Present day Canada encourages multiculturalism -- but that has not always been the case. In the late 1800s and early 1900s residential schools were prevalent in most parts of Canada. People of Aboriginal descent were stripped of their language, cultural identity, freedom and traditions. Upon analysis of the excerpt from Thomas Highway’s novel, Kiss of the Fur Queen, one can conclude that there are many symbolic interactionist concepts within the excerpt. This short paper will concentrate on the symbolic interactionist concepts of social conventions, role-taking, and nonconformity that are demonstrated in Highway’s excerpt Kiss of the Fur Queen.
There are an insurmountable amount of cultural expectations that guide our everyday interactions with others, and humans are socialized to behave according to what is acceptable in a society. These expectations are known as 'social conventions' or 'norms' (Karp, 2004, Pg.8). The main objective of the residential schools were to take aboriginal people out of their own culture and assimilate them into the dominate culture. In this environment, the authorities had the power to define the social conventions (Brock, 2013). This was extremely hard for the aboriginal people because the ideology of what was acceptable changed, and they
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were forced to live by new terms. In Highway’s excerpt, the boy named Champion is admitted to a residential school and has to cut off all of his hair and change his name from champion to a more acceptable name—Jerimiah (Highway, 1998). It was an acceptable norm in his cultural setting to have long hair and a cultural name. Champion is forced to adapt to these new social conventions and, in a sense, go through a new socialization process. Although, analyzing this issue at a macro-level, one can predict that the restriction of multiple cultures could have caused a long-lasting effect on societal change and social stability. Sociologist George Herbert Mead defines role-taking as “the capacity to adjust one’s behaviour in response to particular social situations” (Karp, 2004, pg.42). As stated in the Sociology in Everyday Life textbook, role-taking involves two parts: “(1) people anticipating the responses that others are going to make toward them, and (2) people evaluating their own behaviour in terms of the anticipated responses of others” (Karp, 2004, pg.42). If authority of a residential school is telling you to forget all cultural aspects of your previous self, for example, and you do behave as expected, then there won’t be any consequences. If you were to partake in the role of a proud aboriginal however, there would be subsequent consequences, sometimes even of a life threatening nature. Expressions such as pride and shame illustrate the principle of role taking (Karp, 2004, pg.42).
Champion illustrates similar expressions when he gets his haircut. For example, when Champion finishes his haircut, he feels "humiliated", showing his expression of shame. When he is asked what his name is, however, he continually insists that his name is Champion Okimasis-- not Jeremiah Okismasis, which shows his expression of pride. He finally stops arguing, has "no strength left", and begins to bawl (Highway, 1998) Due to the authorities' response to Champion, he may in the future avoid arguing, and succumb to the role change to avoid the remorse, humiliation and embarrassment (Karp, 2004,
pg.42). “When behaviours seriously deviate from societal expectation, they are defined as deviance or nonconformity” (Karp, 2004, pg.50.) In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Aboriginal people as a whole were viewed as deviant because they did not look or behave like the majority of Canadians. Champion shows a sense of nonconformity when Brother Stumbo asks him repeatedly what his name is. Champion does not reply with the name he is given, Jeremiah Okimasis, instead he "[refuses] to admit defeat" (Highway, 1998) and insists that his name has not changed. It becomes clear that Champion’s name carries a sense of pride and meaning to him that he does not want to let go of. In conclusion, by using symbolic interactionist concepts in describing a simple excerpt from Thomas Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen, one can understand that there is more to the excerpt than the struggles of an aboriginal boy being admitted into a residential school. When critically analyzing, one can truly understand the concept of social conventions, role-taking and nonconformity that are demonstrated in the simple, short, haircut scene.
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,
Though the film mentioned the impact that residential schools had and still has on the aboriginal people, I felt that this issue needed to be stressed further because the legacy of the schools is still extremely prominent in aboriginal communities today. The film refers to the fact that residential schools harmed the aboriginal people because they were not able to learn their culture, which has resulted in the formation of internalized oppression within in the group. “The...
This again shows the traumatic effects of residential schools and of cultural, psychological, and emotional upheaval caused by the intolerance and mistreatment of Aboriginals in Canada. Settlers not only displaced Aboriginal people from their land and their homes, but they also experienced emotional trauma and cultural displacement.
In Eden Robinson’s novel, Monkey Beach, there is a reoccurring aspect of the impacts residential schools have on aboriginal people. This viscous cycle of residential schooling involves removing children from their homes, disrupting cultural practices, punishing and abusing helpless children, and then sending them home to their parents who are also taught the same unhealthy behaviours. The purpose of residential school is to assimilate children into western culture, as indigenous cultures are seen as inferior and unequal. Due to residential school systems, there is an opposing force between Haisla culture and settler traditions; settler knowledge being of evident dominance, which results in suffering to the indigenous peoples on various levels:
...to identity with at least one of the countries predominate languages, English or French, dictated the degree in which they could participate in Canadian life. According to the Commission, this participation was real under two conditions: “that both societies, the French-speaking as well as the English-speaking, accept[ed] newcomers much more rapidly than they have done in the past; and that the two societies willingly allow other groups to preserve and enrich, if they so desire, the cultural values they prize[d]” (RCBB Book 1 xxv). It creates an interesting take on the acceptance of those “othered” groups, as change was necessary not only on the part of the minorities but also from Canada’s French and English-speakers. The Commissions work remains focused on language and culture, more so than ethnicity amongst a bilingual, bicultural and “othered” Canadian society.
In the opening passage of Tomson Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen, Abraham Okimasis, a caribou hunter participating in an intense race, strives to reach the finish line with his exhausted self and huskies. Although the chance of success is slim, he perpetuates. Through the use of literary devices, Highway captures Okimasis’ breathless experience during the race; notably, he emphasizes the significance of past promises in empowering one to overcome obstacles to reach his or her ultimate goal.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the government began abolishing the compulsory residential school education among Aboriginal people. The government believed that Aboriginal children could receive a better education if they were integrated into the public school system (Hanson). However, residential schools were later deemed inappropriate because not only were the children taken away from their culture, their families and their people, but the majority of students were abus...
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. First, is because of the attitudes of European Canadians towards aboriginals, which were mostly cruel and inhumane.
The current generation of native people in Canada are greatly impacted by efforts made by the Canadian government that forced previous generations to assimilate and give up their culture. Most of the fifth generation of native people are not directly impacted by the atrocities that forced their people to give up their culture for the benefit of others; however, their diminished cultural identity is a result of it. Parents who are raising the fifth generation have difficulty passing on their Indian identity to their children (Deiter-McArthur 381). The parents and grandparents of the fifth generation were raised in the residential school system, where they were stopped from showing affection or love for one another even if it was their own brother or sister. This results in a lack of ability for some of them to show love toward their children (Maniitok). Another e...
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,...
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 ...
What do the works, “As Canadian as Possible under the Circumstances” and “I’m not the Indian you had in mind” have in common? The dissection of these writing pieces revealed that they do in fact have multiple similarities. Those ideas are the use of identity, stereotypes as well as double meanings.
Residential schools undoubtedly created detrimental inter-generational consequences. The dark legacy of residential schools has had enduring impact, reaching into each new generation, and has led to countless problems within Aboriginal families including: chemical dependence, a cycle of abuse in families, dysfunctional families, crime and incarceration, depression, grief, suicide, and cultural identity issues (McFarlan, 2000, p. 13). Therefore, the inter-generational consequence...
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 government’s goal of the Residential School System was to remove and isolate the children from their families and their culture in order to assimilate the Indigenous race to the dominant new Canadian culture. What the citizens did not know about was the