Theme Of Dehumanization In Rick Wallace's Indigenous-Canadian Relations
1227 Words5 Pages
European colonial powers – specifically England – were known to use force to subjugate those that they are colonising. Even though the people they fought were ill equipped to resist against the onslaught of the British machine, they were given no real mercy. As much damage as weapons did to those people, the literary also had a vital role in ensuring that the citizens back home were kept in the dark about what was happening in the colonies. But as we move forward in time, and past the age of empires, there is still a subjugation on Indigenous populations that is prevalent (specifically in Canada and the USA). The aboriginals in these two countries are stereotyped negatively, and live in very small land spaces that are ill equipped for living.…show more content… Their opinions were not taken into account and were brushed aside by one act after another, and “[t]he first major usurpation of Indigenous sovereignty was through the Royal Proclamation of 1763 by King George III. It essentially asserted British control over all lands and people in North America” (Wallace 59). The Indigenous people on their lands were treated as lesser than animals in many cases as they were herded onto small reserves and took the lands from underneath their feet by force. An image that McDougall conjures in her novel is the entire scene of the men skinning the…show more content… These foster families were of European descent, and did not understand the culture of those the system flung upon them, and some governments have even admitted and listed “these actions as a type of genocide” (Wallace 63). And “as of May 2005, less than 1 percent of non-Aboriginals are in child welfare care, compared to 10 percent of status Indians” (Wallace 52). Nakina also is put through the system and the final home that she is put in was that of the school janitor. However, it turns out that “‘the school janitor was screwing [her]’” (McDougall 222). Systemic violence happened to children in these foster care homes, and even if the people were reported it was always their words against theirs. And the government always took the side of the one taking care of the children. The child care system was the guillotine that the Canadian government put into place to force the children to assimilate into Euro-Canadian culture. By forcing them to assimilate they lose touch with their culture entirely. They are removed from their body and heart just like how Mr. Olfson “sliced off the head [of the moose]” (McDougall