Ottawa to declare federal holiday to mark legacy of residential school system
- Thread starter White_Unifier
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Agreed in full, Dec. What the supporters of this current culture of victim-hood fail to realize is that it is a defeatist attitude which mires it's practitioners in a morass of self-pity rather than empowering them to realize all their potential. Thankfully, those who advocate the culture are small in number and unlikely to grow their numbers as most Canadians realize the fallacy inherent in such beliefs. Still, the harm done to younger generations given a daily dose of the rhetoric becomes visible when the number of suicides - especially among native youth - continues to grow.
Were I a judge in the current state of affairs regarding natives, I would use all the law at my disposal in order to expose the lack of proven fact in many of the 'stories' being told.
Trudeau lacks forethought. This is an enormous disadvantage in any politician, more so in a PM as it reflects poorly upon his ability to comprehend the end result of any pronouncements especially those affecting our country. The plethora of mind-numbing idiocies he has uttered are prime examples of this flaw in his character.
Nelson: Time's up on endless apologies as government strategy
Do not, for a solitary, single second, believe the decision to adopt a statutory holiday dedicated to truth and reconciliation in Canada’s dealings with its Indigenous peoples is anything other than a smokescreen for cowardice.
This will seem harsh to honest and sincere Canadians who feel a measure of guilt and shame over the horror-show the residential school system became down the decades.
But declare as many holidays as you want, knock down every statue across this land of those within a country-mile of some harsh policy toward First Nations people while handing out apologies and cheques by the bucketful, yet you’ll come not one iota closer to dealing with what remains this country’s biggest challenge.
So today’s policy — endless apologies, commissions of truth and reconciliation and announcing, at every venue, this is traditional Blackfoot land or similar sentiments — remains merely a sop.
Politicians cling to it, none more fiercely than our current prime minister, because it provides cover to look caring and forward thinking, when in fact, it masks a complete lack of backbone in dealing with today’s problems.
It is easier to lambaste Cornwallis, Langevin and John A. Macdonald about their collective failures in dealing with what was then the “Indian problem” than devising a program to end this impasse on how Indigenous people and other Canadians can thrive together in future.
All we hear are endless rounds of apologies, and while these are likely welcomed by many Indigenous people, time’s up on looking backward. Instead, let’s look at today’s issues. Oh, they are myriad, involving very difficult questions asked by people on all sides of this divide. Suggested routes forward risk a mountain of criticism.
So, instead, politicians take the easy points — blame their forebears, now suitably dead, for mistakes. Hey, you lose neither votes nor sleep that way.
But we all know what those problems are. So, as no elected person would dare speak them aloud because it’s a surefire vote loser, let’s summarize them. Yes, it is fiendishly complicated, but, as a starting point, there are a few obvious routes ahead.
The basic question is assimilation, separation or some hybrid solution. This differs not a lot from a century ago, and while the decisions reached with the residential school system and other government follies were fearfully brutish, there was at least some desire for action.
The reserve system remains the fulcrum point. If assimilation is to be complete, then that has to end. If separation is to be the way forward, then a formula to make that sustainable must be dragged into shape. You cannot have separation and expect some other country, i.e., Canada, to fund it forever. That’s the sweet, blinded position of teenagers: wanting freedom to stay out late but expecting mom and dad to buy and cook their supper.
Oh, and if that isn’t troublesome enough, then what about those many Indigenous people who’ve left the reserve. The educational achievements of this group are the fastest growing subset in Canada. They are thriving, though back on the reserves, they’re often dismissed and criticized.
This is harsh gruel, I know. It seems an intractable problem, which is why politicians along with those band chiefs who’ve grown wealthy on federal cash and hope for more, would rather talk about the past than the present.
But while this soul-searching goes on, the dreadful toll of incarceration, suicide, drug abuse and sexual assault continues almost unabated on some reserves. Sure, keep blaming what happened 100 years ago for this situation, and in another 100 years, we will be lodged firmly in this same, sad place.
It is far from easy but, please, enough with apologies. By now they serve little but the re-election hopes of politicians and various band chiefs. Bite the bullet and start sorting this out.
Yes, we can. Despite everything else, there are good graces on every side. Do it and then declare a national holiday. After all, should not a holiday be a celebration?
calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/nelson-times-up-on-endless-apologies-as-government-strategy
Indigenous people could use new role models
Re: “Stop apologizing and start making hard decisions,” Chris Nelson, Opinion, Aug. 27.
Kudos to Chris Nelson for so eloquently stating what, I believe, many Canadians feel, but are too polite or politically correct to verbalize.
No distinct group of people, including our Indigenous brothers and sisters, can enjoy “separation and expect some other country, i.e., Canada to fund it forever.” And that, I believe, is precisely what Indigenous Canadians are seeking.
