Crow Brings The Daylight

Canada ­as a nation is known to the world for being loving, courteous, and typically very welcoming of all ethnicities. Nevertheless, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population over the past decades, appears to suggest otherwise. Indigenous people have been tormented and oppressed by the Canadian society for hundreds of years and remain to live under discrimination resulting in cultural brutality. This, and more, has caused severe negative cultural consequences, psychological and sociological effects. The history of the seclusion of Indigenous people has played a prominent aspect in the development and impact of how Indigenous people are treated and perceived in today’s society. Unfortunately, our history with respect to the treatment of Indigenous communities is not something in which we should take pride in. The Indian Act of 1876 is an excellent model of how the behavior of racial and cultural superiority attributed to the destruction of Indigenous culture and beliefs. The Indian Act established by the Canadian government is a policy of Aboriginal assimilation which compels Indigenous parents under threat of prosecution to integrate their children into Residential Schools. As a nation, we are reminded by past actions that has prompted the weakening of the identity of Indigenous peoples. Residential schools has also contributed to the annihilation of Indigenous culture which was to kill the Indian in the child by isolating them from the influence of their parents and

The Native Canadian culture revolves around the art of storytelling, and this natural gift is heredity. In Story of Starvation, by Marion Tuu’luq, she tells a tale of her childhood where she and her people go on a journey to find food. They are driven to the brink of starvation due to their lack of technology, and their practice of hunting for their own meals. Tuu’luq’s intense story shows the significance of the Native Canadian way of life, and the tough childhoods that many of them had to endure. Tuu’luq says in her story, “I am going to recount a story that I am sure I have told over and over again in the past” (Pg. 86). This repetition of the story shows the cultural impact of storytelling in the Aborigine community. This story truly does control Tuu’luq’s life, because she retells it in order to remember all that she had to face within her childhood in order to survive. The story is both a source of entertainment, and a source of historical prevalence in Tuu’luq’s life. Although, it was a horrid experience, she learns to cope with it and tell it in a way where the listener takes away the importance of remembering Native Canadian

For the past forty years, women have been reported murdered or missing along the highway 16 corridor in Northern British Columbia. The 724- kilometer stretch of road from Prince George to Prince Rupert was given the name “the highway of tears”. In the documentary Highway of Tears by Matt Smiley, the focus of the documentary was to set out and find the root cause of the disappearances and murders and to shed light on the real issue of violence against women and systematic racism in the justice system. The documentary looks at true stories of women who have gone missing or have been murdered along the highway of tears. The documentary focuses on how the highway of tears is the core of a much larger problem of how the indigenous population has been treated since colonialism. (Smiley, 2015) This essay will focus on summarizing the documentary, showing the correlation between the injustice the women and their families have faced and the mainstream and critical theories of victimization, and provide a critical reflection.

“The drink had me snared. I spoke less and drank more, and I became the Indian again; drunken and drooling and reeling, a caricature everyone sought to avoid,”(Wagamese,181). This stomach-turning quote displays what several First Nations thought their identity to be. With this in mind, to begin, “Indian Horse,” by Richard Wagamese is a somber and intriguing novel, with many thought-provoking points within the book. To illustrate this, the book follows a First Nations boy through his youth to adulthood. It is filled with traumatic events, depressing stories and even a few joyful moments. In addition, the novel takes place from around 1960-1980 throughout Ontario. Furthermore, this essay will explore several events and factors which impacted, Saul, the main character's identity.

Overall, James Bartleman successfully addresses the issues of marginalization and assimilation of First Nations people in Canada. Through Bartleman’s stylistic choices, As Long as the Rivers Flow narrates the fictional story of a Native raised in

[Lead in sentence/Hook] “Son of a Trickster,” by Eden Robinson, is the story about the coming of age and rough period of adolescence of a young Aboriginal boy. Through her novel, Robinson is able to convey a message that the Aboriginal people, mainly focusing on the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, are dark and grating societies of Canada. In order for her readers to understand her perspective of the society, she first demonstrates the selfishness of the societies with the symbolism of raven along with its traits and attributes. Secondly, she uses supernaturalism which shows the mysterious and deceiving society of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. Lastly, the connection of Jared’s relationships with his peers reveal the negative influences, trends, and issues within the Aboriginal societies. Overall, all these factors contribute the darkness of both reality and the story.

It is crucial that we study Australian Narratives as it creates insights into events we may have not explored. This is evident in the novel "Crow Country" written by Kate Constable. It teaches us about Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, Australia's History and respect, as we experience what it feels like to live in rural Australia, creating an understanding about Aboriginal people. Therefore, through a close read and study of "Crow Country", readers are able to learn new and important things about our past and present, showing that it is crucial to study Australian Narratives.

Aboriginal persons in Canada have been facing oppression ever since colonization began. Even when Canada gained independence from the British Empire, the oppression continued and still goes on today. One major contributing factor to the oppression of Aboriginal people in Canada is the actions taken by the Government. The Government of Canada has in fact mistreated and found to be partaking in wrongdoing when dealing with the Aboriginal population in this country. With this ugly truth being revealed, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had to be tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. (cite)

Night: a pitch-black time of day in which no light is shown, other than the reflection of sunlight off of the moon's surface. Darkness is scary when alone and can also be dangerous to those not cautious. Elie Wiesel is a survivor of something so gruesome but inspiring to all people who have read the Nobel Peace Prize winner's novel. Elie was trapped in a darkness he could not escape until the world once realized it was not all about themselves. To be free and living a life worth living then in a matter of seconds, being confined as though you are a zoo animal. Only to be observed at a distance with no pity or thought that lies behind those caged doors; And once that caged animal is released, not all of it is free.

