The Audacity of Canada 150; a Lie Designed To Erase Our Legacy of Genocide

28.4.17

The Audacity of Canada 150; a Lie Designed To Erase Our Legacy of Genocide: [torontoist.com] If you were to ask a few Indigenous people what they think of Canada, you would likely get a multitude of answers since, much like Canadians, Indigenous people do not all share the same views and opinions of things. However, if one were to poll the more than 600 First Nations, there would likely be a laundry list of reasons why Canada is problematic, and why the current celebration of Canada 150 is especially alienating for Indigenous people. For example, chronic underfunding of Indigenous children in welfare, broken treaties, failure to protect Indigenous women who are violently abused by police, ongoing imposed colonial patriarchy, and mismanagement of funds held in trust for Indigenous peoples, to name a few reasons.

The fact is, the entire Canada 150 narrative is exhausting. I mean, it is already played out, and it’s only April—especially the constant demand on Indigenous peoples to explain why Canada 150 is a problem. And what is even more tiresome is the inability for so many Canadians to take the colonial wool out of their ears and actually listen to Indigenous people.