Segregation for Indigenous people has been unsuccessful; assimilation has not been sought or encouraged by either side. Endless apologies and endless amounts of money thrown at the “problem” will achieve nothing.
Perhaps it’s time for those Indigenous individuals who have left the reserve, and have become successful, respected, contributing members of the Canadian mainstream, to act as role models and provide leadership for those languishing in difficult situations on the reserves.
Gustav Heinz Fredrich, Calgary
calgaryherald.com/opinion/letters/your-letters-for-wednesday-aug-29
Do not, for a solitary, single second, believe the decision to adopt a statutory holiday dedicated to truth and reconciliation in Canada’s dealings with its Indigenous peoples is anything other than a smokescreen for cowardice.
This will seem harsh to honest and sincere Canadians who feel a measure of guilt and shame over the horror-show the residential school system became down the decades.
But declare as many holidays as you want, knock down every statue across this land of those within a country-mile of some harsh policy toward First Nations people while handing out apologies and cheques by the bucketful, yet you’ll come not one iota closer to dealing with what remains this country’s biggest challenge.
So today’s policy — endless apologies, commissions of truth and reconciliation and announcing, at every venue, this is traditional Blackfoot land or similar sentiments — remains merely a sop.
Politicians cling to it, none more fiercely than our current prime minister, because it provides cover to look caring and forward thinking, when in fact, it masks a complete lack of backbone in dealing with today’s problems.
It is easier to lambaste Cornwallis, Langevin and John A. Macdonald about their collective failures in dealing with what was then the “Indian problem” than devising a program to end this impasse on how Indigenous people and other Canadians can thrive together in future.
All we hear are endless rounds of apologies, and while these are likely welcomed by many Indigenous people, time’s up on looking backward. Instead, let’s look at today’s issues. Oh, they are myriad, involving very difficult questions asked by people on all sides of this divide. Suggested routes forward risk a mountain of criticism.
So, instead, politicians take the easy points — blame their forebears, now suitably dead, for mistakes. Hey, you lose neither votes nor sleep that way.
But we all know what those problems are. So, as no elected person would dare speak them aloud because it’s a surefire vote loser, let’s summarize them. Yes, it is fiendishly complicated, but, as a starting point, there are a few obvious routes ahead.
The basic question is assimilation, separation or some hybrid solution. This differs not a lot from a century ago, and while the decisions reached with the residential school system and other government follies were fearfully brutish, there was at least some desire for action.
The reserve system remains the fulcrum point. If assimilation is to be complete, then that has to end. If separation is to be the way forward, then a formula to make that sustainable must be dragged into shape. You cannot have separation and expect some other country, i.e., Canada, to fund it forever. That’s the sweet, blinded position of teenagers: wanting freedom to stay out late but expecting mom and dad to buy and cook their supper.
Oh, and if that isn’t troublesome enough, then what about those many Indigenous people who’ve left the reserve. The educational achievements of this group are the fastest growing subset in Canada. They are thriving, though back on the reserves, they’re often dismissed and criticized.
This is harsh gruel, I know. It seems an intractable problem, which is why politicians along with those band chiefs who’ve grown wealthy on federal cash and hope for more, would rather talk about the past than the present.
But while this soul-searching goes on, the dreadful toll of incarceration, suicide, drug abuse and sexual assault continues almost unabated on some reserves. Sure, keep blaming what happened 100 years ago for this situation, and in another 100 years, we will be lodged firmly in this same, sad place.
It is far from easy but, please, enough with apologies. By now they serve little but the re-election hopes of politicians and various band chiefs. Bite the bullet and start sorting this out.
Yes, we can. Despite everything else, there are good graces on every side. Do it and then declare a national holiday. After all, should not a holiday be a celebration?
calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/nelson-times-up-on-endless-apologies-as-government-strategy
Indigenous people could use new role models
Re: “Stop apologizing and start making hard decisions,” Chris Nelson, Opinion, Aug. 27.
Kudos to Chris Nelson for so eloquently stating what, I believe, many Canadians feel, but are too polite or politically correct to verbalize.
No distinct group of people, including our Indigenous brothers and sisters, can enjoy “separation and expect some other country, i.e., Canada to fund it forever.” And that, I believe, is precisely what Indigenous Canadians are seeking.
Segregation for Indigenous people has been unsuccessful; assimilation has not been sought or encouraged by either side. Endless apologies and endless amounts of money thrown at the “problem” will achieve nothing.
Perhaps it’s time for those Indigenous individuals who have left the reserve, and have become successful, respected, contributing members of the Canadian mainstream, to act as role models and provide leadership for those languishing in difficult situations on the reserves.
