Hello Everyone,
     I want to bring to your attention an article in today's Toronto Star, I am sending this article as an attachment in case the newspapter is not available,
     I also like you to watch a brief video trailer for the documentary entitled "Canada: Apartheid Nation", which focuses on the Attawapiskat community and the issues of assimilation and racism.

Trailer for the documentary "Canada: Apartheid Nation"
www.youtube.co/watch?v=DFSj7QZb6qM
      In November, I had the privilege of listening to two groups of people who had formed working partnerships with First Nation Peoples.  One group was involved with an Aboriginal community in northern Ontario and the other works with the Inuit in Laborador.  I felt that their presentations were very prescient in view of the information which came to light about the Attawapiskat community.  All the lessons which Marty and Ashlee, the two presenters respectively, shared about respecting our Aboriginal citizens as First Nations people, taking the time to get to know and understand them, asking them what they want and how could we be supportive, instead of thinking that we have all the answers and that we can impose our solutions on their problems, are reflected in today's article in the Star.  The writer, Charles Pascal, states:

     "Key was a bit of scary clarity that I knew nothing; that I carried unhelpful notions about the capacity of the disenfranchished to become self-sufficient;  that my toughest challenge was to suspend judgment and the tendency to offer solutions to problems I just did not understand.  And a burgeoning sense that solutions of, by and for aboriginal peoples were actually possible;  and to learn how to partner properly with aboriginal peoples, non-native decision makers and the rest of us alike must lead from within the help of elders and other experienced cultural facilitators."

     The lesson of the Residential Schools is that assimilation does not work.  This system of Residential Schools was a national disgrace that prompted Prim Minister Stephen Harper to apologize for its castrophic impact on our aboriginal peoples.  The United Declaration on Indigenous Human Rights attempts to address this inequity by Article 8(1) which states, "Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture."

     If we examine Canadian history, it is easy to see that mistakes and misunderstandings have been made by both government and their representatives and by the Aboriginal peoples.  Trying to play the blame game is not helpful.  We must begin by building friendships and partnerships based on mutual trust and respect.  We also must help our indigenous peoples rebuild their communities in such a way that respects, nurtures and sustains their culture.  Both Marty and Ashlee have demonstrated that this is the approach that works.

     The challenges facing our Aboriginal peoples are very complex.  If you have any pertinent materials, please feel free to share them with us.

Jane Sagar       janesagar@yahoo.ca

Chair of the issues for Action Committee, CFUW Aurora/Newmarket,

Chair of the Legislation Committee, CFUW Ontario Council


 


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