To begin with, in the drama, “Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth,” Anne exhibits acts of resistance that contribute to Indigenous freedom and equity. This emerges following the abduction of Grace/Janice at a young age, where Anne is furious at the authorities and changes the law around adoption of Indigenous children. To illustrate, the text states, “‘It's too bad you never knew your mother better. From what I heard, she really kicked up a fuss after you were taken, once she stopped being afraid of the authorities. I guess taking your child away can really change that fear into anger. Well, whatever, it worked. She rattled some cages.’(Tonto, 49)...‘But did she tell you that because of her fuss, the province decided to try a new program …show more content…
I was placed with the Stones at the age of five and bang, here I am twenty-seven years later, a fine human being. I hear they do that kind of thing in a lot of places now.’(Tonto, 49).” In the course of this scene, Tonto is shown manufacturing an image for Grace to visualize her biological mother, Anne’s resistance and determination against the government. Tonto paints a picture in which Anne is portrayed as a relentless mother who bombards the authorities and storms against the government in order to achieve her goal of regaining the presence of her daughter, Grace. Anne’s act of resistance caused a revolution in the regulations for the adoption of Indigenous children as her fight against the authorities and government changed the trajectory of Tonto’s life from being adopted by an Indigenous family on the same reserve, rather than a foreign family. Tonto was able to maintain his Indigenous culture and norms on account of not being taken from the reserve. In addition, Tonto was also able to see his father after being adopted into a new family. Anne’s act of resistance created freedom for Tonto and other Indigenous children, since the law now states that the foster family must be Indigenous in order to
This distance can lead to confusion and a feeling of being lost in life, which can overwhelm a child and introduce mental health complications like depression. Statistically speaking, almost one in four Métis youth struggle with mood disorders (Statistics Canada). However, this adversity is not simple to overcome, and requires them to develop new experiences in order to foster strength and make confident decisions. Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm is the author of “Sturgeon”, the second poem being analyzed, and a member of the First Nations community. Known for disproportionately high illicit activities, research shows nearly 62% of First Nations members have experienced abuse at least once, compared to only 42% in the rest of the population (Statistics Canada).
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,
A non-guilty verdict in the murder trial of Bradley Barton accused of killing Cree mother of three Cindy Gladue who bled to death from an eleven centimetre internal laceration argues that the wound was the result of rough sex. Gladue known in Edmonton as a sex worker spent two night with Barton in an Edmonton hotel room in June 2011. This essay will argue the appeal that was warranted through looking firstly at feminist analyses of sexual assault and legal consent, secondly, the contexts of intersectional power relations/ interlocking oppressions such as Gladue being a women from a Cree nationality who works as a sex worker, thirdly the problematic notion of Gladue being the bearer
She became the first person to not only indicate the importance of violence, but force them to act through violence. Some take the mother’s stance as if she it trying to teach them protection, as they wont have cops or anyone with authority to defend them, but at a core value, she says, “You let somebody take your brother’s jacket...
On September 14, 1879, Margaret Sanger was born in Corning, New York. She was the sixth child of eleven children and realized early what being part of a large family meant; just making due. Although her family was Roman Catholic both her mother and father were of Irish descent. Her mother, Anne Purcell had a sense of beauty that was expressed through and with flowers. Her father was an Irish born stonemason whose real religion was social radicalism. Her father was a free thinker and strong believer in eugenics which meant Margaret possessed some of the same values. (Sanger, Margaret) Eugenics is the belief that one race is better than a different race just because they are not like them, kind of like Hitler and the holocaust. “He expected me to be grown up at the age of ten.” (Source 4.3 page 30) Coming from a family of eleven children she did have to grow up fast. Faster than most kids should have to. She left her house as a teenager and came back when she needed to study nursing. It was during this time that Margaret worked as a maternity nurse helping in the delivery of babies to immigrant women. She saw illegal abortions, women being overwhelmed by poverty, to many children, and women dying because they had no knowledge of how to prevent one pregnancy after another. This reminded her of the fact that her own mother had eighteen pregnancies, eleven children, and died at the age of forty-nine. Margaret dropped out of school and moved in with her sister. She ended up teaching first grade children and absolutely hated it. She hated children at that time. When Margaret was a child herself however, she would dream about living on the hill where all the wealthy people lived. She would dream of playing tennis and wearing beautiful c...
