In Canada Indigenous people live all over, with freedom and rights. However, this is not how it has always been. There is a long and dark history between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian government trying to strip them of who they are. In Michelle Good’s novel, Five Little Indians, there are five characters taken from their families when they are little and sent to a remote, church-run residential school. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the foreign world of downtown Vancouver. They all cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that does not want them. The paths of the five friends criss-cross over the decades as they struggle to overcome or forget the trauma …show more content…
In exploring the strength that comes from telling stories, we also realize stories can strengthen connections, and how stories can heal the broken by revealing what they survived. Through reading Indigenous literature and learning about their history, many stories highlight their strength and resilience to the trauma they endure. We often overlook the stories of Indigenous peoples and the trauma they have to live with on a day-to-day basis. It is challenging to heal from something that was a part of your life, but the strength is shown through being able to tell the stories. Daniel Heath Justice argues that “we can share more than our stories of suffering and scarring” it is also possible to “share our strength, our laughter, our love” (Justice, 185). . Five Little Indians reveals that the best can be made out of any situation and sharing stories does not make you weak. Howie met a girl at the diner he always went to after getting released from prison and “for some reason [he] told her the whole …show more content…
There is no shame in sadness” (Good, 143). Despite the trauma both Howie and Clara have endured, it is important that they share what they have been through and to not show shame for being sad. In addition to strength coming from stories, it is also important to remember that stories can strengthen connections. Indigenous literature does not always focus on the connections between the people that suffer together. Thus, Justice mentions that “our stories help to restore our relationships and remind us of our connections” (Justice, 186). In the novel, Clara and Howie form a friendship, not realizing that they have been through the same hardship. Both of them knew they had attended residential schools, but they did not realize how close they were until Howie “told her about the Mission and was amazed when she confided to him that she had been there too” (Good, 226). This connection is not the only one in the story, they are all connected to the Mission. This highlights that stories really can restore relationships and remind us of connections. Kenny and Lucy reconnecting after years is another example of how stories can strengthen
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,
In the eighteen seventies, residential schools grew to popularity in Canada with an unethical goal and purpose to “kill the Indian in the child”. Stripping away cultural teachings and altering historic facts eliminated self- identity within the Aboriginal community, leading to impoverishment and race discrimination with future generations. Therefore, re-gaining the cultural knowledge and informing the public about the culture can establish self- concept and security. In the graphic novel, The Outside Circle by Patti LaBoucane-Benson (2015), teachings from the Warrior Program leads the group members and their families to discover self-concept, reducing problems experienced as an Aboriginal. Emphasis on historical and cultural Aboriginal studies
Fleras, Augie. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.” Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print.
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.
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
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,...
For decades First Nations people1 faced abuse in Canada's residential school system. Native children had their culture and families torn away from them in the name of solving the perceived “Indian Problem” in Canada. These children faced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of residential school supervisors and teachers. Since the fazing out of residential schools in the 1960's the survivors of residential schools and their communities have faced ongoing issues of substance addiction, suicide, and sexual abuse.2 These problems are brought on by the abuse that survivors faced in residential schools. The government of Canada has established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to address these issues but it has been largely ineffective. Though the Government of Canada has made adequate efforts towards monetary reparations for the survivors of residential schools, it has failed to provide a means to remedy the ongoing problems of alcohol and drug addiction, sexual abuse, and suicide in the communities of residential school survivors.3
“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 over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
Justice has began to commence for many of Canada’s Indigenous people now that considerably one of our Nation’s darkest secrets has been spilled. The Residential School system was a collection of 132 church-run, government-funded boarding schools that was legally required for all Indigenous Canadian children. Canadian Residential Schools ran up until 1996 and, for decades, the secrets from within the walls of the institutions have been hidden. But now, the truth has finally come to light.
Historically, every effort to sanction or regulate the behaviours of Indigenous peoples in Canada were a part of a long stilled effort to control and assimilate Indigenous Canadians into the white Christian Canadian society. The 1876 passing of the Indian Act , legislation that provided a coercive and patriarchal set of directives governing Indigenous culture and education, while also setting arbitrary standards for who was granted status as an Indian (Francis 253). The Indian Act included strict regulations surrounding who was determined a ‘status’ Indian, European settlers enforced patriarchal and christianized views on Indigenous culture — effectively disturbing their power structures and ways of life — and sought to make women subservient in all ways that mattered (Barker 262). The Indian Act’s provisions for status — which ultimately stripped Indigenous women of the ability to independently claim status — represented the goal of social formation over the Indigenous populations ways of life (Barker 262). “On the cultural front, the state outlawed Indigenous religions, cultural practices and languages and distorted the integrity of familial and community structures by removing several generations of children to residential schools” (Francis 253).
The indigenous people of Canada are referred to as ‘Aboriginal people’ who under the Canadian Constitution Act (1982), include three distinct groups: First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. Each of these groups has its own unique history, heritage, cultural practices, spiritual belief and language. Historically, Aboriginal people have been considered ‘self-sufficient and self-governing’ and generally at peace, but since the Europeans came to Canada, Aboriginals have “lost their land, original livelihood, and culture” (Dyck, 2011, pp. 74, 76). Now the history of these aboriginal people is wrought with broken promises, abuse and discrimination at the hands of non-aboriginals.