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The Ill Treatment Of Native Indians

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In A Short History of Indians in Canada, Thomas King explores, for the most part, the ill-treatment of Native Indians in Canada. Two satires by the names of Coyote and the Enemy Aliens and Tidings of Comfort and Joy, focus on the arrogance of the White men and how their actions affected the society of Native Indians. Specifically, this essay discusses how their actions contributed to the dehumanization of Native Indians. This concept of Dehumanization is explored through the hypocrisy on what is legal and illegal according to the White men, the Native Indians enslaved and treated like wild animals and reduced to being mere possessions of their White ‘masters’.
Firstly, in both these short stories there is a hypocritical view on what is …show more content…

Through this quote it is clear that this ‘paper’ is a legal document that entitles the Coyote to all the properties of the Japanese-Canadians. “Is the job more important than being fair? I says” (p 56). King once again emphasizes that even though this document is legal and written in the book of law, it isn’t morally correct as it strips the Japanese-Canadians of their basic human rights. The narrator then goes on to question whether or not the White men are doing the right thing regardless of what the law states. In Tidings of Comfort and Joy, Hudson who represents the White man has an obsession of gathering Indians as collectibles, a form of enslavement which is legally allowed however once again is not morally correct. The text states, “And while most everyone had since moved to newer enthusiasms such as exotic pets, rain-forest acreages and internet stocks, Hudson stayed the course and had, over the years, put together one of the more impressive collections of Indians east of Saskatoon” (p 6-7). This quote ridiculously defends Hudson’s obsession of collecting Indians who are humans as being morally correct, compared to other not so strange obsessions making it seem like a rational thing to do. Through this quote, King emphasizes that the sole purpose of objectification of Native Indians in this short story is to be collectible items that can be stored and used as possessions. “It had been fun playing with the Indians, placing them around

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