One year after unmarked graves were found close to the Kamloops Indian Residential School, white patriarchy is responding en masse – with their usual false historical narratives.
Today, in 2022, Canadians cannot distinguish between the different Indigenous groups who currently occupy the settler state that is now wrongfully called Canada. Canadians, primarily white males who are non-native, misrepresent themselves as “experts” on subjects that they have only studied with a misogynist and myopic lens that is specific to white patriarchy.
If Canadians cannot understand the distinction between specific groups – the Metis, Inuit and First Nations Indigenous – how can they continue to write on this subject?
People from another land ventured to this continent. They were the colonists, settlers or fur trading explorers who were looking for new resources to exploit. The white male descendants of this original theft continue to write their tainted and distorted responses to the First Nation Indigenous perspective, suppressing and erasing the experiences of the original peoples.
True authentic First Nation Indigenous writers distinguish that they are the descendants of the original peoples who were placed upon this land by the Creator. This is hard for Canadians to understand or accept because they have not been taught this history.
It is to Canada’s advantage that they approach all “Indigenous” peoples as one because this will confuse the issue and divide the true original “owners” of this land.
How can non-First Nation writers, primarily white men, write in an area when they themselves have no knowledge of the history and context of the First Nations Indigenous perspective?
Are Canadians truly satisfied with their assessment that Indigenous people are all brown, or varying shades of brown, so therefore the “Indigenous” are subject to the same one-size fits all, cookie cutter approach?
Canadians take off their ethnic roots and become absorbed into the body politic that is uniquely Canadian – whatever this means. It appears to be canoes, or Canada Day celebrations with barbecues, a few beers and fireworks, eh?
Canadians would like to see the original peoples, the First Nation Indigenous descendants of the original inhabitants, also take off their true identity and adopt this pseudo-Canadian mantel. This is the crux of all written articles, historical accounts or ongoing political shenanigans that continue to perpetuate the whitewashed past and ongoing saga of this land.
Non-First Nation writers will recount the historical inaccuracies of early colonists, settlers or fur trading exploiters as gospel truth. They will then bring in the myriad of government funded studies or approaches that hold some mystical Canadian sanctioned “truth” to give their narratives merit.
The federal government was complicit with the churches in running Indian residential schools that forcibly took children from the First Nation Indigenous or Indian parents. This action was to break the “Indian” in the child. This action was to break the identity of each Indian child. This action was to break a small human being.
Canadians seem to have no problem with this concept that the Indians were better off learning or assimilating into the “Canadian” system. Why is this? It is because the forbearers or “visionaries” who stole land and resources would be exonerated once the “Indian” in each subject was reprogrammed.
Canada failed in this endeavor. Canada enacted specific legislation in the Indian Act to control the lives of the First Nation Indigenous of this land. In this Act, Canada outlawed the original governance systems and ceremonial teachings that contained the spiritual laws of the Indians or First Nation Indigenous worldviews and lifestyles.
Canada has continued on the path of extermination of the Indian. The failure of Canadian “experts” and non-First Nation writers to understand the distinctions between the “Indigenous” peoples is the first failing that goes without acknowledgement. Mainstream media continues to publish columns or writings of “evidence” that support whitewashing the truth.
Most Canadians will readily say this, even today in 2022. Their knowledge of First Nation Indigenous or the original peoples of this land are taught in history books. The Indians were savage peoples, wandering about, exploiting food supplies then moving on while fighting to the death for tribal supremacy.
In 2022, there has been some movement or reporting on the First Nation Indigenous “truth” or perspective for some events including studies that include an alternate accounting of the Indian residential schools.
Non-First Nation writers like to write the “truth” about historical events. It is not wise to point out that documents were kept and written by the very perpetrators of the genocide or cultural genocide or at least crimes against humanity because this is seen as “bias” or “prejudice.” Seriously, why is it that reliance on documents, commissions, or inquiries all funded by the government “complicit in the crimes” has more truth bearing weight?
Authentic First Nation Indigenous writers who are writing from their ancestral or oral knowledge perspective are not given mainstream media platforms. It is only with the influence of social media that First Nation Indigenous have been “allowed” to reach audiences with their perspective. They are excluded from official curricula and erased from school libraries, yet, today, technology offers them an opportunity to exercise their voices and speak their truth from original voices.
For authentic First Nation Indigenous writers, many have gone through some western educational programming so they are in fact, “experts” in their fields, with mainstream credentials. How is it that a non-First Nation white male becomes an expert in the distinct First Nation Indigenous narrative?
In mainstream media, there are often panels interviewed with several white males discussing how the “First Nation Indigenous” feel about some issue. This has branched out to include the occasional white female for some panels. In some more forward-thinking mainstream media outlets, they may have even acquired a “token” Indigenous person to parrot or take a seat at their predetermined panel discussions. Is this how Canada and by extension, Canadians, build “reconciliation?”
It is one year after Kamloops Indian Residential School released findings that unmarked graves were in close proximity to this Catholic church run school. A contingent of “Indigenous” even travelled to see the pope to get an apology. His non-apology was that he was sorry that some wrongful things took place by those in an educational capacity. How is that an apology for a Catholic church that was complicit with the Canadian state in running these schools? If mainstream media wants reconciliation, they will actually have to showcase true First Nation Indigenous perspectives. Otherwise this discussion will continue to go nowhere. Is that not the true point of this so-called reconciliation exercise?
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