ART AS A FORM OF RESISTANCE – TURNING A PAINFUL PAST INTO POETRY. Art can be defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. However, on the other hand, Resistance can be defined as the refusal to accept or comply with something or the ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely. Protest art is a broad term that refers to creative works that concern or are produced by activists and social movements. There are also contemporary and historical works and currents of thought that can be characterized in this way. Social movements produce such works as the signs, …show more content…
Like so many writers, Rita Joe poured her heart into her work. With each poem, each line, she made herself vulnerable; exposing her pain in hopes that people would understand her better. It’s what earned her the name “Gentle Warrior”. Joe was a Mi’kmaq woman from Cape Breton and used her writing to teach others about her culture and people. Years after her death, her words are still fighting. Her most poignant piece of work, I Lost My Talk, published in 1978, recounts her years at a residential school in Halifax. “She says, ‘I lost my talk, the talk you took away,’ it’s like her power was taken away from her, but she’s trying to get it back,” Joe’s youngest daughter, Ann Joe, said. Rita Joe went to Shubenacadie Indian Residential School in Halifax in 1944, at the age of 12. For over a century, indigenous children across Canada were separated from their families and sent to residential schools. The religious-based schools were designed to assimilate the children, taking away their culture and language. Many students faced horrendous abuse, neglect and systemic discrimination. Canada only formally apologized for the system in 2008. Her poem I Lost My Talk was her plea to others to understand who she was, who her people
Schissel, Bernard, and Terry Wotherspoon. “The Legacy of Residential Schools.” Inequality in Canada: A Reader on the Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class. 2nd ed. Ed. Valerie Zawilski. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2010. 102-121. Print.
This quote describes how Louise Halfe uses all four common elements of native literature in her writings. I have chosen to discuss two of the elements she frequently uses, Spirituality and Orality in relation to three of her poems: My Ledders, She Told Me and The Heat of my Grandmothers.
Residential schools had a negative impact on Aboriginal people, many children suffered greatly. The government had thought Aboriginal people’s history and culture were not worth preserving.This resulted to loss of culture and assimilation, because they were stripped out of their traditional ways, and taken away from their families.Stephen Harper apologized to the former students enrolled in Indian Residential schools on behalf of the government of Canada. What
First Nations children suffered many forms of abuse at the hands of the Canadian Government (Oh, Canada!) under the guise of residential schools. The purposes of the residential schools were to remove First Nations children from the influence of their families and cultures, and to intergrade them into the dominant culture (The Residential School System). This was done under the assumption that First Nations culture was lesser, “to kill the Indian in the child” as it was commonly said. The children were forcibly separated from their families to live in year-round schools where they were taught “white man” curriculum, with a two-month vacation time, completely separated from their Aboriginal heritage and forbidden from speaking their own languages (The Residential School System). If these rules, along with many others, were broken the punishments were severe (Oh, Canada!). Residential school survivors spoke of their horrible abuse during their time at the schools, including: sexual, physical and psychological (The Psychological and Intergenerational Impacts of the Indian Residential School System). The students received an inferior education, usually only taught up to grade five, training them for manual labor jobs (The Residential School System). The residential school system undermined First Nations culture and disrupted families for generations, leaving severe psychological damage in not only the survivors but also their families and the following generations (The Psychological and Intergenerational Impacts of the Indian Residential School System). Many students grew up without experiencing a family life, never gaining the experience and knowledge necessary to raise a family of their own. The effects of the schools were far reac...
If I were to ask you what is art, and how can one find it? What would you say? Well if it were me being asked those question, I would simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design and it could be found all among us. You may define it differently only because art could be defined in many ways. I could simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design. Well according to an article written by Shelley Esaak, an art history expert she mentioned that art has a way of stimulating different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of emotions in between. She also mentioned that art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. [1]
During the 19th century the Canadian government established residential schools under the claim that Aboriginal culture is hindering them from becoming functional members of society. It was stated that the children will have a better chance of success once they have been Christianised and assimilated into the mainstream Canadian culture. (CBC, 2014) In the film Education as We See It, some Aboriginals were interviewed about their own experiences in residential schools. When examining the general topic of the film, conflict theory is the best paradigm that will assist in understanding the social implications of residential schools. The film can also be illustrated by many sociological concepts such as agents of socialization, class inequality, and language as a cultural realm.
The aftermath of residential schools made native people have nightmares of their past, losing their identity and being abusive themselves. The only good matter that came out of this whole episode was the truth. Justice came to ones that were guilty and the embarrassment to the Canadian government and the churches. In conclusion, residential schools were careless for the ministration staff they put in control to take care of the Aboriginal children.
Providing True Reparation: Changes the Government of Canada Must Make in its Current Policies Towards the Addressing Legacy of Residential School Abuse
“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 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,
During the 19th century Aboriginal people faced a whole lot of discrimination in Canada, their beliefs and culture were considered to be ill-advised, this led to residential schools being opened for Aboriginal kids. When understanding residential schools it is important to look at the cultural impact it left with kids. Dr. Duncan Campbell Scott once declared, “I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.”(Twentieth- Century Education for Native Americans…)This is what sparked the entire problem with Indians and how residential schools came about. But, to what extent was the purpose of Residential schools rooted in cultural misunderstanding of Aboriginals. I will be looking into the purpose of residential schools being instated, activities that went on in residential schools and the impact left on families because of residential schools.
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.
Both Hart and Anaquod were subjected to the cultural assimilation and social isolation that was part of the Canadian government’s policy to “kill the Indian in the child.” Where the goal to transform Indigenous children into productive members of society shifted to abuse and the church and government covering up the secrets of abuse is sitting on a blurred line. On June 11, 2008, the current Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, made a statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools, on behalf of the Government of Canada for the previous government’s actions. “The government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this,” Harper said. “We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities and we apologize for having done this.” Harper noted that many former students have died and are unable to hear the government’s
Most people think that poetry is just a form of entertainment, but it’s really more than that. It’s a way of expressing your feelings and ideas in a creative way. On April 4, 1928, a lady by the name of Marguerite Annie Johnson (Maya Angelou) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She became a major beacon and a representation of what poetry is. She wasn’t just any famous poet, but rather the voice for all of those who could not speak up for themselves and an outlet that opened doors for women of all backgrounds. Her poetry also helped give a sense for what it felt like to be Black in our modern day America. Marguerite didn’t have it easy during her early years of living. Her being an African American and a woman made it really difficult for her to be accepted as a serious poet, author,
Art can be defined in many ways by an individual. One can say that any creative output by a person is considered art. Others contend that art must conform to a societal standard and the basis of the creation should be understood by most intellectual people. For example, some contend that computer-generated images, such as fractals, are not art due to the large role played by a computer. E.O. Wilson states “the exclusive role of the arts is to intensify aesthetic and emotional response. Works of art communicate feeling directly from mind to mind, with no intent to explain why the impact occurs” (218). A simple definition may be that art is the physical expression of the ideals formed by the mind.