Going to Canada by Warren Cariou

Theodore Fontaine is one of the thousands of young aboriginal peoples who were subjected through the early Canadian system of the Indian residential schools, was physically tortured. Originally speaking Ojibwe, Theodore relates the encounters of a young man deprived of his culture and parents, who were taken away from him at the age of seven, during which he would no longer be free to choose what to say, how to say it, with whom to live and even what culture to embrace. Theodore would then spend the next twelve years undoing what had been done to him since birth, and the rest of his life attempting a reversal of his elementary education culture shock, traumatization, and indoctrination of ethnicity and Canadian supremacy. Out of these experiences, he wrote the “Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools-A Memoir” and in this review, I considered the Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd publication.

Michael Downey’s essay, “Canada’s ‘Genocide’: Thousands Taken from Their Homes Need Help” (Downey 445-448), imparts a harrowing account of the hardships and trauma induced by the controversial child apprehensions, often referred to as the ‘Sixties Scoop.’ The essay opens with Downey’s heart-rending recount of Carla Williams’ story, detailing her first-hand experience as a subject of this abuse, who managed to survive and come out triumphant. This explicit topic introduction foreshadows and gives invaluable warrant to his thesis: that the forced adoptions that occurred within Aboriginal communities during this era resulted in cultural and individual upheaval, as well as a belief that both the individuals and communities affected can

“Is that you Ruthie?” brings to light the negative aspects of these camps and, in particularly, how Aboriginals were taken advantage of throughout their working careers as well as how they were lured onto the reserves.

“Aggressive assimilation” of First Nations people was a policy developed by the Canadian government in the 19th century (Davidson, 2012). This policy was taught in the residential schools of Canada and has had a strong negative impact on the Canadian community. As Long as the Rivers Flow is a novel written by the former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, James Bartleman. It examines the sexual, physical and psychological abuse committed on Canada’s First Nations children. Bartleman’s style of writing effectively informs the reader of the First Nation people’s experiences in Canada through fiction. Word choice, structure and point of view are all methods used by Bartleman to develop an informative and fictionalized account following the life

Canada ­as a nation is known to the world for being loving, courteous, and typically very welcoming of all ethnicities. Nevertheless, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population over the past decades, appears to suggest otherwise. Indigenous people have been tormented and oppressed by the Canadian society for hundreds of years and remain to live under discrimination resulting in cultural brutality. This, and more, has caused severe negative cultural consequences, psychological and sociological effects. The history of the seclusion of Indigenous people has played a prominent aspect in the development and impact of how Indigenous people are treated and perceived in today’s society. Unfortunately, our history with respect to the treatment of Indigenous communities is not something in which we should take pride in. The Indian Act of 1876 is an excellent model of how the behavior of racial and cultural superiority attributed to the destruction of Indigenous culture and beliefs. The Indian Act established by the Canadian government is a policy of Aboriginal assimilation which compels Indigenous parents under threat of prosecution to integrate their children into Residential Schools. As a nation, we are reminded by past actions that has prompted the weakening of the identity of Indigenous peoples. Residential schools has also contributed to the annihilation of Indigenous culture which was to kill the Indian in the child by isolating them from the influence of their parents and

Our country of Canada has a dark past. First Nations and Indigenous people in Canada were oppressed to the point where people now refer to what happened to them over 150 years as a cultural genocide. In this essay, I will attempt to explain the media’s coverage on the oppression that Indigenous people have faced, and why media coverage was so rare prior to this year. I will do this by looking in detail at three scholarly articles, five newspaper articles, and a YouTube video.

In this research paper, I will be explaining how western colonialism and racism destroyed the reputation of aboriginal peoples in Canada. The reason why I chose this topic because it shows the strong relationship to anthropology and after taking aboriginal studies 30, it also shows that I have a clear understanding about the history of aboriginal peoples in Canada, the struggles they have been through over the past decade and the challenges they still face today in modern day society. I’ll be addressing these issues in a couple of paragraphs on the discrimination and the inequalities of these “minorities” and how they had to assimilate into European culture, leaving their way of life behind them.

The On-to-Ottawa trek occurred the desperate economic time of the 1930s in Canada when people were unhappy about the conditions of their lives and proceeded to act upon it. The federal government at the time, run by R.B. Bennett, imposed relief camps in an attempt to help these people, but little did the government know that this decision would result in men forming a group meant to revolt against the poor conditions of their lives in these camps. With organization from passionate leaders this group planned oppose Bennett and expose his faults, all the while he continued to refuse to acknowledge his wrong doings and repeatedly justified his plan that was doing more harm than good. The group’s frustration would eventually reach a tipping point when the decided to travel to Ottawa to meet Bennett face to face and finally settle their problems. The events surrounding the On-to-Ottawa trek allowed the men of western Canada to face Prime Minister R.B. Bennett and the federal government so that they were aware and had to act on the harsh conditions that they had to deal with during “The Great Depression”.

