Last thoughts (for now) on Indian Affairs at its worst

Say What? No. 1

I blogged yesterday about genocide and its potential link to the history of residential schools in Canada. With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set to begin hearings, I just wanted readers to understand it's not so unthinkable to link our own history ("to kill the Indian in the child") with the ignomy of genocide. However, punishment isn't the purpose of the commission and it doesn't look as if it's going to go in that direction, although there will be sworn testimony in these hearings to break the heart of a nation. As it should be. Broken hearts have been the special burden of aboriginal families for too long.

But last night I got home from Parliament Hill in time to catch the last few minutes of Stolen Children, the excellent documentary series on residential schools that's been running all week on CBC News. (Here's the link for the schedule.) The segment quoted a high-ranking Indian Affairs bureaucrat early in the last century talking about "the final solution" to what he and his contemporaries considered to be "the Indian problem." Their goal was assimilation until there wasn't an Indian left outside the context of mainstream Canadian society but this particular part dealt with a death rate of children in residential schools that was much higher than on reserves.

I turned cold to hear those words, the final solution, in a Canadian context - and filled with shame.

The final solution.

I don't know, maybe I was all wet yesterday to suggest it's for the best the commission's parameters appear to be narrow.

Say What? No. 2

The Assembly of First Nations has worked with Health Canada to set up a helpline for people requiring counselling over residential schools. I suppose the AFN knows what it's doing. Me, I'd want to stay as far away as possible from any agency, including Health Canada, that's any part of a government that caused the problem in the first place, however long ago.

Comments

[Maurice Cardinal]

(edited for length)
Sorry? Talk is cheap.

The federal government of Canada has finally found the time to say "SORRY" to First Nations Canadians.

Many are wondering why Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper chose now to apologize.

Is he really sorry? Or are the Canadian federal and British Columbian provincial governments really concerned that if they don't start to manage Native relationships more carefully that their long running insensitivity towards First Nations Peoples will jeopardize the 2010 Olympics?

Timing is everything.

Regards,
Maurice Cardinal
Author: www.LeverageOlympicMomentum.com

[koby]

The treatment of some 150,000 native school age children over a 129 year period is indeed shameful. However it simply does not merit comparison to killing of 6 million over 6 years.

Two other things should be mentioned. Forced assimilation is an oxymoron. It invariably creates when it seeks only to destroy. This is certainly true of Native Canadian culture. Native cultural identity is a byproduct of vile hair brained attempts at forced assimilation and has been kept strong by the Indian act, native rights and reserve system. Lastly, these vile forced assimilations should not blind us to the fact as just who disastrously bad current policy is. Indeed, imagine how absurd it would be if the government happened to, oh , legally define what it means Chinese, create a department of Chinese affairs, create Chinese rights, reserve land for Chinese so defined and exempt Chinese living on reserve land from paying taxes. No one would doubt that is a recipe for disastrous social relations. So, why would anyone doubt the same about Native Affairs, native rights and native reserves? Privatize reserve land and abolish native rights and comments about "drunken Indians" will become as rare and archaic sounding as "drunken" whatever, Russian.

[Giidaddkunadaad]

I believe that Canada has committed genocide on the Indigenous People more than once. Lets not forget legislated deterioration of Indianess via the Indian Act which dictates how much Indianess you have recieved from either your mother, father, or grandparents this is 'legalized genocide'! And Canada still practices it by dictating the identity of Indigneous Peoples. The intentional spead of disease among Indigneous Persons is/was also genocide. One should ponder if keeping the original people of this continent in desparation related to poverty, social and health issues not also a genocide?