As Beard recognizes, "Native peoples often serve as reminders of a place, an occasion, or, most often a mythic past, and they are expected to perform that identity in the present" (494), what this quote speaks to is a kind of conspicuous performance, a social construction of Aboriginal peoples that pivots around a variety of stereotypes and systemic racism. Writing from the position of a pre-service secondary English language arts (ELA) teacher, my motivations in this paper involve using Marilyn Dumont 's poetry as a way to address Beard 's concerns, "[building students '] capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect" (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 7), while simultaneously teaching them how to analyse poetry. More specifically, Dumont 's series of beading poems, in her collection The Pemmican Eaters, provides an opportunity to engage high school students in a discussion around the significance of cultural practices, while at the same time revisiting the interplay of Canadian histories, both Aboriginal and colonial. At the same time, I will also describe Dumont 's use of irony, which Andrews explains as a cultural ethos that is a unique element of Plains peoples’ Indigenous art (3). Introducing this uniquely First Nations brand of irony to students may work to give life to Aboriginal culture, bringing "Native peoples . . . [out] of the mythic past" (Beard, 494) and into the present. Finally, the act of beading itself ties directly to

In this research paper, I will be explaining how western colonialism and racism destroyed the reputation of aboriginal peoples in Canada. The reason why I chose this topic because it shows the strong relationship to anthropology and after taking aboriginal studies 30, it also shows that I have a clear understanding about the history of aboriginal peoples in Canada, the struggles they have been through over the past decade and the challenges they still face today in modern day society. I’ll be addressing these issues in a couple of paragraphs on the discrimination and the inequalities of these “minorities” and how they had to assimilate into European culture, leaving their way of life behind them.

“We live the Old Way” are the words that author, Catherine Knutsson, uses to introduce readers to the fascinating culture of the Métis Indians in her intriguing book, Shadows Cast by Stars (1). Set in an unspecified future, sixteen year old protagonist, Cassandra Mercredi, finds herself and her family fleeing from the mainland of UA and going to find refuge on “The Island” (Knutsson 21). They have been targeted because they are “marked by the precious Plague antibodies in [their Native American] blood” (Knutsson 1). According to Essentials of Young Adult Literature, Knutsson’s book is categorized as American Indian and Indigenous Literature (Short, Tomlinson, Lynch-Brown, and Johnson 177). After analyzing the text, the categorization is correct because the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Cassandra, who provides readers are given insight into the cultural beliefs and values of the Métis tribe. Additionally, her character communicates the traditional roles of men and women within the tribe, while integrating cultural details that provide authenticity to the story.

One of the most contentious issues in Canada’s history is that of the Metis. Some people feel this unique group of people does not deserve any sort of recognition, whereas others believe their unique history and culture is something to be recognized and cherished. The history of the Metis people is filled with struggle; not only struggles against other powers, but also a struggle for self-identification. Despite strong opposition, the Metis people of Canada have matured as a political force and have taken great strides towards being recognized as a unique people.

Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach incorporates words and phrases from the Haisla language in an effort to reflect the protagonist’s culture while also satiating the cultural curiosity of a non-indigenous audience. The incorporation of Haisla is one of the mechanics of the Glorious Northern Gothic novel, as it provides a reformation of traditional Gothic conventions through an Indigenous lens. The Haisla language is presented through the protagonist’s narration and is usually introduced in an instructional tone or story. Italics mark most of the language in the text; however in some instances the words are not italicized or are only implied. It is through this process of marking that the use of Haisla language moves beyond a mode of integrating the protagonist’s culture into the story and provides a critique on Non-Indigenous Canadians’ appetite for Indigenous stories: what language the text contains and what language is omitted defines what parts of the culture Non-Indigenous Canadians have already consumed or are permitted to consume.

In April 1995 Pamela George, an Ojibway women, was brutally murdered in Saskatchewan. Her murderers Steven Kummerfield and Alex Ternowetsky, young middle-class white men, were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to merely six and a half years in prison. George’s story is one of the many Indigenous women who have been murdered or missing over the past years. There are over 580 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, close to half are put aside and left unsolved. Only 53% of these cases have lead to charges of homicide (Klement 8). Drastically, statistics indicate that Aboriginals are faced with more hardships throughout their life compared to the average Canadian. Indigenous groups, particularly women, suffer from a lower rate of education, higher suicide rates and an array of health risks. This paper will examine the role settler colonization history has played in perpetuating conditions for violence to indigenous women, many of which are still experienced today. This will be accomplished by first assessing the history of settler colonization and its negative repercussions. Secondly, it will use Sherene Razak’s concept of “spatial segregation,” to illustrate how state institutions have facilitated violence through space, race and the law. Lastly, this paper will use evidence from the film “Finding Dawn” to further demonstrate how violence towards indigenous women is institutionally produced.