Lies & Estrangement - Acknowledging the path to Truth & Reconciliation

 On this National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, in a further attempt to understand our Canadian history, buried and forgotten by brutality, I write from the only perspective I have - as a descendant of colonizers. Though I do not identify with the past actions of my lineage, I must begin the unsettling process of acknowledging my role in the continuation of systemic discrimination and deep social issues that I have perpetuated through my own ignorance.

In school, I did not have the opportunity to learn about Canada's true Aboriginal history. At the time, history was taught through a colonialist lens and we all believed in the 'discovery' and 'pioneering' upon a 'new land' with the help and agreement of the Indigenous people. Later, as I saw the devastating reality of Indigenous people living on the streets of Vancouver and in northern communities, I still did not make the connection about their intergenerational trauma being prolonged and cruelly judged by the walking whiteness who continually disregarded their plight.

The French came, the British came, wars came, and the Confederation of Canada came - all making treaties with Indigenous peoples; initially about relations of military aid, trade, peace and friendship, but later becoming land agreements as more and more settlers arrived. These land agreements are supposed to provide a framework for each sovereign nation to peacefully coexist together on land traditionally occupied by Indigenous people... but the colonialists in their 'civilized' superiority began treating the Indigenous as savages to be tamed and assimilated into their 'new world'. Without treaties, Canadians would be illegally occupying this land.

I can still admire some qualities of my ancestors, yet I must acknowledge how I have benefited from colonization: easy access to resources, clean water, economic freedom, white privilege, laws elevating white institutions - while Indigenous people have suffered immensely from racist laws, schools, churches, the Indian Act, economic impoverishment, an unhealthy food system, destruction of traditional diets and livelihood, pollution, flooding for hydroelectricity, forced relocation, genocidal policies of residential schools, poor water quality, unequal funding for education, and child and welfare systems that don’t honour Indigenous culture...

I also must take the time to become a better ally, break down barriers, and help heal the collective shame: demanding action on the basic human right of potable water, land claim justice, economic justice, food sustainability, social enterprises on reserve and for urban Indigenous populations, helping non-profits address important social and economic issues, help end police brutality and racism, support for Indigenous parents to keep children at home and re-unite families, support the recommendations of the TRC, contact all levels of government to ask why they haven’t fulfilled all the recommendations...

A history of lies and estrangement should be illuminated in order for all of us to comprehend the magnitude of its ongoing effect. On top of that, it is important for non-indigenous people to not patronize or be overly sympathetic in an anxious attempt to remedy the past. Respect and compassion are equally required if we are to heal and regenerate our kinship. And reciprocity. Reciprocity so that we stop taking and start giving back.

We are all treaty people - in this expression, all Canadians must uphold the terms of treaties by educating themselves about the obligations and responsibilities they have to Indigenous nations and to the land.

(Thank you to Fiona Muldrew for outlining what non-indigenous people can do in the process of Truth and Reconciliation, and the Centre of Indigenous Studies at UofT)




 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Codes, patterns, archetypes, frequencies, particles and waves - We are all of these; manifested and manifesting. Since about the age of 15, I began a journey of trying to decipher these uniquely embodied qualities. The intangible energies that animate our behaviours and aspirations are more relevant to our existence than the physical bodies we develop, maintain, and watch decay in the density of this corporeal reality; and when these archetypal codes are understood to a degree of mental/emotional clarity - synchronous effects and visceral edification appear like lighthouses in the darkness created by the fears of our unanswered questions.  40 years later, I continue to use those lighthouses as guideposts, a hermit's lantern, to make decisions that may not seem rational at the time- yet, I have never been steered wrong. My life is a testament to it; slowly and steadily manifesting/discovering more than my mind alone can predict. I cannot see beyond the next lighthouse, but I trust t...
Read more

Unthinkable

  When I was around 10 years old, I somehow realized that I didn't think in words, so I asked people around me: "Do you think?... Like, in sentences, with words?" Blank stares and looking upward for an answer, friends tried to describe their thought processes - I asked again just a few weeks ago, some friends and I were hanging out - The answers, basically, were all "yes", they thought with words. I've come to understand my lack of internal wordiness, ironic for a writer, as "unsymbolized thinking." Every moment pulses with an insistence, waiting to be pierced, lifted to the mouth of my mind, and chomped with fervor; life itself is woven with subtle threads of metaphor. The world is a reflection of something more profound, yet elusive - I chase it relentlessly and never quite catch it. There's another term I came across years ago, as an adult, which is "aphantasia" - the inability to visualize. I had read about the power of visualizat...
Read more

Survival of the Fittest: testing morals and ethics

 "A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world." ~Albert Camus In the wilds of the animal kingdom, 'survival of the fittest' dictates that those best adapted to their environment through physical strength, strategic cunning, or social cooperation, will thrive and propagate their genes. The Darwinian concept, central to evolutionary biology, underscores the brutal and unforgiving struggle for dominance and survival. While this law of nature governs the animal world, it also provides a lens through which we can examine human societies and political systems - a glimpse into how humans, even with our elevated reasoning and grandiose sense of selves, in the evolutionary cycle of things, are still just animals.   The animal world operates on a relatively simple principle: the strongest, smartest, and/or the most adaptable organisms will survive, while the weaker or less adapted perish. Whether it's a lion hunting in the savannah or an antelope evading cap...
Read more