Culture is an invisible bond that connects people together. The literature, art, religion, food, and language of a community represent its culture. Navigating between cultures is not something impossible to do, but there are a lot of limitations and sacrifices to make in order to blend in with other cultures. To respond about the cultural navigation issues and benefits, Manuel Munoz, the author of “Leave your Name at the Border”, talks about the importance of the non-Americans’ names, especially Mexican Americans’ names, to their identities. Munoz wants readers (Americans) to give everyone the respect they deserved as human beings, starting with accepting and using people’s real names. However, Andrew Marantz, the author of “My Summer at the

This rhetorical analysis will define the ethos and pathos in “Allowing the Mind to Wander” by Carole Giangrande. The importance of this article rests on an emotional plea, which provides the reader with a call for justice to the plight of indigenous people in Canadian society. This rhetorical device is part of the pathos of Giangrande’s (1990) article that evokes sadness and pity in the way that white Canadian society has alienated and marginalized the First Peoples. More so, the ethos of the article reveals the problem of an apathetic society that has lost the spirit of the 1960s Civil Rights era, which is desperately needed in the 21st century. The loss of cultural respect for the First Peoples reveals the problem of a white hegemonic society as part of a modern trend in political activism. Giangrande (1990) presents these rhetorical devices to show the loss of moral and civic activism to defend the indigenous peoples of Canada. In essence, this rhetorical analysis will define the importance of pathos and ethos in “Allowing the Mind to Wander” by Carole Giangrande.

As a nation, Canada is known to the rest of the world for being thoughtful, polite, and generally very accepting of all ethnicities and people. However, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population, Japanese Canadians, African American and Indigenous slaves seems to suggest otherwise. Canada's dark past may not be talked about often, but there are three main events that targeted specific ethnic groups which still affect those people today. Residential Schools led to major negative cultural consequences, as well as psychological and sociological effects. Japanese-Canadian Internment Camps were used to strip Japanese Canadians of their rights because of the World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor. And finally, for two centuries slavery was legal in New France, and in Lower Canada under British rule. Human beings were being held captive and were owned by many people, including governors, bishops, military officers, priests, and blacksmiths. All of these terrible consequences can be accredited to Canada’s imperialistic policies.

Canada might have been one of the best places in the world but for me and Tim, Canada is a lot more than that. For Tim O’ Brien’s “On the Rainy River”, Canada is freedom: freedom from the draft letter that pressures him to go to war, freedom from the war that he never understood and always hated, freedom from the dirt, tent, and mosquitoes, freedom from that dense greasy pig-stink and blood clots in the slaughterhouse, freedom from his country, and freedom from his conscience… or is it? On the other hand, for me, Canada is separation: separation from the friends and family who I most

Charlie Angus was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2004, a role which took him to the Forgotten Children of Attawapiskat. It was his experiences prompted him to write his book, Children of the Broken Treaty: Canada’s Lost Promise and one Girl’s Dream, which tells the story of Indigenous persons of Canada’s struggles, including treaty rights, residential schools, as well as the fight for education and safe housing. The book provides a challenge to many common assumptions, and it also explores many themes which are used to explain the events which have shaped Canadian culture and policies. Angus begins his book by touching on some of the original treaties signed between the first Canadian government and the members of the bands that are indigenous to the land. One of these was Treaty 9, which promised education for Indigenous children. The book then developed into the foundation of residential schools, and the horrors that are endured there. In addition to the horrendous amounts of verbal, physical and sexual abuse which took place in these schools, the students who attended these institutions faced the mass genocide of their culture, as the unspoken purpose of these schools was “to kill the Indian in the child” (Angus, 2015, p. 14). The beginning of the book, while very dark, provides an honest introduction to some of the themes that can be spotted throughout the book, and history itself. The three themes that primarily stood out to me as a reader were: cultural

In his essay “The Country Just over the Fence,” Paul Theroux describes his trip to Nogales, Mexico. He begins his essay by illustrating the physical appearance of the wall separating Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. He calls it “an unintentional masterpiece”. Theroux feels the wall is somewhat informal. He discovers that crossing the border into Mexico is not too difficult itself. He marvels over the appearance of the wall and also the underlying call to action it places on a person, “Do you go through, or stay home?” Theroux decided he needed to see for himself. After deciding to cross the border, he met many different people. They told him about the celebrations that used to be held between the two neighboring towns which are now divided by the wall. Theroux also met people who had attempted to cross the border illegally into America only to get sent back to Mexico. On his adventure, Theroux also learned about all the medical tourists who travel to the country for cheaper treatments, specifically dentistry. I am interested in discussing Theroux’s presentation of the his decision to cross the border, the people he met, and the medical tourism Nogales, Mexico draws in.

What is Canada? What is a Canadian? Canada, to employ Voltaire's analogy, is nothing but “a few acres of snow.”. Of course, the philosopher spoke of New France, when he made that analogy. More recently, a former Prime Minister, Joe Clark, said that the country was nothing but a “community of communities”. Both these images have helped us, in one way or another, try to interpret what could define this country. On the other hand, a Canadian could be a beer, a hockey-playing beaver or even a canoe floating in a summer day's sunset. A Canadian could also be a “sovereigntyphobe”, refusing to see the liquefaction, albeit political, of the second largest country in the world.