Canada’s history consists of many backgrounds coming together to form a single great nation. Before the Europeans discovered our home and native land, there were colonies occupying regions whom the Europeans called the Indians. Throughout hundreds of years, the Indians and Europeans learned to cohabitate which laid the foundations of what we know as Canada. As visualized in his short story “A Short History of Indians in Canada”, Thomas King writes about the Indians who fly into buildings on a busy Toronto street as a caucasian businessman looks on in confusion. A lighthearted piece lies on top of a complex dive into the history of Aboriginal settlement in Canada. As the years in our country progressed, Western invasions and wars threatened …show more content…
Canada has grown to be one of the most multicultural countries in the world, but it would not have been possible without the primary settlers, or the Indigenous peoples. European settlement did not reach Canadian land until the 1600’s, however, the land was already occupied by Aboriginal tribes. The tribes survived using various methods, for example the Cree and Dene of the Northwest were hunter-gatherers, while the Iroquois were farmers. The native way of life changed drastically when Europeans arrived, and many died of European diseases because they had no immunity. This was the start of Western invasion on Aboriginal soil, as they were no longer the only inhabitants of Canada. As the years passed, the Europeans introduced “residential schools” which were government-sponsored religious schools intended to teach Indigenous children to conform to Euro-Canadian culture. The children were forced to attend, and banned from using their native language or practicing any traditions. They faced various forms of abuse and segregation for years as these residential schools continued. Parents and children had enough and led resistance to finally close the last school in 1996. The Indigenous peoples fight to end this mistreatment was a step in the right direction, but did not change the opinions of judgemental citizens who continued to view natives as inferior. Thomas King touches …show more content…
Tens of thousands of warriors fought American settlers to defend their land and independence. Although it is unclear who really won the War of 1812, many aboriginal warriors lost their lives to ensure cultural identity and freedom for generations to come. In late 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was introduced. This treaty ended the war and stated that all rights, possessions, and privileges were to be returned to Aboriginal peoples affected by the conflict of the war, including their land. Although this treaty would have brought back peace to the Indigenous communities, none of the terms in the agreement were honoured. In the American viewpoint, Indian presence obstructed the ability to expand their terrain. In the story, the Indians falling into the buildings represented the Indians at the end of the War of 1812, with no voice or rights “They're nomadic, you know, says Rudy. And migratory.” (King 205). American settlement left the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities with no land of their own, causing them to become nomadic much like in King’s story. The same settlers who founded Canadian land were exploited and left displaced, damaging the cultural identity they fought to the death for. This extensive conflicting past continues to elicit hostile behaviour towards First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities due to Western ideology. Facing this discrimination in identity,
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...
Throughout history, there has been a continuous movement of people, including European settlers and aboriginal tribes. The movement of these two groups of people has assisted in shaping and refining the world as we know it today. With each moving experience these groups of people had their own set of challenges and various difficult aspects present at various times throughout their journey. Whether they faced a foreign language upon arrival, or the difficulty with navigating a new place, challenges became their norm. A specific movement of people would be the Europeans arriving in Atlantic Canada and having contact with various aboriginal tribes. During the fifteenth century, the Europeans set out to find new land, natural resources and spices. The Europeans had contact with one particular group of aboriginals known as the Beothuk, who resided in Newfoundland. The relationship with this tribe and the European settlers was like no other. The conflict between these two groups was quite evident and caused trouble between the Beothuk and Micmac as well. The Beothuk tribe no longer exist. There are various reasons why researchers and historians believe this tribe has disappeared,one of which would be their way of life. The disappearance of this tribe has provoked a great
Until the 16th century, Aboriginal people were the only inhabitants of what is now Canada, hence, they were an independent and self-governing people till the Europeans had the capacity to dominate Canada's original inhabitants and possessors (Elias 1). The European Invasion brought about The 1876 Indian Act, which was developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislation regarding Aboriginal peoples across Canada such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869. In 1876, these acts were consolidated as the Indian Act (Hanson). This essay aims to explain how the Indian Act tried to destroy the Aboriginal culture through residential schools and unequal recognition of women, successive acts,
To start off, I’ll be writing about the life of people in British North America and its significance towards unifying Canada, as well as background knowledge of conflicts that existed. Life in British North America was changing at an alarming rate. New technology and services were being introduced such as railways and steamships. Industries such as building, producing and farming were being introduced. This was in part due to the many immigrants from Britain and France who’d settled. This was dreadful for the First Nations as their land had been taken away even more so than before. More resources were needed for the growing crowd so trade agreements were made. As more people came, the First Nations were even more distanced from the Europeans. Meanwhile, the French and the British wanted the other’s culture to be erased from the
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
“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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Sioui is trying to change the conversation and empathetically call for a change to the way that Canadian history is taught. He points out that “there are two sides to our country’s history, one of which, the Aboriginal one, is almost completely unknown” (Sioui, 312). Sioui makes it quite clear that more must be done to create a multi-faceted vision of history that is truthful and inclusive.
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.
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
Most people are trapped into believing that Canada is a very diverse place to live as it welcomes many cultures, but do not realize what happens to their culture when they have lived in Canada after time. Throughout the stories Simple Recipes by Madeleine Thien and A Short History of Indians in Canada by Thomas King, the authors tell the actions of what is happening in the characters lives to show the stripping of other cultures when they come to Canada. These two stories reveal how difficult it can be to be a person with a different culture existing in Canadian society.