The Importance Of Aboriginal Rights In Canada

Since time immoral, Aboriginal people and their ancestors have settled and lived in North America. With contact of European settlers, came severe oppression and genocide. Since contact, Aboriginal people have led an uphill battle, fighting with the Canadian government for Aboriginal freedom and equality. Many suggest that Canadians still should be held morally responsible for the crimes committed against our indigenous peoples, such as the implementation of Canadian residential schools and aboriginal sterilization. Others suggest that Canadians can not be held morally responsible for actions committed by those so long ago. Canadians over time have taken steps to assure aboriginal rights remain secure and have implemented changes to the legal system. The partial genocide of aboriginals using small pox blankets, for example, would no longer be legally permissible. Canadians also have taken and separated church from state. With these obvious changes, many Canadians feel morally irresponsible as present Canadians have taken steps to ensure Aboriginal oppression doesn 't reoccur. Though both arguments are feasible, Canadians still hold the responsibility to aboriginal peoples, for the

Aboriginal reserves date back to the early seventeenth century, where catholic missionaries introduced them to New France in order to convert Aboriginals to Catholicism. To this day hundreds of thousands of aboriginals continue to live in poor living conditions on reserves throughout Canada. Through the Royal Proclamation of 1763, Aboriginal people of Canada obtained a significant and yet unspecified area, which is now owned by copious amounts of private and public owners. Still, today, aboriginals are in constant dispute with the government as to which land they have rights too, continuing a version of historic ignorance and