Canadians are just recently beginning to realize the detrimental aftermath of the years of trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of Canada, such as the survivors of the residential school system. It is often difficult for these people to overcome the impact that follows. Undoubtedly, it requires help and support from others, but these people must make their personal healing journey themselves. The passages “Rock Bottom” by Steven Keewatin Sanderson and the “Legend of the Sugar Girl” by Joseph Boyden prove that although trauma can significantly undermine groups of people, they can overcome their difficulties. Both authors illustrate how trauma negatively affects characters, causes them to fall victim
Retrieved December 6, 2013, from http://www.fncfcs.com/sites/default/files/online-journal/vol3num1/Sinclair_pp65.pdf Smith, C. (2013, September 1). A Legacy of Canadian Child Care: Surviving the Sixties Scoop. Briarpatch Magazine, Part 1. Retrieved December 6, 2013, from http://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/a-legacy-of-canadian-child-care Steckley, J., & Cummins, B. D. (2008). Full Circle: Canada's First Nations (2nd ed.).
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
They loved them so much even though the parents didn’t deserve it most of the time. That is unconditional love. They grew up very poor and were often forgotten about. There dad was an alcoholic who disappeared for days at a time, and bouncing from job to job. When he was home and drinking he “turned into an angry-eyed stranger who threw around furniture and threatened to beat up [their] mom or anyone who got in his way”(23). Most of her memories of her dad are him being drunk, which turns him abusive and rude. They don’t have much money so she looks at is as good opportunity for her father to stop drinking. Jeannette never only sees her dad as an alcoholic like she should, she still cherishes his love. Along with her father’s drinking problem, her mother’s lack of rules and parental skills are out of the norm. She believes "people worry.... “people worry too much about their children. Suffering when they are young is good for them”(28). Her mother believes that they can learn on their own, showing that she does not care about the hardships her children are constantly dealing with in their environment. With this negligence the children are often forgotten about as well. Jeannette was put in many situations where she thought her parents “might not come back for her or they might not notice she was missing”(30). That is not how a child is suppose to feel about her parents yet she constantly
Downey, Michael. “Canada’s ‘Genocide’: Thousands Taken from Their Homes Need Help.” Acting on Words: An Integrated Rhetoric, Research Guide, Reader, and Handbook. Ed. David Brundage, Michael Lahey. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc., 2012. 445-448. Print.
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,...
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
The intimidation is evident when Archer forces her to rethink her divorce, “What harm could such accusations …do me here? My poor child, far more than anywhere else” (91). Archer is telling Ellen that the scandal of her divorce will affect her “far more” in New York’s society than “anywhere else”. The Mingott’s, Ellen’s family, do not want the accusations of her husband to affect their imprint on society and destroy their reputation. Therefore, they must revoke her right to freedom. Wharton writes, “Countess Olenska thought she would be conforming to American ideas in asking for her freedom” (119). Ellen decides to get a divorce from her husband believing that society will support her. When Wharton writes “thought she would be conforming to American ideas”, Countess Olenska foolishly believes that America is civilized enough to give her the freedom she desires. She feels as though “asking for her freedom” will be reinforced by society when in reality it is seen as distasteful.
One way the symbol of the stone manifests itself in the plot of Obasan is its power to make the characters reluctant to explore their past. Despite not being in control of what occurred, many characters in the novel are opposed to bringing up the past as it brings forth pain and shame. Obasan and Uncle especially, were subject to much hardship during the war; Uncle was made to leave his family and enter forced labour, Obasan was handed the responsibility of raising the children and relocating to Slocan. Many years later, Aunt Emily compels her family to be vocal and fight for recognition from the Canadian government and people, a request they immediately shut down. Obasan, the aunt that “lives in stone” (33) according to Naomi, does not want to bring up history saying “It is better to forget” (45).