Yeah.... I am worried that many will jump to the worst conclusions without any details of these unmarked grave sites. These discoveries could reinforce an ideology of victimization that could later hamper growth to more autonomy and security.
I worry that the flood gates of public transfers to FN communities will open up even further in an indiscriminate fashion.
I feel very, very sorry for elderly FNs here in BC that are believing, practising, deeply religious Catholics. I feel awful for the honourable priests, nuns and lay Catholics who have sacrificed so much to help others.
I personally believe that it is critical to recognize the positive contributions made by the residential schools. Many university-trained chiefs attended residential schools.
It is also vital to understand the alternatives at the time. There were none. Whether intended or not, educated political elites in FN communities appear to do a much better job of defending and promoting their interests than uneducated political elites in FN communities or anywhere else for that matter.
As for the domestic abuse and violence that still plagues some FN communities, the more jobs, the better. In that direction, many FN communities are making huge strides as workers, contractors and entrepreneurs. This is happening in part thanks to the residential schools. In part thanks to affirmative action hiring programs that have been adopted both by government and many private companies, in particular resource companies.
It may be hard to recognize it at the moment but the status and rights of First Nations have been steadily improving in recent decades. Some of the worst and dumbest excesses of colonialism are steadily being unwound.
It's a treacherous road though, all the same. No matter how gracious, open, supportive or understanding the general environment, cultural integration breaks down under its internal contradictions when the dominant culture (whatever that might be, anglosaxon, Chinese, Martian) still tacitly expects the minority culture to internalise the values of the dominant culture and somehow reconcile any tension with their own values in their own little bubble without challenging the values of the prevailing culture.
You see this time and time again in popular culture. Members of minorities "making it" within the framework of the dominant culture and everyone patting themselves on the backs, saying, see? we are not racist, we have a FN CEO, minister or whatever, but remaining completely oblivious to the actual problem, that the dominant culture has effectively suffocated the minority's culture of all room to breathe.
The only solution I can see, is for a true dialog where the dominant culture is just as open to listen, learn and change based on what the minority culture has to offer. Anything else is basically just cultural annihilation, and, when it comes down to it, a pretty big loss for all involved.
yeah, some pretty horrific news coming out of Canada, which is kind of unusual. The big issue though is where you take it from here.
Yeah.... I am worried that many will jump to the worst conclusions without any details of these unmarked grave sites. These discoveries could reinforce an ideology of victimization that could later hamper growth to more autonomy and security.
I worry that the flood gates of public transfers to FN communities will open up even further in an indiscriminate fashion.
I feel very, very sorry for elderly FNs here in BC that are believing, practising, deeply religious Catholics. I feel awful for the honourable priests, nuns and lay Catholics who have sacrificed so much to help others.
I personally believe that it is critical to recognize the positive contributions made by the residential schools. Many university-trained chiefs attended residential schools.
It is also vital to understand the alternatives at the time. There were none. Whether intended or not, educated political elites in FN communities appear to do a much better job of defending and promoting their interests than uneducated political elites in FN communities or anywhere else for that matter.
As for the domestic abuse and violence that still plagues some FN communities, the more jobs, the better. In that direction, many FN communities are making huge strides as workers, contractors and entrepreneurs. This is happening in part thanks to the residential schools. In part thanks to affirmative action hiring programs that have been adopted both by government and many private companies, in particular resource companies.
It may be hard to recognize it at the moment but the status and rights of First Nations have been steadily improving in recent decades. Some of the worst and dumbest excesses of colonialism are steadily being unwound.
Despite the deadly weather, the forest fires and other wild fires, hundreds of unmarked First Nation children graves, and so on. Sometimes being Canadian just sucks hard.
A neighbour is the daughter of Indo-Ugandian refugees who escaped Idi Amin. I will wager her parents are super grateful that a place like Canada exists.
yeah, some pretty horrific news coming out of Canada, which is kind of unusual. The big issue though is where you take it from here.
Despite the deadly weather, the forest fires and other wild fires, hundreds of unmarked First Nation children graves, and so on. Sometimes being Canadian just sucks hard.
A neighbour is the daughter of Indo-Ugandian refugees who escaped Idi Amin. I will wager her parents are super grateful that a place like Canada exists.
It's the governments that are ultimately responsible for sanctioning violence through other actors. The RC is but one player. Anglicans, United, etc. are all part of those partnerships.
Not sure I would go that far. But ultimately an institution in charge of looking after minors is responsible for what happens to those minors regardless of the source of the abuse, violence, etc.
Yes, the other Christian churches played a role in this saga too. Overall, and this is a broad sweeping generation, the other Christian churches have been much better than the RC church at recognizing and taking responsibility for past failures.
