Warum die indigene „Versöhnung“ eine Ziellinie haben muss

In Brief:

Canada’s approach to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples lacks a clear definition and measurable finish line, making it a liability amidst public anxieties.

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Yeah, no kidding. Canada has been comically unserious in its handling of „truth and reconciliation.“

how about return of land illegally taken?

At some point ya; The native nations are essentially a lot like the Quebec challenge – either they need to become part of Canada (my personal pref) or at some point it needs to be understood that Canada has paid in full for whatever they took. I know it sounds dorkish – but its kind of the point that we need to accept that many years ago folks took stuff from others and there needs to be a way to „square“ that. I would love to see native nations participate in our government – then they could put into play the enviromental policies and we could all work toward actual unity.

Oh really? So we shouldn’t just bow down to the unknowable and unending whims forever? And pretend we are “reconciling”? I swear to god this country is actually brain dead.

With the US threatening our sovereignty I’m don’t think we can afford to spend more on this issue than our military

The states probably won’t treat the tribes very well if they take over

We have long passed the monetary finish line.

Once they bankrupt this place they will be in for a fucking shock. Whoever comes next isn’t going to give a flying fuck that a small number of people were wandering around, slaughtering each other, when someone technologically avanced came along and took over. Especially since this type of story is as old as mankind.

History is history. Don’t forget it. Don’t celebrate it. Don’t repeat it. Don’t rewrite it. And especially stop scamming and profiting from it.

I mean this just sounds stupid to me. The „finish line“ is when Indigenous people don’t face oppression, which doesn’t just happen all at once. Keep in mind there are literally still people alive that were forced into residential schools, it’s not like this is some ancient history. I think a lot of people are just fairly ignorant on Indigenous issues and just kind of assume that everything is fine now because there aren’t obvious laws that discriminate against them. Meanwhile they have never actually stepped foot onto a reservation or engaged with anything Indigenous whatsoever.

Can the finish line be clean drinking water and public utilities?

Hard to disagree. With all the compassion and empathy I have, the FNs in Canada don’t have a monopoly on intergenerational trauma and being marginalized and subjected to an attempted cultural genocide. Historically, cultural destruction, repression and trauma were the norm.

My direct ancestors went through two worlds wars, two occupations; they were discriminated based on their nationality for generations and they had opportunities and property stolen from them. First based on their language and cultural background, later based on their ethnicity and even later on based on not being politically aligned with the state.

Yet, they didn’t just wait around sitting on their hands, waiting to be saved by someone else. When they got an opportunity, they didn’t pass on it to live out their lives on handouts, victimizing themselves over and over and using past wrongdoings to enrich themselves. They got up and did what they could to better their lives and to improve their country. Why? Simply because there was no one there to bankroll their lifestyle and they had to. What positive outcome are we hoping for here when there’s no need (seemingly ever) for FNs to actually bite the bullet and take ownership of their lives?

I spent years living in Yukon and NWT (so I know how the small communities look like up there – pretty crap all around, sure, but that’s regardless of ethnicity) and while I have mostly good experience interacting with First Nations folks on individual basis, on a system level the degree of delusion about how exceptionally awful their history is is truly mind boggling. Let’s be real, it’s not. I bet if 9 out of 10 of Canadians looked into their families’ history, there’d be a nice and convenient interegenerational trauma lurking in there too.

While I will always be grateful to Canada for giving me the opportunity to build a good life here, I also find it astounding so many Canadians find legislated two tier society acceptable. What’s the end goal here? What are the metrics for when we’re square and we can be truly equal going forward?

All the residential school survivors and their children should have the opportunity to get reparations from the government, whether that’s in the form of special funding to lift their communities out of poverty and install utilities and healthcare, whether its spaces to enter universities, whether its exemption from taxes.

However, once the residential school survivors and their children have all had this opportunity, we must consider the situation reconciled. From then on we should live together as equals, with the same services and the same taxes and the same opportunities as any other Canadian. This finish line could be in the not-too-far future.

I’m not indigenous, but if I could (and fits into my life’s schedule) I would take language classes about my area’s traditional language. Even if I have no one outside of those classes (besides classmates) to practice speaking & grammar. Just for me to learn more about the people who inhabit where I live, and learn about their culture would make me feel appreciated that I have learned more about their culture! 🙋🏼‍♀️💕

I wish that there was Sesame Street like shows for indigenous languages. Since Sesame Street uses simple everyday vocabulary in a fun story telling way, that includes examples on when to say what to something or someone at / in X moment ☺️

I recall hearing an Indigenous commentator on the news once point out that the problem with „Truth and Reconciliation“ is that non-indigenous Canadians want reconciliation without truth, and indigenous Canadians want truth without reconciliation.