The Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation Commission recently presented its findings about the ghoulish legacy of the residential school system. Some people have reacted to the commission’s findings by wondering why nothing seems to change. Why should they be made to feel guilty for something that they were not involved in? Why are the programs and the money currently allocated to support aboriginals not enough? Why don’t aboriginal people just “get over it?”
Part of the problem is that the abuse of the residential schools went on far longer than most people realized, the last one closing in 1996. Over all that time, the abuse and trauma many aboriginals suffered led to alcoholism, violence and other problems. Given how long the schools operated, and how many generations they affected, it’s not surprising that change is so slow. Would any of us have done any better if we were forcibly dragged away from our families, beaten for not speaking English, told that our ancestral cultures were stupid and primitive, and repeatedly been forced to move our homes by the government?
The actions of the past are responsible for the problems of the present.
A larger reason why many things don’t seem to change, though, is the fact that we don’t fully understand the aboriginal perspective on their treaty rights. For many non-natives, the treaties were bills of sale, and the aboriginals were expected to assimilate into the rest of society. For most aboriginals, however, the treaties are sacred agreements to share the land with non-natives while still maintaining their own self-governing communities. The treaties, and the rights associated with them, have an almost religious meaning for many aboriginal people. As Harold Cardinal wrote, asking them to abandon their treaty rights is like asking them to abandon their faiths and identities. Many of them don’t like the Indian Act any more than anyone else, but it’s still an implicit recognition of their distinct status. They’d rather continue to live under it than abandon their treaty rights.
The big problem is that too many people still insist on adhering to the non-native interpretation of the treaties, the one that expects aboriginal people to assimilate into mainstream society. The residential schools were meant to “civilize” aboriginal youth for assimilation, which in practice led to beatings, assaults and attacks on their identities. Non-native Canadians don’t understand where many aboriginals are coming from, and resent being associated with the schools. Many aboriginals, on the other hand, feel like they aren’t being listened to. Even if they aren’t being violently forced to assimilate, the underlying attitude that aboriginal people are seen as “primitive” still remains.
A better way lies with the original spirit that the treaties were signed under. Recognizing aboriginal self-government and treaty rights would go a long way towards healing the wounds and frustrations many aboriginal communities feel, enable them to contribute economically to Canada and allow Canada to get rid of the Indian Act. While many aboriginal people insist that they are distinct, they wish to be distinct within Canada. Being Canadian would be the bond that continues to unite them with the rest of us.
We would be able to leave the past in the past, and look forward to a brighter future than we could ever imagine.
Jared Milne is a St. Albert resident with a passion for Canadian history and politics.
