Learning about my country and it ain't all good
This weekend I started reading Tanya Talaga's investigative book Seven Fallen Feathers. It's about the death of seven Indigenous boys in Thunder Bay. As a Canadian you are taught about native culture. I spent 2 years in Calgary, AB and we were educated about the plains natives and the Iroquois. I've been to Billings, Montana and toured Custer's last stand. My uncle taught on native reserves in northern Saskatchewan and as a child I used to visit. I remember they were poor, there was always a mangy dog tied to a post, there was one general store and the houses were depressing. I remember in Saskatoon, SK the natives were at the mall all the time and my cousins hung out with a lot of native kids. I took it for granted. I knew they were different from me and I knew they lived on reservations. My family didn't talk much about them at all.
What I didn't learn about was the residential schools or that 80 % of native children in native treatment centers have been sexually abused. Or that the RCMP would go into native family homes and forcibly remove their children to be put into residential schools. That approximately 6000 native children died in the residential schools where they were being preyed upon by pedophiles and experimented on by Canadian scientists. Or that Winnipeg was filtering fresh lake water that was meant to be for the reservations. That during the tsunami Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin ensured that foreigners received aid while our own people lacked for clean water and sewage systems or electricity.
This book is incredibly well researched and informative. I've always struggled with how I feel about Canadian natives. I didn't fully understand why they were unable to assimilate into Canadian society but the more I read and learn the more I understand the obstacles that prevent assimilation. The inherent Canadian racism, the history of cultural genocide the Canadian government subjected them too. The way of life that goes back hundreds and hundred of years. The fact that they were here first. That we were the bad guys and have not been able to remedy the issue. Prime Minister Trudeau has opened up a dialogue on this issue and brought the problem into the public arena where it can't be hidden or swept under the carpet. I think that's the first step. I may not understand why this is happening but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. If I am going to preach tolerance and unity I need to start at home.
I highly recommend this book. In fact I think every Canadian should read this book. These boys could be our sons. Yet they are not treated how our sons would be treated. And by this, I mean our white middle class teenage boys. These kids are taken hundreds of miles away from their homes in remote communities, dropped in Thunder Bay with few resources and sent to poorly resourced high schools with limited funding and lack of adult support. This is a systemic problem that needs to be discussed and visible to the public. I know my heart is breaking. I felt such sadness for these kids.
This weekend I started reading Tanya Talaga's investigative book Seven Fallen Feathers. It's about the death of seven Indigenous boys in Thunder Bay. As a Canadian you are taught about native culture. I spent 2 years in Calgary, AB and we were educated about the plains natives and the Iroquois. I've been to Billings, Montana and toured Custer's last stand. My uncle taught on native reserves in northern Saskatchewan and as a child I used to visit. I remember they were poor, there was always a mangy dog tied to a post, there was one general store and the houses were depressing. I remember in Saskatoon, SK the natives were at the mall all the time and my cousins hung out with a lot of native kids. I took it for granted. I knew they were different from me and I knew they lived on reservations. My family didn't talk much about them at all.
What I didn't learn about was the residential schools or that 80 % of native children in native treatment centers have been sexually abused. Or that the RCMP would go into native family homes and forcibly remove their children to be put into residential schools. That approximately 6000 native children died in the residential schools where they were being preyed upon by pedophiles and experimented on by Canadian scientists. Or that Winnipeg was filtering fresh lake water that was meant to be for the reservations. That during the tsunami Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin ensured that foreigners received aid while our own people lacked for clean water and sewage systems or electricity.
This book is incredibly well researched and informative. I've always struggled with how I feel about Canadian natives. I didn't fully understand why they were unable to assimilate into Canadian society but the more I read and learn the more I understand the obstacles that prevent assimilation. The inherent Canadian racism, the history of cultural genocide the Canadian government subjected them too. The way of life that goes back hundreds and hundred of years. The fact that they were here first. That we were the bad guys and have not been able to remedy the issue. Prime Minister Trudeau has opened up a dialogue on this issue and brought the problem into the public arena where it can't be hidden or swept under the carpet. I think that's the first step. I may not understand why this is happening but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. If I am going to preach tolerance and unity I need to start at home.
I highly recommend this book. In fact I think every Canadian should read this book. These boys could be our sons. Yet they are not treated how our sons would be treated. And by this, I mean our white middle class teenage boys. These kids are taken hundreds of miles away from their homes in remote communities, dropped in Thunder Bay with few resources and sent to poorly resourced high schools with limited funding and lack of adult support. This is a systemic problem that needs to be discussed and visible to the public. I know my heart is breaking. I felt such sadness for these kids.
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