated into modern day society through many things including; residential schools, racism, and the thoughts and beliefs the Europeans presented to them. This was a dark time for Canadians and there will always be a dent in our name because of what we did. How the First Nations were assimilated, how imperialism affected them, and what has been caused are the key points in which I will be talking about today. Nobody wants to live in a world where you aren’t accepted.
The First Nations were assimilated through a series of things. First off, the treaties. The Europeans proposed treaties where they would steal their land in return for things like food and supplies. The Europeans not only lied and didn’t follow their word, but were also slowly stealing their culture. With the land the First Nations owned, there was special ceremonies and traditions that would be forgotten when they gave it to the Europeans. Secondly, residential schools were created after the passing of the Indian Act in 1876. The government was required to provide indigenous youth with an education and integrate them into society. Life at a residential school was not fun. Students spent half the say in a classroom, and the other working. The theory behind this was that students would learn skills that would allow them to be successful adults. The
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food was bad, clothing was ratty, and the lessons were taught in French and English in which no one spoke. The overall experience was awful and was unfair to the Aboriginals. Imperialism affected the First Nations in a majority of ways.
If the Europeans didn’t want to extend their power then why would they come to the new land in the first place? Everything that happened to the aboriginals was because of imperialism. The whole reason the Europeans tried assimilated them was because of passed events leading up to the Indian Act. Imperialism is certainly, to me, imperialism was the whole reason behind everything that happened to the First Nations. From assimilation, to being kicked off their own
land. Our past actions have affected us in good and bad ways. There’s little to no First Nation clans left, almost all of their cultures are dead, and if you ever want a friendly reminder of what we did to them just ask one of the disguised aboriginals standing next to you. Residential schools have left scars in many people's heads and completely abolished any sort of beliefs the First Nations had beforehand. The idea of Eurocentrism and Imperialism left them with little land and broken promises. The single good thing that happened because of the harshness of the white man was the fact that most First Nations decided to go with the flow and act like the Europeans. They figured that if you can’t beat em, join em. So after everything that happened I guess the Europeans are happy because they got what they wanted. In Conclusion, the Europeans got what they wanted; land, and abolishment of the First Nations. As a final thought I’d like to explain some of the ideas I’ve come up with as to how aboriginal people could be integrated into society in a more efficient, effective manner. My first idea would be to ask the person if they wanted to be changed or not, if the person doesn’t even want to be assimilated why try? The second thing I’d do would be to set out a program for Aboriginals where the leader would teach them proper language, ways to do things, and skills necessary to live a successful life. Finally, the last thing I would do to assimilate First Nations people would be to just put them in an environment where they feel welcome and aren’t discriminated against. The way the Europeans just came in and stole the First Nation’s land is still unacceptable to me, however, we can’t change the past. We can only change the future and what we are going to do about it.
Pre-World War One, Canada was looked upon not only by foreigners, but also by Canadians, as being just a British Colony.
Today there are more than a million Indians in America in all phases of development, some still attempting to adjust to American civilization, others completely Americanized and some still holding on to their Native heritage. There are 300 federal Indian reservations and about 21 state reservations present in the United States today. These reservations are considered sovereign nations, however these people still poses American citizenship. In my opinion, the process of assimilation in the United States was an extremely cruel and unnecessary one. Although it did work out for the best in the long run and today the Indian Americans have the freedom to live the way they chose on their reservations, I firmly believe that the process of getting to where we are today could have been much better had it taken a different route.
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
The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.
Living in Canada, there is a long past with the Indigenous people. The relationship between the white and First Nations community is one that is damaged because of our shameful actions in the 1800’s. Unnecessary measures were taken when the Canadian government planned to assimilate the Aboriginal people. Through the Indian Act and Residential schools the government attempted to take away their culture and “kill the Indian in the child.” The Indian Act allowed the government to take control over the people, the residential schools took away their culture and tore apart their families, and now we are left with not only a broken relationship between the First Nations people but they are trying to put back together their lives while still living with a harsh reality of their past.
