Medicine Wheel Reflection

In this article, “ From Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life,” by David Treuer, he talks about the struggles that Native Americans have gone through. Mr. Treuer brings to the reader’s attention the struggles that most people don’t even realize have happened. Mr. Treuer has one big struggle that is still happening today that needs help to change, which is the lack of Native American language. This is such a high priority struggle due to the fact that without Native American language, there is a loss of heritage.

Every person on this planet has a set of beliefs and values that they implement into their daily lives, helping them understand the world, humanity, and themselves. This set of beliefs and values can be called a worldview. The worldviews and ways of knowing of Indigenous Peoples (in this paper, specifically Indigenous Peoples of North America) have existed for centuries, yet often they remain in juxtaposition with Western (in this paper, specifically Eurocentric) ways of knowing and Western worldviews. One way of knowing is reliant on science, order, and the

Reconciliation has been a somewhat popular issue in Canadian academia and in Canadian society in general. Reconciliation in the Canadian context is defined as a restoration of the relationship between the Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous people due to the historical injustices, that continue to affect Indigenous peoples even to this day, committed by the Government of Canada against the Indigenous peoples. This is a massive undertaking that will require the participation of both Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples alike. A project of this magnitude will not be an easy task to accomplish, as undoing over 100 years of trauma to the Indigenous peoples is not something that can be undone over night, but rather it will take decades to accomplish. There will be many obstacles in the path of reconciliation that will have to be overcome. However, reconciliation is the best opportunity to repair the relationships between the Indigenous peoples and the non-Indigenous peoples because it makes sense for all Canadians to be involved, the Government of Canada is backing the reconciliation process and some work to repair the relationship has already been done and has beneficial results for everyone.

Resolving conflicts is one of the most appreciated characteristics of a human being. It may afford one to be at peace, either, with themselves or others. Throughout North America history many conflicts arose between settlers and native people leading to a colonization procedure. Unfortunately, Canada continues to struggle with this ongoing process, which almost annihilated more than the First Nations culture. Aboriginals were forced to assimilate other culture while somehow had to find a way to bury their traumas during this terrible endeavour. To remediate this ongoing process, some authors voice this situation using their own experiences aiming for a resolution. Evidently, distinct approaches are

Often times, when it came to the discussion on equality within Canada, the actions of Canada were compared to those of the United States, and often times, a comment is made stating that the United States could learn from Canada’s example when it came to racial harmony. However, this idea was often criticized as the racial problems within Canada were just as severe. The respect and the livelihood of the First Nation were violated for years even before the start of the twentieth century. However, the issues of the First Nations were hardly ever brought to light by other Canadians because these issues were often hidden deep within the reserves that these First Nations were forced into. From taking their land away to disregarding their cultures, the government rarely ever acknowledged the needs of the First Nations until they could no longer be ignored. The government continuously stressed assimilation, especially with the Indian Act , and expected the First Nations

This rhetorical analysis will define the ethos and pathos in “Allowing the Mind to Wander” by Carole Giangrande. The importance of this article rests on an emotional plea, which provides the reader with a call for justice to the plight of indigenous people in Canadian society. This rhetorical device is part of the pathos of Giangrande’s (1990) article that evokes sadness and pity in the way that white Canadian society has alienated and marginalized the First Peoples. More so, the ethos of the article reveals the problem of an apathetic society that has lost the spirit of the 1960s Civil Rights era, which is desperately needed in the 21st century. The loss of cultural respect for the First Peoples reveals the problem of a white hegemonic society as part of a modern trend in political activism. Giangrande (1990) presents these rhetorical devices to show the loss of moral and civic activism to defend the indigenous peoples of Canada. In essence, this rhetorical analysis will define the importance of pathos and ethos in “Allowing the Mind to Wander” by Carole Giangrande.

experience and knowledge of indigenous peoples and their various ways of life. He explains the

In this paper, I will examine the issue of Indian residential schools and, ultimately, will argue that while it may have been the custom to impose colonialist and imperialist ideals in the late 1800s and early 1900s, in today’s society we view what occurred as nothing less than inhumane, an act which must be remembered as a dark shadow that for decades – and still today - clouds relations between aboriginals and the Canadian government. To understand the complexity of this matter I will discuss why this policy was implemented; I will look at the goals and the methods used to achieve these outcomes; I will discuss indigenous response to this amendment of the Indian Act; and finally, I will look at the effects this action had on indigenous peoples and their relationship with the country. It is important to know that while my opinion is clear in that I see the creation and implementation of Indian residential schools as an evil action with no redeeming qualities, there are others – as recently as Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak on March 7, 2017, who spoke out in favour of those who worked at the schools – who do not agree with my point of view . These polarized viewpoints, often times skewed by emotions and poorly informed opinions, add to the complexity of the matter, particularly in moving forward and achieving reconciliation with indigenous

