The Fetal Diaries #34: Behind Canada’s Mask
I have been thinking about writing about this subject for a while now, but was never sure if I should. I wasn’t even sure how to relate it to tckid.com. Unsure, until I read jackrabbit’s posts on Native Reservations. This, then, gave me a reason to write about why places so unexpected of Canada exists, just as jackrabbit had described it. Maybe it doesn’t relate to TCKs, but the subject itself tells us a story of cultures clashing, and teaches us a lesson.
I am only an immigrant to Canada. I never looked at it as a home, or anything remotely close. The reality is that the majority of the Canadian population today is made up of immigrants, or descendants of immigrants. Who are the real pioneers of this vast land, anyways? The First Nations, my friends, are the pioneers of Canada and most of the United States. But where are they now? For some reason, the rest of the world barely even know anything about them. Even I didn’t know anything about them, besides the fact that the Disney movie, Pocahontas, was based on their culture and peoples. Nothing, until I moved to Canada. So, what happened? Residential schools happened, Canada’s own version of a cultural genocide.
In 1884, the Indian Act was amended to make attendance in Residential schools compulsory for status Indians under the age of 16 until they reached 18 years of age. By 1920, another amendment to the Indian Act made it mandatory for parents to send their children to these schools. They were government-funded and were run by the church, and were located in every province in Canada, except Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. One hundred thirty of such schools existed between 1884 to 1996.
When I said compulsory, I meant it. Those that refused to attend were forcibly removed from their homes. Most children didn’t see family - not even their siblings who were usually in the same school - for up to 10 months at a time. They were prohibited to speak their own language, play games they learned from home and were punished in unimaginable ways possible. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse were not rare. Deaths weren’t even uncommon.
Residential schools started because of the colonial peoples of Canada viewed the First Nation’s culture ‘uncivilized’ and so decided to assimilate these people into doing things the ‘normal way’. They thought that the best way to do this is start young through educating these First Nations children. Here’s a direct quote made by Duncan Campbell, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1913 to 1932, quoted in J. Leslie and R. Maguire, eds., The Historical Development of the Indian Act, 2nd ed. (Ottawa Treaties and Historical Research Centre, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1978), p.115:
“I want to get rid of the Indian problem. Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question. Education is int he forefront of their requirements now.”
There was even a documentary we had to watch in my Social Studies class. This 70 something year old First Nations woman talked about how a girl that sat beside her died. She couldn’t even do anything - she was too scared. At this point of the documentary, I was horrified. I have heard similar stories of children being abused in schools all over the world, but in such large numbers, it was terrifying, to say the least.
Residential schools only started to close up around 1969, when the federal government started to take over the running of the schools. The first resedential school civil claims are filed on 1988. Many Canadians now believe that the Residential Schools are the cause for all the problems First Nations people have today. By problems, I mean alarmingly high suicide rates among the First Nations people, loss of culture and identity, alcohol and drug abuse, emotional problems such as feeling unloved or uncared for, and lack of positive role models. This is also the reason why places like Native Reservations, just as jackrabbit had described it, exist.
On June 11, 2008, the Canadian government made a public apology.
“Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and has no place in our country,” says Harper. “The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry.”
- Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister
The ending is bittersweet to most. Many have suffered already, and although there has been a sincere apology made, it’s already too late for others. However, some see it as an opportunity to start new.
At the start of my Social Studies class this year, I always wondered why this certain First Nations girl always spoke out against Residential Schools. I didn’t know anything about it, until we talked and learned about it in class. Now I know why. Cultures will always clash, but something like attempting a cultural genocide shouldn’t happen again. I’m not even directly linked to it, but somehow, it has taught me so many things, and touched my heart, and hopefully, it has done so for you too.
For more about Residential schools, visit: http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/
June 25th, 2008 at 1:27 am
Cultural superiority, and in that sense, ethno-nationalism, is one of the tricky bits about politics today.
About 100 years ago, Self-Determination was the flavor of the decade. Ethnicities and countries were tired of being ruled as empires and wanted to rule themselves. The 19th century was, more than any other, a century of nationalism.
Germany and Italy wouldn’t exist today if someone hadn’t got it into their minds to say “Hey you know what? I think it’d be good if we could all call ourselves one thing.” I suppresses, to some extent, the local cultures that were there before, but in some sense to the greater benefit of everyone.
Indonesia works this way. In order to undermine the Japanese, and later resist the Dutch, nationalists had to encourage the idea of being Indonesian, rather than Javanese, Sumatran, Acehnese and the rest of it. Indonesia would fragment into a thousand pieces if anyone managed a real sense of independence, which was why East Timor and Aceh were so important.
While that’s not the same as the wanton and intended slaughter, cultural and popular, of the natives in the Americas, it’s still important.
In the face of the greater practicality and competitivesness of the European Union, individual countries are afraid that they would be sacrificing both culture AND power to a central authority. It’s a legitimate concern, though the political advantages of a united Europe are obvious: to compete with Russia, the US and China, Europe can’t deal with them piecemeal anymore. So that sense of *European* nationalism (and identification with being European first, and French/German/Whatever second) is important.
So while countries have done and are still doing it, there are some pretty good reasons for it, so long as the original culture doesn’t suffer too much.
I suppose the difference in Australia, the US and Canada is that often it wasn’t for everyone’s benefit. The trouble is that the people of the time thought it would be, that they would be civilizing savages.
Possibly, isn’t that how all these other countries see it? The way the Russians see the Chechens, the Chinese see Tibet, Indonesians see Aceh, the Spanish the Bascos, and so on? The difference isn’t all that great, and it forces you to balance ethics with politcal fluidity.
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June 25th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Hey Krstine! See? you can write abt the teenage issues ANd the ’social’ones very well.
I found your post very interesting as i have read abt the US and Canada’s first contact with the Native Americans (is that being PC? What are they called now? Correct me if i am wrong ‘cos i have no clue.)but not much abt the affects today (there is nothing in Aus abt that).
Unfortunately, what happened to the First Nation (is that what they’re called now??)happened elsewhere.
When did Canada apologize to them?
In Australia, the apology was not just seen as an apology for what had happened, but an *acknowledgment* of it. Because the then PM and some of his cabinet i nthe past had denied the existence of the Stolen Generations. That’s the difference, i think, abt the apologies.
Good post. Keep it up.
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June 25th, 2008 at 4:43 am
Bravo.
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June 28th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Kristine,
This is the best fetus diary I’ve read so far! Your maturity makes the important points cross!
I am proud of what you’ve written here. I visited the website. I was sad to read this:
“CBC Television crew visits the school to salute Education Week — and here, the education is all about how to integrate into mainstream Canadian society.”
Who defines “integrating into mainstream society” education? this is abomination!
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