Residential schools were first established in the 1880's to solve Canada's “Indian Problem”. Settlers in Canada thought of the First Nations people as savages, and the goal of the residential schools was to civilize them and integrate them in to white Canadian society. The first operators of residential schools thought of their forced integration as a benefit to native peoples. One of the overseers of residential schools wrote to the Sisters in charge of St. Joseph's Mission at Williams Lake that “It now remains for ...
“To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.
The Canadian and American governments designed a residential school system to assimilate Indigenous children into Western society by stripping them of their language, cultural practices as well as their traditions. By breaking these children’s ties to their families and communities, as well as forcing them to assimilate into Western society; residential schools were a root cause of many social problems, which even persist within Aboriginal communities today.
The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,
The question that is often brought to our nations attention is whether or not incremental equality for First Nations children is compatible with reconciliation. When considering my personal opinion, the two are in fact compatible with one another. However, Canada is still working towards reconciliation but still has not completely reached it. The working towards reconciliation within First Nations children is seen throughout many aspects in Canada. Firstly, incremental equality is trying to be reached through education. Next, incremental equality is working towards being met throughout health systems as well as behaviors. Lastly, incremental equality for First Nations children is moving towards reconciliation throughout the physical environments
The creation of the Residential Schools is now looked upon to be a regretful part of Canada’s past. The objective: to assimilate and to isolate First Nations and Aboriginal children so that they could be educated and integrated into Canadian society. However, under the image of morality, present day society views this assimilation as a deliberate form of cultural genocide. From the first school built in 1830 to the last one closed in 1996, Residential Schools were mandatory for First Nations or Aboriginal children and it was illegal for such children to attend any other educational institution. If there was any disobedience on the part of the parents, there would be monetary fines or in the worst case scenario, trouble with Indian Affairs.
The First Nations of Canada lived off the land, had colourful and in depth ceremonies and cultures, and lived in harmony with the other tribes, that is until the Europeans came to Canada. Initially, the relationship was positive for both groups, attaining new ressources and information but that relationship slowly corroded. With the Europeans, diseases were brought over which decimated Indigenous people. The English and French rivalry continued in the New Land and both European countries allied with different First Nation Tribes, causing a divide between First Nation groups. After the English won over Canada they constructed buildings called Residential Schools. The objective of this buildings was to convert First Nations into Europeens. In order to do that, young Aboriginal children needed to be taken away from their families and tribes. The Europeens would teach them english, europeen habits, and most of all, take away their culture. The First Nation culture was their entire identity and it was how they were different than the Europeans and even other tribes. The young children's long, culturally symbolic hair was immediately trimmed to a shorter, Europeen look. The Europeans also used methods similar to torture in order “ take the First Nation out of them”, such as physical, verbal, and sexual harassment. The impact of
Native Americans inhabited North America for hundreds of years before European colonists came here. They had established their own culture and way of life, which they cherished and had no desire to change. The American citizens did not like that the Native Americans were different then them, and began to try and force assimilation into their society onto the Indians. Many Americans believed that religion and education would be the key to making the Native Americans assimilated into the American society, which we see in the two books Talking Back to Civilization and The Cherokee Removal. In The Cherokee Removal we have Sally M. Reece’s Letter to Reverend Daniel Campbell and Nancy Reece’s Letter to Reverend Fayette Shepherd showing this idea
The First Nations once walked the vast lands of North America as a free, simple, semi-nomadic group that was dependent on their surrounding environment where culture and social interactions were intertwined. This peaceful interaction between the First Nations and the environment was disrupted and destroyed with the invasion of the Europeans. Culture, land and all aspects of life were abruptly taken away from the Indigenous people, leaving them to be suppressed and assimilated. They were also stripped from interacting with the environment for resources which were essential in shaping a way of life. The invasive Europeans greatly disturbed the environment and implemented eurocentric value systems which were beneficial for successfully imposing
In ending, the Pass System was an atrocious, but successful attempt to assimilate the First Nations people in Canada. In my opinion, the Pass System was not honorable and only concluded with negative contributions in the Canadian society and the First Nation’s society. I conclude that there could have been vastly different ways to work through these problems. Considering if the Canadian Government had implemented different ideas other than the Pass System I presume that there would be less confrontation and hostility between the two societies which would have resulted with living in