Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
National

Indigenous groups share Canada Day frustrations

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Jun, 2020 07:26 PM
  • Indigenous groups share Canada Day frustrations

Jess Housty can't remember the last time Canada Day was celebrated in the Heiltsuk Nation.

Housty lives in the coastal B.C. town of Bella Bella where the Heiltsuk Nation is known for its efforts to help conserve and protect the Great Bear Rainforest.

"I can recall a lot of celebrations here, we're a community that loves to come together and celebrate things but Canada Day is not one of those things I remember bringing the community together," she said in an interview.

Canada Day comes this year as Indigenous Peoples absorb reports of confrontations between the police and Aboriginal people, as well as accusations of systemic racism in British Columbia's health-care system.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the director of the University of British Columbia's Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, has been appointed by the provincial government to investigate accusations that some B.C. emergency room staff played a game to guess the blood-alcohol levels of Indigenous patients.

She said Celebrations like Canada Day, Victoria Day and St-Jean-Baptiste Day are symbols of colonialism.

Canada Day also comes after recent anti-pipeline protests by First Nations and the Black Lives Matter movement, which adds to the complexity of the national celebration, she said.

"This is a Canada Day like no other Canada Day for some time," said Turpel-Lafond, who is also a law professor at the university.

"Are we the just, rights-respecting society we think we are and we need to be?"

A recent poll of 1,000 people commissioned by Historica Canada found that Canadians have a lot to learn about the historical and cultural contributions of Indigenous Peoples and other Black, Asian and minority ethnic Canadians.

Fewer than six per cent recognized figures such as Indigenous filmmakers and human rights activists, or the first RCMP officer to wear a turban.

Byron Louis, the chief of the Okanagan Indian Band, says he can't remember the last time Canada Day was formally celebrated in his community.

"It's a stat holiday so we'll take it, other than that there is no celebration in our community," he said. "What exactly is there to celebrate?"

Louis said there has been an erosion of the relationship between the Canadian government and Indigenous Peoples, which makes it difficult to join in the celebration.

"When you look at the last 110 years of our relationship, it was nowhere near what our relationship was when we first established contact," he said.

Wade Grant, an intergovernmental officer with the Musqueam Indian Band, said he would like to see a greater emphasis placed on days that honour Indigenous Peoples.

"We have Canada Day parades, we have Canada Day celebrations downtown. On National Indigenous Day we don't have cities or municipalities holding parades or holding events where concerts are played to celebrate Indigenous people," he said in an interview.

Grant said he understands the aspirational aspect of Canada Day, but as someone of mixed heritage whose grandfather was forced to pay the Chinese head tax, he would like to see more discussion of what other races have experienced in Canada.

Chief Judith Wilson of the Neskonlith Indian Band said she views Canada Day as a chance to better educate others, explaining how she helped organize a skit depicting the writing of a letter in 1910 from Indigenous chiefs to Canada's seventh prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

The scene recreated the chiefs of the Secwepemc, Syilx and Nlaka'pamux peoples relaying grievances over their treatment by the federal government. Wilson presented the scene during Canada Day celebrations in Chase, B.C., to show the public the issues Indigenous people have faced.

Housty said she would also like to see a greater recognition of what Indigenous communities are facing.

"I don't think we can say everyone in Canada has grappled with the reality of what systemic racism is in this country," she said. "The fact that it isn't historical, it's something that is alive and present and a lived reality for people around us."

MORE National ARTICLES

Families of Flight 752 victims demand plan, timeline for holding Iran to account

Families of Flight 752 victims demand plan, timeline for holding Iran to account
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to keep fighting for answers into Iran's shooting down of a civilian airliner in January even as victims' families prepare to grill Canada's foreign minister over plans to hold the Islamic Republic to account.

Families of Flight 752 victims demand plan, timeline for holding Iran to account

Black MPs, senators call for government action against systemic racism

Black MPs, senators call for government action against systemic racism
A group of Black parliamentarians and their allies are calling on all levels of government to take action to reduce systemic racism in Canada.

Black MPs, senators call for government action against systemic racism

Pandemic diplomacy, staggered voting marks finale for UN Security Council seats

Pandemic diplomacy, staggered voting marks finale for UN Security Council seats
The cutthroat campaigning for a seat on the United Nations Security Council would hardly be described as a picnic or a walk in the park.

Pandemic diplomacy, staggered voting marks finale for UN Security Council seats

Canada, U.S. confirm plan to extend border restrictions by another 30 days

Canada, U.S. confirm plan to extend border restrictions by another 30 days
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada and the United States will continue to limit non-essential travel between the two countries until at least July 21.

Canada, U.S. confirm plan to extend border restrictions by another 30 days

Canadians' trust in police declining: Poll

Canadians' trust in police declining: Poll
More Canadians are questioning their trust in the police as protests against racism and police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd last month sweep across North America, a new poll suggests.

Canadians' trust in police declining: Poll

CERB to be extended eight weeks: PM

CERB to be extended eight weeks: PM
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government's signature benefit for people whose jobs have vanished amid the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended by eight weeks.

CERB to be extended eight weeks: PM