preview

European Contact with the Natives

Best Essays

Was Canada’s First Nations Population Better off Before European Contact?

A long, long time ago, the aboriginal people of Canada lived here in their motherland peacefully for the past thousands of years, celebrating their festivals and following their traditions. Suddenly one day, a group of white men arrived, thinking that this is where they will flourish for the rest of their lives. And through their contacts, the power, traditions, and history of the natives became nearly extinct. The nations of the aboriginals of Canada worsened in major aspects of their society since the European contact, and they could have been way better off without them. This contact did not demonstrate mutualism, but instead, parasitism, which I will …show more content…

In other cases, some natives are still struggling to survive, facing economical issues, since they lack acceptance to employment in modern society[vi]. The problem of the natives is that they lack self-control and that they face discrimination, causing stress, in this western society. And because of that, the medical care of the white men made the natives rely too heavy on it, resulting in the overuse of western drugs that leads to an unhealthy life. The European goods did not just allow the white men to rule over the natives, but it also spoiled the entire native population in America, making lots of Indians to become alcoholic, as we see today[vii]. Why did most white men show discrimination towards them? It is because they saw most Indians being alcoholic and drug addicts. The addiction of European products is not only seen with the aboriginal people of Canada, but also in other areas such as China, where opium consumption spread widely and became an addictive habit in just a few years, which caused the Chinese economy and power to collapse[viii]. There are benefits that are received by the natives, such as education and medical care, but the issue here is that having these infrastructure built, the First Nations are drawing away from their old traditions and customs, merging further in with the Europeans. Besides, would the natives need western education in order to live in their native society? Would they need health care for European diseases if the

Get Access