was to assimilate and integrate Indigenous people into Canadian society. As a result, there wouldn’t be any Aboriginal culture left in Canada. Acts such as the British North American Act was set out to break their culture and identity apart. 1 This process of colonization has not only affected the Indigenous people of Canada, but also Canada as a whole. Therefore, Canadians are working together to fix these problems by reconciliation. The reconciliation efforts has been adequate because more Aboriginal people are sharing their personal experience for awareness and more non-Indigenous Canadians are giving support to the survivors; however, it has fallen short since the government hasn’t affectively took account of key recommendations such as education and child welfare. The Indian residential school systems were a key element to cultural genocide because it destroyed practices that allowed the Aboriginal people of Canada to stay as one group.2 The children of Indigenous people were separated from…
Data Aboriginal peoples are the descendants of the original inhabitants of North America and the Canadian Constitution recognized three groups of Aboriginal people– Indians, Metis, and Inuit. The total population of Aboriginal people in Canada is approximately 1.5 million with the Indians (now refereed to as First Nations) being 57%, the Metis 33% and the Inuit about 10% of the total population of Aboriginal people. (National Aboriginal Health Organization 2003) According to the Public Health…
One reason as to why post colonial rule is still affecting Aboriginal society is by observing the residential school system which continues to have tremendous negative effects on Aboriginal society. To understand how the residential school system has affected today’s Aboriginal society we must observe the harsh conditions many Aboriginal children experienced while in residential schools and link that to why crime rates and incarceration is higher in Aboriginal society then in the rest of Canada.…
When you were released from residential school, what was to happen next? You were discouraged from returning to your home community, and instead, you were forced into an unfamiliar location. The children who did return to their home communities took the ideas of control and abuse from residential schools, and started the cycle of abuse again. (Cedar Project, 2008) There is an estimated 80,000 living residential school survivor. As former children start raising their families, it’s obvious to see…
Residential schools were detrimental to the lives of many Aboriginal People and it is crucial that all people understand and are educated about this piece of history. Since residential schools were the engines of cultural genocide, understanding them is the key to gaining perspective into and fixing many contemporary Aboriginal issues. If all people are not educated on residential schools, there will continue to be a burden on Aboriginal communities and discrimination over contemporary issues…
Aboriginal Youth, the Criminal Justice System, and the Evolution into a Better Canada In a country where our education, laws, and overall societal structures are based on a colonial perspective, Harold Johnson offers an Aboriginal outlook on how First Nations people have lived and struggled under a colonialist Canada. In his book Two Families: Treaties and Government, Johnson examines several issues faced by Aboriginal people today and how a colonial system still contributes to the despair of…
Since 1534 when Jacques Cartier, a French mariner, first stepped foot on Canadian soil, we have been interacting with aboriginal people. A lot has changed in how we treat these Native Americans since the 16th century, but it wasn’t until recently that they were even considered persons. The Indian Act has shown that Canada has tried to bridge relations with the aboriginal people, but it has not been effective due to misreading and the unknown desires of the aboriginal people, resident schools,…
(1). The Indian Act of 1876 essentially passed guardianship of Aboriginal children to the Government of Canada, causing the education of these children to be the responsibility of the government. These Indian Residential Schools were created with the primary aim of assimilating Aboriginal children into “dominant culture” (Harper, 1). In 2008, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, using language indicating time to great effect. This use…
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The exhibit will be located on level seven of the inspiring change gallery. The art featured in the exhibit has been created by Aboriginal artists and represents the pain and suffering of residential school victims. Art pieces in the exhibit include a guitar which was hand painted by Metis artist Christina Belcourt, which represents music as an escape for residential school victims, as well as a means self-expression and healing. It is exhibits like…
Aboriginal peoples have a prolonged history which includes spiritual and cultural traditions. Most of which were taken away upon the arrival of European settlers. Many of the issues that the Europeans brought on are still influential today. The forced introduction of European cultures and values and the dispossession of aboriginal lands caused a period of spiritual, social, and physical destruction. The aboriginal peoples have been discriminated and have been segregated from others due to coming…