Gustav Heinz Fredrich, Calgary
calgaryherald.com/opinion/letters/your-letters-for-wednesday-aug-29
I thought some Whites in positions of power did try that by establishing the Indian residential school system? Might be better for such people to step aside and not cause more damage thank you.
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That this thread exists tells me that white privilege does not want to deal with the reality of what was done or the lasting generational effects it is still reaping on our native population. You can't just "get over" 150 years of physical, sexual, mental and spiritual trauma.
That this thread exists should tell you that many Canadians are simply fed-up with the apologies, the tears, the holidays, the virtue-signalling and continuing culture of victimhood. Forget your 'white privilege' bs, Cliffy. I have friends on the local reserve who have fallen out with other members of the community over what they see as the extreme activist element. This isn't a 'white' issue or a 'native' issue. This is an issue about a small percentage of a group of people - highly educated at that - who were delivered of an opportunity to advance their activist views when the Liberals were elected - and took full and total advantage of The Great Enabler's inability to understand the real consequences of his words and deeds. I actually credit them for a very skillful action plan. Their PR department alone deserves a lot of credit for ensuring a continuing presence in media broadcasts and publications.
Yet it is that very presence in media story after media story that began to work against them. As time went on their voices became more strident and less tempered. Terms like 'white settler' and 'colonialist' began to appear in every article that touched upon native issues always accompanied by a mention of residential schools. And no matter how many inquiries or commissions or amount of money handed out in order to bring some sense of reconciliation there was not a single word of gratitude. Rather it was complaint after complaint along with accusations of racism, genocide, ethnic cleansing and attempts to revise Canadian history.
And there is still no end in sight. No reconciliation. The MMWI drags on. The courts are still dealing with issues that address the Sixties Scoop and Residential Schools. Some reserves still resemble 3rd world communities - others flourish - and therein lies a question in the minds of many Canadians. Why aren't the wealthy reserves doing more to help their own people? Where are the role models, native volunteers, native doctors, lawyers, social workers, and other native professionals?
Change can't be forced. It must come from within. I hope to see it happen in my lifetime.
You need some balance in your understanding of native issues, Cliffy. Here are some excellent articles for your edification.
fcpp.org/2008/04/10/report-analysis-suggests-ways-to-improve-aboriginal-outcomes/
fcpp.org/2018/08/22/myth-versus-evidence-your-choice/
That fact that any of us are here to read this thread tells me that almost every ancestor we all have had managed to get over thousands of years of physical, sexual, mental and spiritual trauma. Human history is conquered and conquering peoples. What people haven't been conquered by others?
Sorry, I just Googled and Nepal (supposedly) has never been conquered or occupied by another nation. I thought the Chinese had occupied Nepal but I guess I'm wrong there. Every other country has been occupied or conquered at least once for some time in the last 3000 years.
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Is not honoring treaties, while being full blown Rhodesianism, really considered conquering?
Way to go Mo!
I think you nailed it pretty good.
Think of how royalty began wearing beaver pelt hats and furs to get them in style, which gave them value, to finance the above.
"My English coach was also my hockey teacher"
..precisely as advertised...how often does that happen in this day and age?
Way to go Mo!
I think you nailed it pretty good.
Think of how royalty began wearing beaver pelt hats and furs to get them in style, which gave them value, to finance the above.
"My English coach was also my hockey teacher"
..precisely as advertised...how often does that happen in this day and age?
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I agree, sometimes you have to suck it up and move on! When bad shit happens to you, you have to examine the situation and possibly make changes to your procedure. The cops should definitely have their knuckles rapped and get some more intensive training.
What about our Asian and other ethnic minorities , is this their problem as well , or just a white problem ? What about those white Europeans who immigrated after WW2 is this their white problem as well ?
My grandma got the strap in the residential school and I have been traumatized ever since .
I can relate to that!
BECAUSE she got the strap? Never mind, I just woke up!
If you abuse a single generation and send them back without any treatment to erase the bad effects you won't have to abuse the next generation as they will do it for you.
The abuse then throws up their hands and calls it incurable and the people are naturally stubborn and stupid. 100 years is how many generations in a row. Haiti was still under France's thumb for 250 years after they gained 'freedom from slavery'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u1zH11yqFQ&index=7&list=RDcgJE-UY0a5o
The abuse then throws up their hands and calls it incurable and the people are naturally stubborn and stupid. 100 years is how many generations in a row. Haiti was still under France's thumb for 250 years after they gained 'freedom from slavery'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u1zH11yqFQ&index=7&list=RDcgJE-UY0a5o
Suffering from short-term memory loss, Cliffy?
globalnews.ca/news/4193748/la-loche-school-shooting-saskatchewan-sentence/
I don't see any killing, torture or rape in those meme pictures, We all were bullied in school in one form or another, and if the reason of torture was to go to school and conform Hell where is my money?