Justice for Aboriginal Peoples -- It's time
Summary
TLDRThis video script addresses the historical and ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples in North America, emphasizing their resistance to colonization and forced assimilation. It recounts the initial peaceful exchanges with European settlers, the shift to treaties and land dispossession, and the devastating impact of laws like the Indian Act and the Residential School System. Despite these challenges, Indigenous communities continue to resist. The script calls for reconciliation and justice, urging Canadians to join the movement for equality and respect for Aboriginal Peoples' rights.
Takeaways
- 🌍 Before 1492, Indigenous Peoples had complex societies in North America with an estimated population of 20 million.
- 🚢 The arrival of Columbus marked the beginning of interactions between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans, initially involving trade and mutual learning.
- 🤝 Early relationships were cooperative, with Indigenous Peoples sharing food, medicine, and land, and fighting alongside Europeans in wars.
- 🏡 Post-colonization, Indigenous Peoples were pushed onto reserves and faced segregation and land dispossession.
- 🐃 In the west, the Hudson Bay Company's actions led to the starvation of Indigenous Peoples and their forced relocation to reserves.
- 📜 The British sought to change the nature of treaties to focus on land ownership rather than peace and friendship.
- 🛡️ Indigenous resistance to colonization was met with assimilation efforts through laws like the Indian Act of 1876.
- 👥 The Indian Act and similar legislation had severe personal impacts, including the loss of Indigenous identity for those who married non-Indigenous persons or pursued education.
- 🏫 The Residential School System was a form of cultural genocide, forcibly removing children from their communities and culture.
- 🌱 Despite ongoing challenges, including health disparities and social injustice, Indigenous Peoples continue to resist and persist.
- 🤝 The script calls for reconciliation and an end to assimilation efforts, advocating for a just relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples.
Q & A
Why do Indigenous Peoples reject the idea of 'just getting over it'?
-Indigenous Peoples reject this notion because of the deep historical and ongoing injustices they face, including land dispossession, forced assimilation, and systemic inequality. These issues have long-lasting impacts on their communities and identities.
What were some positive interactions between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans in the early years?
-Early interactions included mutual learning and trade. Indigenous Peoples taught Europeans survival skills, shared food and medicines, and signed peace and friendship treaties.
How did the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans change after the British victory on the Plains of Abraham?
-After the British victory, Indigenous Peoples were increasingly segregated from European settlers. They were pushed onto reserves, and treaties became more focused on land ownership and title rather than peace and friendship.
What were the effects of the Hudson Bay Company killing the buffalo on Indigenous communities in the west?
-The killing of buffalo, a vital resource for Indigenous Peoples in the west, led to starvation and forced many communities onto reserves, further diminishing their autonomy.
What was the purpose of laws such as 'An Act to Encourage the Gradual Civilization of Indian Tribes' and the 'Indian Act'?
-These laws aimed to assimilate Indigenous Peoples into European-Canadian society by eroding their cultural identity. They restricted rights, imposed Western ideals, and forced Indigenous peoples to abandon their traditions.
What did Duncan Campbell Scott mean by wanting to 'get rid of the Indian problem'?
-Duncan Campbell Scott, head of the Department of Indian Affairs, sought to erase Indigenous identities and cultures, viewing them as an obstacle to European settlement and integration.
How did the Residential School System impact Indigenous Peoples?
-The Residential School System aimed to eliminate Indigenous cultures by forcibly removing children from their families and communities. This caused deep emotional, cultural, and psychological trauma that continues to affect Indigenous Peoples today.
What are some of the ongoing challenges Indigenous communities face in Canada?
-Indigenous communities face higher rates of poverty, suicide, illness (e.g., tuberculosis, diabetes), inadequate healthcare, boil-water advisories, underfunded education, and disproportionate representation in prisons.
What does the speaker mean by 'reconciliation'?
-Reconciliation refers to addressing past injustices and building a respectful, equitable relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian government. It seeks to stop attempts at assimilation and instead promote healing and mutual respect.
What is the goal of the Justice for Aboriginal Peoples Campaign?
-The campaign aims to raise awareness of the injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples and advocate for meaningful reconciliation and justice, including fair treatment and respect for their rights and cultures.
