Four years later, Harper’s apology for residential schools rings hollow for many

[Goober]

How often do we have to apologize for this?

An apology

1- I - We - Canada - are sorry for what was done - Complete injustice was visited upon tens of thousands-

2 - It will not happen again

3- Critical- what can be done to rectify past events-

4- That takes time, understanding the differences- finding common ground- respect - money for health care to education- job training- clean water - proper nutrition-
Walter it is a long list.

 

[Cliffy]

I mean the real history, the truth. The good, the bad, the ugly. Pre and post European settlers arrival in North America.

I studied the history of this area for 20 years and after putting up with the ignorance prevalent here, particularly with the Histerical Society, I wrote the history of the Sinixt peoples going back to the last Ice Age. But the parts that people were most in denial about were since contact. What the Histerical Society didn't want anybody to know was that the first white miners and rail builders slaughtered the Sinixt living in Nakusp. The old families in this town were and are still pissed at me for exposing that blight on our history.

Stuff like that happened all across the Americas but you only hear about how them savages slaughter Custer and his ilk. I suppose things are changing but I am not too familiar with what is taught these days. In our district we teach general native culture in the elementary schools and a little more advanced in high school. The main thing that interests me is that the kids know the Sinixt are not extinct and that eventually the government is going to be pressured into rectifying this situation.

 

[The Old Medic]

An apology is utterly meaningless.

But, the government should assure that ALL Canadians have equal funding for education, health care, etc. They should provide all Reserves with the authority to control their own resources, enact their own laws that would apply to anyone on the Reserve, etc.

Then, they should look back on just how the government screwed a LOT of Métis and Natives out of their lands, took farms and other developed properties, refused to honor titles that had been granted by the Hudson's Bay Company when it controlled the land, etc., etc. Those wrongs should be redressed by compensation to the heirs when possible, and to the various ethnic groups when it is not.

And ALL of the history, including the extreme exploitation done by the government; the "appointing" of friendly people as "Chiefs" to sign one sided treaties, etc., etc. should be mandatory teaching in every elementary, middle and high school in the country.

 

[taxslave]

An apology is utterly meaningless.

But, the government should assure that ALL Canadians have equal funding for education, health care, etc. They should provide all Reserves with the authority to control their own resources, enact their own laws that would apply to anyone on the Reserve, etc.

Then, they should look back on just how the government screwed a LOT of Métis and Natives out of their lands, took farms and other developed properties, refused to honor titles that had been granted by the Hudson's Bay Company when it controlled the land, etc., etc. Those wrongs should be redressed by compensation to the heirs when possible, and to the various ethnic groups when it is not.

And ALL of the history, including the extreme exploitation done by the government; the "appointing" of friendly people as "Chiefs" to sign one sided treaties, etc., etc. should be mandatory teaching in every elementary, middle and high school in the country.

Not unlike they did to the Japanese during WW2

 

[CDNBear]

It's not an apology we should be giving, but rather just restitution for the damage done.

I don't believe in buying forgiveness.

And that's the other thing. I remember in history class we learnt european history until "we discovered the Americas", and only then started learning North American history. Clearly a colonial attitude. Rather than learning about the history of the Americas from the start.

And what was taught when I was in school, was wrong or completely whitewashed, when it came to First Nations.

 

[The Old Medic]

The Japanese were mistreated for 5 years. The First Nations and Métis have been mistreated for almost 300 years. There is a MASSIVE difference.

This would not be "buying forgiveness". It would be redressing wrongs.

 

[CDNBear]

It would be redressing wrongs.

You don't redress wrongs by calculating a financial figure based on level of abuse. That's called punitive damages.

To redress wrongs you bring the culprits to justice. You physically right the wrongs. You put in place measures that will prevent it from happening again. You tell the masses what happened, why it happened, who was responsible for it, in short, you be honest about it!

 

[captain morgan]

An apology is meaningless unless something is actually learned from the wrong that was committed and then the behaviour changes for the better.

For an apology to be anything other than just words, it must also be accepted.

An apology by people that had no control over something that happened before they were born is meaningless. What is important is that we do not let history repeat itself.

Quite accurate in the grand scheme

 

[SLM]

For an apology to be anything other than just words, it must also be accepted.

Should it be blankly accepted though if there are some, justifiably, who don't see the actions following up the words?

Don't get me wrong, I see where both sides of any issue have their faults, but at the same time this was not an apology that was simply made by one party to another party. Because it was issued by the Government of Canada I feel like it was representing me, as a citizen of Canada, and therefore I feel justified in expecting a certain level of behaviour from the issuer. I have no control over the acceptance, but I can and do have an expectation of standard on behalf of the issuer of the apology.