A history you don't hear about
Oh Canada, our home on native land. That's right, on, not and, but on, native land.
The northern parts of Turtle Island, the land that we now call Canada, is all Native land that, for the most part, was stolen through the use of force (terrorism, forced relocation, ethnic cleansing), and fraud (forged documents, false promises). Genocide: part of our national heritage.
While we confined aboriginals to smaller and smaller reserves on the lands that we considered less desirable, our government ordered the RCMP to forcibly round up native children and have them brought to the concentration-like camps that are known today as ‘residential schools.'
These schools, which were run by the Anglican, Presbyterian, United and Catholic churches, were designed to destroy Native American culture and people through forced assimilation and physical abuse that often ended in death.
Some children were killed violently as a result of the extreme physical attacks, while others were deliberately murdered through the use of a crude form of biological warfare, in which children were forced to stay in the same rooms as other kids who had infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
The plan was basically to kidnap aboriginal children and destroy them physically, culturally and spiritually, so as to eliminate the native culture and race forever.
It's no wonder the Canadian government is now trying to throw around a little hush money to make this embarrassing fact go away. Our government is now offering a measly $10,000 to survivors of residential schools as compensation for the abuse that took place there. But of course the catch is that this money comes with a gag order not to talk about what they experienced and witnessed, so that the government and the churches can continue downplaying the seriousness of the crimes they committed.
In the media we hear about abuse in these schools, but it is not put into context. They make it seem as though there were just a few lashes here and a spanking there. We do not hear of the murders, the rapes, the torture, and the humiliation that these children were victims of between the early 1920s right up until the 1980s.
Survivors have testified that they were forced to eat maggot-filled and regurgitated food, that they were beaten if they spoke their language, that they were forced to stand upright for more than 12 hours at a time until they collapsed, that they were forced to strip naked and were humiliated publicly, that they were held over open graves and threatened with the prospect of being buried alive, that they were immersed in ice water, that they had their hair ripped out of their head, that they were forced to sleep outside in the winter, that they had their genitals tortured with fish twine, electric shocks and needles. According to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS), estimations as high as 50 per cent of the children, or 50,000 to 150,000, never lived to tell their stories.
Where are the children? Where is the justice for the survivors? When will the healing process begin? When will the government and the churches admit to the crimes that they've conveniently hidden from history?
For more info watch UNREPENTENT: Hidden From History
To take action there is a Rally for the Disappeared and Survivors on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 10 a.m. outside Metropolitan United Church 56 Queen St. East, Toronto.
Email fanshawesocialjusticeclub@yahoo.ca to help organize carpools.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
The northern parts of Turtle Island, the land that we now call Canada, is all Native land that, for the most part, was stolen through the use of force (terrorism, forced relocation, ethnic cleansing), and fraud (forged documents, false promises). Genocide: part of our national heritage.
While we confined aboriginals to smaller and smaller reserves on the lands that we considered less desirable, our government ordered the RCMP to forcibly round up native children and have them brought to the concentration-like camps that are known today as ‘residential schools.'
These schools, which were run by the Anglican, Presbyterian, United and Catholic churches, were designed to destroy Native American culture and people through forced assimilation and physical abuse that often ended in death.
Some children were killed violently as a result of the extreme physical attacks, while others were deliberately murdered through the use of a crude form of biological warfare, in which children were forced to stay in the same rooms as other kids who had infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
The plan was basically to kidnap aboriginal children and destroy them physically, culturally and spiritually, so as to eliminate the native culture and race forever.
It's no wonder the Canadian government is now trying to throw around a little hush money to make this embarrassing fact go away. Our government is now offering a measly $10,000 to survivors of residential schools as compensation for the abuse that took place there. But of course the catch is that this money comes with a gag order not to talk about what they experienced and witnessed, so that the government and the churches can continue downplaying the seriousness of the crimes they committed.
In the media we hear about abuse in these schools, but it is not put into context. They make it seem as though there were just a few lashes here and a spanking there. We do not hear of the murders, the rapes, the torture, and the humiliation that these children were victims of between the early 1920s right up until the 1980s.
Survivors have testified that they were forced to eat maggot-filled and regurgitated food, that they were beaten if they spoke their language, that they were forced to stand upright for more than 12 hours at a time until they collapsed, that they were forced to strip naked and were humiliated publicly, that they were held over open graves and threatened with the prospect of being buried alive, that they were immersed in ice water, that they had their hair ripped out of their head, that they were forced to sleep outside in the winter, that they had their genitals tortured with fish twine, electric shocks and needles. According to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS), estimations as high as 50 per cent of the children, or 50,000 to 150,000, never lived to tell their stories.
Where are the children? Where is the justice for the survivors? When will the healing process begin? When will the government and the churches admit to the crimes that they've conveniently hidden from history?
For more info watch UNREPENTENT: Hidden From History
To take action there is a Rally for the Disappeared and Survivors on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 10 a.m. outside Metropolitan United Church 56 Queen St. East, Toronto.
Email fanshawesocialjusticeclub@yahoo.ca to help organize carpools.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
