Colonial? Not Quite
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, he spoke as a proud Canadian, one who has good reason to speak of the values and virtues of his country. He had issued one statement that has brought him the ire of aboriginal Canadians: "We also have no history of colonialism. So we have all of the things that many people admire about the great powers, but none of the things that threaten or bother them."
Canada was historically part of the British Empire. It is currently, although independent, still part of the Commonwealth of Nations. In its time the British Empire represented the largest colonialist empire in history, and the most powerful. At the turn of the 20th Century, 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population, was included in the British Empire. Leaving a valued legacy of legal and governmental systems in those countries once ruled by Britain.
When France and Britain established colonies in what is now Canada, the colonists discovered the presence of aboriginals, people already established on this third of the North American Continent. Human history has a long and complex background of interactions world-wide, between aboriginal populations and invaders or colonists. It is a bit of a stretch, however, to now term the present Canada as a colonialist power; that distinction remains Britain's.
Now, First Nations leaders are standing up in disgust, clamouring for an apology from the prime minister, claiming that the prideful statement he issued was in fact a re-writing of history, and a denial of Mr. Harper's apology on behalf of Canadians for the sad history behind Indian residential schools. They are wrong in equating current Canada as a colonial country through its French-British legacy.
But then, Canada's First Nations are so congenitally aggrieved, they find insult where none is intended. It's simply the way things are; wounds remain despite the passage of time, and sensibilities can be fairly raw at times. Not helped much by the irrefutable fact that Canada's First Nations have not advanced in their living conditions, that they remain a frail underprivileged community within the greater population.
Canada was historically part of the British Empire. It is currently, although independent, still part of the Commonwealth of Nations. In its time the British Empire represented the largest colonialist empire in history, and the most powerful. At the turn of the 20th Century, 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population, was included in the British Empire. Leaving a valued legacy of legal and governmental systems in those countries once ruled by Britain.
When France and Britain established colonies in what is now Canada, the colonists discovered the presence of aboriginals, people already established on this third of the North American Continent. Human history has a long and complex background of interactions world-wide, between aboriginal populations and invaders or colonists. It is a bit of a stretch, however, to now term the present Canada as a colonialist power; that distinction remains Britain's.
Now, First Nations leaders are standing up in disgust, clamouring for an apology from the prime minister, claiming that the prideful statement he issued was in fact a re-writing of history, and a denial of Mr. Harper's apology on behalf of Canadians for the sad history behind Indian residential schools. They are wrong in equating current Canada as a colonial country through its French-British legacy.
But then, Canada's First Nations are so congenitally aggrieved, they find insult where none is intended. It's simply the way things are; wounds remain despite the passage of time, and sensibilities can be fairly raw at times. Not helped much by the irrefutable fact that Canada's First Nations have not advanced in their living conditions, that they remain a frail underprivileged community within the greater population.
Labels: Canada, Heritage, Human Relations
posted by Pieface | 6:53 PM
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