The RC church really should grow up. Just look at how the RC church has managed to so thoroughly alienate so many in Quebec. Just look at how its presence and influence has diminished so much in Quebec over the past half a century.
Prediction: The RC church will not significantly change until women can become priests and all priests are allowed to marry.
I am not convinced that "forced assimilation" was always the motive. Recall that school attendance is and has been mandatory for the rest of the population.
But I am saying that much of the abuse came at the hands of other FN children, which should not surprise anybody given a) the tribal nature of BC FN communities and b) the social dynamics of these kinds of institutional settings.
Once again, the adults in the charge â Roman Catholic clergy â were responsible. Just like the US armed forces are ultimately responsible for all conflict deaths post-invasion and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or just like the Israeli Occupation Forces are responsible for the atrocities committed in southern Lebanon under their watch.
PM Justin Trudeau is calling for the Roman Catholic church to release archived records. Will we know more later? Perhaps.
It's the governments that are ultimately responsible for sanctioning violence through other actors. The RC is but one player. Anglicans, United, etc. are all part of those partnerships.
Westslope, I get the impression that you're implying that the missing FN children died at the hands of other FN children and not school/church staff. Do you have any evidence to back up this apparent assertion?
No. I am not implying that at all.
But I am saying that much of the abuse came at the hands of other FN children, which should not surprise anybody given a) the tribal nature of BC FN communities and b) the social dynamics of these kinds of institutional settings.
Once again, the adults in the charge — Roman Catholic clergy — were responsible. Just like the US armed forces are ultimately responsible for all conflict deaths post-invasion and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or just like the Israeli Occupation Forces are responsible for the atrocities committed in southern Lebanon under their watch.
PM Justin Trudeau is calling for the Roman Catholic church to release archived records. Will we know more later? Perhaps.
No. Merely showing the existing mindset and prevailing conditions (of settler-colonialism), which left little room for speaking out.
Though apples and oranges, structural abuse in white boarding schools would merit a national debate as well. But it's a bit of a red herring.
The abuse (and trauma) started with kids being forcibly taken from their parents for the purpose of forced assimilation.
Colonialism remains an ongoing process, shaping both the structure and the quality of the relationship between the settlers and Indigenous peoples.
I am not convinced that "forced assimilation" was always the motive. Recall that school attendance is and has been mandatory for the rest of the population.
Much of the current crop of FN leadership in British Columbia went through the residential school system. Many of them would have never made it to university without the residential school system. Educated FN leaders tend to a much better job of looking after their communities than uneducated leaders or outsiders.
âThe Story of a National Crimeâ A century ago, Dr. Peter Bryce demonstrated that residential schools were designed to kill. Canadaâs government ignored him.
Canada, a nation full of deep secrets and afflicted by selective memories, can no longer keep this ânational crimeâ hidden anymore.
Nations can deny history, ignore history, minimize history, postpone history and even rewrite history.
But they canât grow up without facing history for a simple reason. âKnowing the before lets you create a different after.â
Westslope, I get the impression that you're implying that the missing FN children died at the hands of other FN children and not school/church staff. Do you have any evidence to back up this apparent assertion?
Westslope, I get the impression that you're implying that the missing FN children died at the hands of other FN children and not school/church staff. Do you have any evidence to back up this apparent assertion?
RP. If you are saying larger society failed in its 'job' to oversee organizations of the Catholic church administer services to the larger population and to its own congregations, then yes.
In my experience listening to victims abuse, people knew about the abuse or appalling conditions but for one or another reason stayed quiet. Expecting a top down-driven resolution of abuse and simply poor care in that kind of context, certainly in the past, is unrealistic.
I have chatted up FNs who have described abuse suffered at the hands of other FN boys. Standard stuff, if you ask me. Should the RC managers have prevented the worst excesses of violence? Absolutely yes.
If white kids at a boarding school beat the piss out of each other, do we crank up a national debate?
No need for a counter-example. I figured out very early in primary school that it was good to have educated, articulate parents to take up your cause. Hierarchy. There are reasons why social anarchism and political ecology acquired influence in the late 20th century.
If you are insinuating that the buried were all murdered, well, we might know in a few months or years depending on how long the investigation takes.
No. Merely showing the existing mindset and prevailing conditions (of settler-colonialism), which left little room for speaking out.
Though apples and oranges, structural abuse in white boarding schools would merit a national debate as well. But it's a bit of a red herring.
The abuse (and trauma) started with kids being forcibly taken from their parents for the purpose of forced assimilation.
Colonialism remains an ongoing process, shaping both the structure and the quality of the relationship between the settlers and Indigenous peoples.
