Monday, February 15, 2010
My heart glowed and hurt all at the same time
This past Friday saw the opening of the Winter Olympics here in Canada. I must say it was pretty amazing watching the host First Nations welcome the athletes to their traditional territory. Then to see a delegation of First Nation dancers represent their territories from across the country was unbelievable. All in all it was so powerful to see our cultures finally put on such a world stage. Unfortunately there was one nation not present. They did not dance, drum, or sing. They did not stand on the sideline to cheer on the other First Nations, or the athletes. They did not rise for the playing of the National anthem, nor did they turn to see the lighting of the torch. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Beothuk of Newfoundland were reduced from a thriving, vibrant culture, to a small refugee population in their own territory, just barely surviving on what little they could find in the interior of Newfoundland. A forced isolation, being driven into the interior of the province over a couple hundred years created a pattern that was impossible to break. There were a few very minor attempts over the 18th century to establish contact, but it was too late. In 1829, the last surviving Beothuk woman died. Her name was Shanawdithit. Success in one place, where as we all saw at the opening ceremonies, thankfully, persistent failure in the rest of the country. If only Shanawdithit's descendants could have danced as well.
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Thanks so much for bringing this up. The Beothuk as such may have disappeared but there are some us partially descended from them and I think it is important for us to honour our ancestors and remind people of what really happened during the colonisation of Canada (and Australia, where I know live).
ReplyDeleteRemember the Beothuk.
John Hill
You might want to note that Newfoundland didn't become part of Canada until 1949. Just a thought
ReplyDeleteAnd that has to do with?
ReplyDeleteWell, you can't really put the blame on the colonization of CANADA. Should Canada be held responsible for something that happened to a place that at the time wasn't part of Canada?
ReplyDeleteNot all provinces joined confederation at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThen maybe you should blame those that settled the country ie Great Britan, France, but the fault for this specific thing is not CANADA, those now born in Canada are just apart of this country as you are and do not deserve to shoulder the blame of what their ancestors did.
ReplyDeleteNow I do agree that Canada is responsible for the segregation, for ripping families apart and trying to destroy communities and culture, forcing children away from family to horrible schools where they were abused. That was Canada.
Much of what we blame Canada for is really not the fault of Canada.
I think we need to stop dwelling in the past and move forward.
Yes lets stop descrimination, lets be proud of our history and culture, teach our young lost languages and culture, but we have to let go of the resentment and anger of past injustices.
For all the bad, there has been good. We have education, technology etc. and I like my big screen tv's etc.
There are many tribes in Africa that still live today as they did hundreds of years ago and had Canada not been taken over we would probably be the same, but do you really want that.
Lets learn and move forward, but let go of the resentment and also like it or not you, like me are part white and that is also part of your heritage and you need to embrace and be proud of that too, and my kids are part white so are less 'native' than me - what of yours? Don't you want them to be proud of all of themselves or do you hate part of yourself and want to pass that on?
I appreciate your words. However, please keep in mind all I was doing was pointing out a simple yet tragic point of a forced extinction of a people...like it or not, that too is part of the history of this country. As for living in the past, was the beginning of this year the past? Keep in mind we are living in a country that until this year had a human rights act that did not apply to FN folks living in their own communities. Was yesterday history when 112 FN communities did not have access to safe drinking water, something that goes against the Convention of the Rights of Children, while at the same time the government jumps in to help those in Walkerton and Kindersley when they have water problems. Was a mere 50 years history when FN were finally given the right to vote in a land they lived on for over 13,000 years? I am not passing on hate, you can leave that to the folks who have the confederate license plates, those who celebrate the Washington Redskins without knowing the the term comes from skinning the FN people on the battlefield and making pants out of them, or the university and high schools who still insist names like the Redmen (McGill). I will leave it to those who pass judgment to a corrupt FN government without even thinking it was the Canadian government what set it up like that in the first place. I will leave it up to those who pass this hate on to their own children. I will also leave it to those who really think that colonialism was right. No I do not want to give up my TV, my car, my house, but at the same time, we have to remember, these things were the past, and they are still the present. Just ask any FN person who gets followed every time they walk into a store. Just ask ever FN person who gets a dirty look when they walk out of a liquor store with a bottle of wine (interestingly enough, the looks are usually coming from someone who just bought a case of beer, and possibly a bottle of rum too) Please do not tell me I am passing on hate when I am seeing it every single day
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right! I know that hate still exists. I don't look FN so I don't get the looks, but I know they exist, and in other places too. I have friend that get those looks and harrased because she's overweight, no less of a person, better than many in fact. No you are right - it is there. I don't mean to say you aren't nor that YOU pass on hate...I guess I just worry because some of my friends and family focus so much on the injustice, and get so hateful towards others because they don't know how to handle their outrage, that they get stuck and I sometime feel that in our justified anger, we get stuck and don't see the good, the positive, can't move forward. Hate in return won't help.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I see the blame being put on Canadian's for what the government did, but in fact many Canadian't are outraged also and it seems that we forget that, like it or not, we seem to blame todays generation for what their grandparents/great grandparents etc.. did when they are 'native' to this land now too. And yes I know some of todays generation can be just as hateful and full of discrimination
I just would like to think that there are more good than bad, that it's the bad that stand out. I can't give up on a positive outlook. Yes we need to stand up for injustices, I just don't want to be full of anger and hatred too, it will get us nowhere. Neither will looking at the world through rose coloured glasses
Lets all just be careful not to put the blame on the wrong people for something done by others, even when they are guilty of similar events.
(ie:Blame the government of Newfoundland for what was done when they were not part of Canada, blame Canadian Government for what was done by government of Canada once Newfoundland was part of Canada)