Confederation, also known as the Constitution Act of 1867, served as a political purpose and alliance in which made it particularly difficult for European settlers to coexist with preindustrial societies; hence, the years after confederation resulted in confusion about how Canadian government policies would address and affect Aboriginal populations. In contrast to the spiritual and traditional lives of the Aboriginal people, the new European settlers sought to conquer nature and shed traditional values in order to contrive industrialization in Canada; hence, post-confederation policies were largely based on the upper Canadian model. Furthermore, the failure of European settlers to coexist with the Aboriginal populations led to several attempts at civilizing the indigenous people; in other words, the federal government attempted to solve the Indian problem by assuming complete dominance over the Aboriginal populations of Canada. Having said that, the Canadian government’s harsh, prejudiced and paternalistic view of the indigenous people began a cycle of social, physical and spiritual destruction in which fundamentally resulted to economic, social, health and gender inequality. With that being said, the following paper will examine the long, and often bitter series of cultural encounters and exchanges that took place after confederation, such as the brutality of residential schools, health inequality and the Oka crisis dispute.

Across Canada and the United States there are many First Nations languages which are a part of the Algonquian language family, all of which with varying states of health. Although these languages share many characteristics of the Algonquian language family, the cultures, systems of beliefs, and geographic location of their respective Nations differentiate them. In being shaped by the landscape, cultures, and spirituality of the First Nations, the language brings the speakers closer to their land and traditions while reaffirming their identity as First Peoples. Using the Blackfoot Nation to further explore this concept, this paper will show that while language threads together First Nations culture, spirituality,

Thomas King’s The Inconvenient Indian tells the story of Indigenous people in Canada and the United States, it challenges the narrative on how Indigenous history is taught and explains why Indigenous people continue to feel frustrated. King’s seeks to educate the reader as he provides a detailed accounts of the horrific massacres Indigenous people endured, yet he simultaneously inserts humorous moments which balances out the depressing content and enhances his story. The books highlights the neglect and assimilation that Indigenous were subjected to and how their survival was seen as an inconvenience to western culture. King directs his message at a Euro-centric audience to offer an accurate explanation of Indigenous culture and

Reconciliation is the process of building respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community. It is about understanding and respecting their culture and heritage and signifies ‘coming together’ to become one nation without racism and with equality for all. There are still vast differences in health, education, employment, and standards of living of the Indigenous peoples as compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Even today Indigenous peoples have a significantly lower life expectancy, up to 11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women . The infant mortality rate for the Indigenous peoples is double the rate for non-Aboriginal Australians. Understanding these inequalities is the first step to reconciling the differences. Policies such as the stolen generation and assimilation policy destroyed Indigenous identity and culture and justified the dispossession of Indigenous people and the removal of Indigenous children from their parents. We can’t change the past but we can make a better future by understanding and learning from the mistakes of the past, reconciliation is about that. Many practical and symbolic strategies have been implemented over the last 50 years to achieve reconciliation such as ATSIC, Northern Territory Intervention and the Mabo decision. However, the most significant ones are the 1967 Referendum, Closing the Gap framework in 2008 and the ‘Sorry speech’. The aim is to improve the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, unity, and historical acceptance.

Reconciliation is stated as “restoration of a state of peace to the relationship, where the entities are at least not harming each other, and can begin to be trusted not to do so in future, which means that revenge is foregone as an option” (Santa-Barbara, 174). This definition is a starting point in understanding reconciliation but does not address the spirit of forgiveness involved. It is important to recognize harms that others have done but it becomes necessary to portray these in a positive and understanding manner. This supplies the persecutor with an image that is not so negative and “monster-like” but also provides for the victim acknowledgement that there has been harm done. For reconciliation to take place, all parties involved

In Jeannette Armstrong’s poem, History Lesson, she writes in perspective of Indigenous people reacting to the first encounters with European settlers. Historically, Indigenous people did not have a positive encounter with the first settlers due to their clash of beliefs and values of how communities and structures should run. Instead, they had many disagreements which caused the partial destruction of their whole culture. It is clear that Armstrong uses the theme of history to portray the destruction that the first European settlers had on the Indigenous way of life through various points in history. Armstrong imbeds the theme of history throughout her poem to further emphasize her stance on the assimilation of the Indigenous people with the restricting and destructive effects the early settlers had on them throughout history.

Each individual makes up the society as it is, and various characteristics and beliefs makes up an individual. Although, individual lives together with a variety of personal ideologies, emotions, cultures, and rituals, they all differentiate one person from the other making up one’s own identity. This identity makes up who one is inside and out, their behaviour, actions, and words comes from their own practices and values. However, the profound history of Indigenous people raises question in the present about their identities. Who are they really? Do we as the non-native people judge them from the outside or the inside? Regardless of whether the society or the government were involved in their lives, they faced discrimination in every