Hossain 1 Jemima Hossain Kim Matthews Being Canadian October 7th, 2020 TITLE We have studied the Indian Act a number of times throughout primary and high school. We heard the about the residential schools, the assimilation, the reserves, etcetera. If we are so aware of it and school systems seem to care enough to teach it in history lessons, how are the people of first nation still fighting for basic rights? The article “Indigenous Rights at Issue in Canadian Lobster Ruckus” written by Jay Heisler presents only one of many examples of common struggles and injustices Indigenous people must fight against since the colonization of Canada took place back in the 15th century. Many conditions developed throughout the centuries making life for Indigenous people a never-ending battle still to this day. Without even realising it, we, the citizens of Canada, are also contributing to their oppression. These conditions imply culture, world views and identity. To start, we can take up colonialism. Colonization is the action of appropriating and invading a land and establish control and their own culture. Colonizers have the goal to assimilate the indigenous people because they believe they are the superior “race”. This way of thinking basically forms the non- Hossain 2 indigenous people’s world view. They have learnt and lived by the “fact” that their kind is superior and will continue to live by such belief. In the particular situation of the article “Indigenous Rights at Issue in Canadian Lobster Ruckus”, we understand that the non-Indigenous fishermen feel superior and therefore entitled to the resources. Furthermore, the Doctrine of Discovery practiced during colonization, which is a doctrine with ideologies that goes against international human rights beliefs, has not been formally renounced yet. “Doctrine of Discovery” is a problematic terminology in itself. We can not say Canada was “discovered” if it was already habited by Indigenous communities as the Assembly of First Nations argue in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. By refusing to take action on such things, the government allows racist and discriminatory beliefs to survive and still take its core in today’s society. They further explain “While it does not change past injustices, the federal government should formally renounce discovery. This would acknowledge responsibility and recognize the obligations Canada has in the present to First Nations. It would be more than a merely symbolic gesture as it would lay to rest an offensive legal justification based on racial superiority for the subjugation of First Nations and other Indigenous Peoples”. (Assembly of First Nations, 2018) Simply acknowledging the fact is only the smallest of things to be done to show any intention of reconciling the problem. Hossain 3 Because the colonizer’s goal is to ultimately assimilate the Indigenous people, the government put in place the Indian Act which was a series of laws to discriminate against them. Rebecca Thomas points out few examples: “Cannot sue Canada on behalf of an ‘Indian’ without explicit permission from the Minister of Indian Affairs; Cannot advise an ‘Indian’ without being disbarred; Cannot gather in groups greater than three without being guilty of an ‘Indian Conspiracy’” (Thomas, 2017) This is proof of the systematic racism that still exists in our constitution. These were laws to oppress the first nations and its existence today once again contributes to colonizers thinking they are superior and they can disregard of Indigenous people. We know that the horrible living conditions for Indigenous people in the reserves are due to such oppressive laws which lead to a lack of importance given to those communities overtime. The multitude of horrifying stories gave birth to the stereotypes of today as they even mention in the article: “It’s tough because we’re labeled lazy or drunk, but when we want to work, we end up being criminalized or harassed,’ says Susan Levi-Peters.” (Heisler, 2020). Again, the inaction to bring justice to First Nations only sends the message that it is not to be taken seriously, it is not urgent enough. Moreover, it brings up the danger of the single story, an idea presented by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. At school we learn about how much Indigenous Hossain 4 people have suffered, we watch documentaries on their poor living conditions. This brings us to think they have nothing to be happy about and that their life is full of misery. Adichie explains: “But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” (Adichie, 2009) The negative stories bring us to detach ourselves from Indigenous people on a human level. We study them a societal problem instead of studying them as a cultural group with their own music, cloths, traditions and rituals. She continues “It robs people of dignity. […] It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.” (Adichie, 2009) Here it comes to a question of identity. By creating a single story, you are reducing the First nations’ identity to misery and struggles which will only push forward a sentiment of pity and irritation towards them and ultimately causing us to depict Indigenous people as their stereotypes. Since colonizers succeeded in stripping children of their Indigenous culture, and the oppressive laws meant to eliminated the ethnic group who are also living separately, First Nations are usually not thought of when thinking about the big social problems of Canada. They only came to the nation’s attention more recently because they decided to make their voices heard and take matters to their own hands instead of passing for second. For example, we can read in the article “The Hossain 5 confrontation is also causing headaches for the administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which already had a strained relationship with Indigenous communities after a series of incidents that led to the arrests of Indigenous environmental activists”. (Heisler, 2020) It is obvious the government is very reluctant to take direct action to accommodate the Indigenous people even when we talk about centuries of suffering. Even when it is clear how to bring justice to the rightful parties, since we mention that Mi’kmaq have rights to fish according to a treaties made in the 1700s and in 1999 by the Canadian Supreme Court, the government can not bring himself to enforce the law in place when it comes to Native people. It is also important to consider that these accommodations would only let them get by as they say in the article. While for the non-Indigenous people it does not create a crisis, not letting the Indigenous people fish would put them in a precarious situation. Such small action can make a big difference, although not big enough, as a sign of respect and request for forgiveness to the First Nations. It is safe to say that the reluctancy of the government to take any form of action to when it comes to Indigenous people that lets our society evolve as a discriminatory and far from perfect nation. As long as the issue is not addressed head on, the consequences of colonization will persist and even grow. All in all, the government, as it is supposed to for any society and any country, needs to realize the amplitude of the Indigenous problem and finally give Hossain 6 them the justice that is due. For centuries, First Nations have been neglected which highly contributed to racism and discrimination against their community though they have been the first and original habitants of this land. We can also have them to thank for so many other aspect of our own culture, like our music. We have to emphasize on the acknowledgement we have to make towards their community and put them in priority so we can turn around the existing worldview that nonIndigenous people have to have a world view in which harmony and respect prospers. Hossain 7 References Adichie, C. (n.d.). Transcript of "The danger of a single story". Retrieved October jjjjjjjjjj08, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_ jjjjjjjjjjdanger_of_ a_single_story/transcript?language=en Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. (2018). Assembly of First Nations. https://www.afn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/18-01-22-Dismantling-theDoctrine-of-Discovery-EN.pdf Heisler, J. (2020, September 23rd). Indigenous Rights at Issue in Canadian Lobster Ruckus. voanews.com. https://www.voanews.com/economybusiness/indigenous-rights-issue-canadian-lobster-ruckus Matthews, K. (2020). Identity [PowerPoint Slides]. Vanier College. Matthews, K. (2020). Indigenous [PowerPoint Slides]. Vanier College. Matthews, K. (2020). World Views [PowerPoint Slides]. Vanier College.