Outlines
🌍 Historical Roots and Colonialism
This paragraph addresses the longstanding struggle of Indigenous Peoples against colonialism. It starts with a common phrase, 'Why don’t you people just get over it?'—something the speaker has heard throughout their life. It recounts the pre-Columbus era when complex Indigenous societies existed on both sides of the ocean, particularly in what is now North America (referred to as Turtle Island), with an estimated 20 million Indigenous inhabitants. It explains that Columbus's arrival marked the beginning of major changes, and while the initial encounters involved learning, trading, and cooperation (such as sharing food and medicine), things deteriorated. European settlers began taking land and segregating Indigenous Peoples onto reserves, with wars and treaties altering the relationship. Over time, Indigenous Peoples resisted the encroaching demands for land and resources, even as colonizers shifted their tactics to assimilation.
⚖️ Laws, Assimilation, and the Indian Act
This paragraph delves into how assimilation efforts intensified with the passing of discriminatory laws. The speaker highlights laws such as the 1857 Act to Encourage Gradual Civilization and the 1876 Indian Act, described as one of the most racist pieces of legislation in Canadian history. Duncan Campbell Scott, head of Indian Affairs, famously stated a desire 'to get rid of the Indian problem.' These laws stripped Indigenous Peoples of their identity, especially if they married non-Indigenous people, attended universities, or served in the armed forces. Their cultural practices, such as potlatches, were banned. Most notably, the paragraph highlights the tragic and traumatic removal of Indigenous children through the Residential School System, an act seen as cultural genocide. Despite these efforts, Indigenous Peoples resisted and are still here today.
📉 Ongoing Struggles and Inequalities
The focus here is on the present-day struggles of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The speaker draws a comparison between historical starvation on reserves and modern efforts to make life on reserves unbearable. Indigenous Peoples face stark disparities in life expectancy, poverty, suicide rates, health issues (like higher rates of tuberculosis and diabetes), and lack of basic necessities such as clean water and adequate dental care. The statistics are alarming: 42% of children lack basic dental care, and 116 First Nations communities have boil-water advisories. Indigenous Peoples also represent a disproportionate percentage of the federal prison population (18% vs. 2.7% of the adult population). In education, schools for Indigenous children receive $2000 less per student per year than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Lastly, the paragraph highlights the shocking statistic of nearly 600 missing or murdered Aboriginal women in the past 15 years. These are the reasons why Indigenous Peoples 'can’t just get over it.'
🤝 Call for Reconciliation and Justice
This paragraph emphasizes the need for a shift in the relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples. The speaker, an Indigenous person and union member, calls for an end to attempts to assimilate Indigenous Peoples into the general population. Instead, it is time to embark on a path of reconciliation. The speaker urges Canadians to join the Justice for Aboriginal Peoples Campaign, which advocates for true reconciliation and justice. The repetition of the word 'reconciliation' underscores its importance as the way forward for healing and unity.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Turtle Island
💡Colonization
💡Peace and friendship treaties
💡The Indian Act
💡Residential School System
💡Assimilation
💡Reconciliation
💡Treaties
💡Hudson Bay Company
💡Missing and murdered Indigenous women
Highlights
"Why don't you people just get over it?" - A repeated question Indigenous Peoples have heard throughout their lives, challenging their ongoing struggle.
Before 1492, complex systems of government, trade, agriculture, and spirituality existed among Indigenous Peoples on both sides of the ocean.
The arrival of Christopher Columbus marked the beginning of significant changes, including initial peaceful exchanges between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans.
Indigenous Peoples shared essential survival knowledge with Europeans, such as food, medicines, and guiding them in the New World.
Peace and friendship treaties were signed between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans, initially symbolizing cooperation.
The British victory on the Plains of Abraham in 1763 led to a shift, as Indigenous Peoples were forced onto reserves and separated from immigrants.
The Hudson Bay Company’s actions, such as killing buffalo, led to Indigenous Peoples in the West being starved onto reserves.
New treaties were signed, focusing not on peace, but on land ownership, forcing Indigenous Peoples further into reserves.
Colonizers shifted tactics from segregation to assimilation through laws like the 1857 Act to Encourage Gradual Civilization of Indian Tribes.
The Indian Act of 1876 represented a significant and oppressive piece of legislation aimed at controlling Indigenous Peoples.
The residential school system was an act of genocide, as Indigenous children were taken away from their families to erase their culture.
Despite systemic oppression, Indigenous Peoples continued to resist and survive, challenging the narrative that they should 'just get over it.'
Aboriginal communities today face significant social and economic disadvantages, including higher poverty rates, health issues, and violence.
The struggle includes alarming statistics, such as higher rates of suicide, tuberculosis, and missing Indigenous women.
The speaker calls for reconciliation between Canada and Indigenous Peoples, advocating for the end of assimilation efforts and the beginning of justice.
Transcripts
Why don't you people just get over it?
Why don't you people just get over it?
Why don't you people just get over it?
I have heard that for most of my life.
Over the course of the next few minutes we'd like to answer that question.
Let's go back to when all of this started . . .
Before the year 1492, before "Columbus sailed the ocean blue", there were complex systems
of government, trade, agriculture and spirituality.
On both sides of the ocean.
On both sides of the ocean.
On the side that we refer to as Turtle Island,
what is more commonly referred to as North America,
It is estimated that we were as many as 20 million Indigenous Peoples.
The Europeans knew nothing about us . . . and we knew nothing about them.
Then Christopher Columbus got lost.
And so it began.
And in this new beginning . . . things weren't so bad!
We learned from each other and traded goods that we both needed.
We taught Europeans how to survive in the New World.
We were guides.
We shared our foods: corn, squash, beans, potatoes.
We shared our medicines.
We shared the land.
We signed peace and friendship treaties
that were about . . . well . . . peace and friendship!
We fought wars, together as allies.
Some of us fought with the French.
Some of us fought with the British.
And after the British were victorious on the Plains of Abraham
. . . things began to change.
They wanted to segregate us from the thousands upon thousands of immigrants who were coming
to the new colonies.
So they started to push us from our traditional territories onto reserves.
In the west, we were left with little choice.
The Hudson Bay Company killed all the Buffalo.
We were starved onto the reserve.
In Upper and Lower Canada they wanted to sign more treaties.
Not treaties about peace and friendship . . . but treaties about land ownership and title
that forced us onto the reserve.
As time wore on they kept coming back for more.
More land for settlers.
More land for mining.
More land for forestry.
More land for oil.
And as time wore on . . . we continued to resist.
So the Colonizers switched tactics.
Instead of segregation, they tried to assimilate us
into their society and culture.
They passed laws, such as this one in 1857 - An Act to Encourage the Gradual Civilization
of Indian Tribes.
Or this one in 1869 - An Act for the gradual enfranchisement of Indians.
And then in 1876, the most racist piece of legislation of them all - The Indian Act.
Duncan Campbell Scott, head of the department of Indian Affairs said it all:
"I want to get rid of the Indian problem".
These laws had a tremendous impact on our people.
If an Aboriginal Woman married a non-Aboriginal man, she lost her identity.
If we went to universities, we lost our identities.
If we served in the armed forces, we lost our identity.
We weren't allowed to perform our ceremonies, like the potlatch,
which was our way of sharing our things equally.
And then . . . they did the unthinkable.
They took away our children.
They took away our children.
The Residential School System was an attempted act of genocide against my People.
And still we resisted.
We fought back.
And we're still here.
Remember when I said they starved us onto reserves?
Today they're trying to starve us off the reserves.
They're trying to make life in our communities unbearable.
In every measure, Aboriginal Peoples fare much worse than other Canadians.
We have a shorter life expectancy.
We have higher levels of poverty - one in four Aboriginal children live in poverty.
We have higher rates of suicide.
We are four times more likely to contract tuberculosis.
Our diabetes rates are three times the national average.
42 percent of our children lack basic dental care.
116 First Nation communities are currently under boil-water advisories.
We represent only 2.7 percent of the adult population in Canada,
but 18 percent of the federal prison population.
Our high schools receive $2000 less per student per year than provincially funded schools.
Nearly 600 Aboriginal women have been murdered or have gone missing in the last 15 years.
These are the reasons we can't . . . we won't. . . "just get over it".
I am an Indigenous person.
I'm an Indigenous person.
And I'm a union member.
And I'm a union member.
And we think it's time to take the next step forward in the relationship between Canada
and Aboriginal Peoples.
It's time for Canada to stop its attempts to assimilate us into the general population.
It's time to walk down the path of reconciliation.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Please join us.
Join the Justice for Aboriginal Peoples Campaign.
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