Ojibwa Education Essay

The federal government is responsible for the delivery of primary health care services on-reserve as well as for funding the province for programs and services (Lavoie, 2013). Conversely, the province is responsible for primary health care services off-reserve, as well as hospital and physician services. While these jurisdictional boundaries seem to be clear in theory, in practice, they have been proven to be ambiguous and complex, and at times even self-serving (Lavoie, 2013; Kelly, 2011). This has contributed in an alarming burden of illness among First Nations communities that have economic, political and social implications for all Canadians. A study of these ambiguities and complexities as well as their consequences first requires a scan of the historical policies that have led to the current state of affairs in the healthcare of First Nations people.

The impact of colonization on First Nations peoples in Canada is unsurpassable, regarding every aspect of Aboriginal life and well-being. Throughout Canadian history, the government has been aiming to assimilate and annihilate Aboriginal people by way of racist policies, ethnocentric institutions, discriminatory laws and destructive capitalist behaviours. Because of this, Aboriginal people have suffered many losses, both physically and culturally. One of the main perpetrators of enacting this loss is the education system. The education system in Canada has and continues to threaten the relationship First Nations peoples have with the land. The connection First Nations peoples have with the land is crucial to their cultures, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. Colonization and colonialism jeopardize this relationship and that is what this essay will address.

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

Throughout Canada’s 150 years of being a country, Indigenous people were oppressed. The children were forced into residential schools, and eventually, over decades, the entire culture was lost. Looking back on it now, it is clear that what had happened was a “cultural genocide.” Cultural genocide is defined as, “the destruction of structures and practices that allow a group to continue as a group” (Moffit, Brown, 2017).

Services were also addressed extensively by the White Paper, and rather than being provided by the federal government, the provincial government would now be the sphere where social remedies were structured and applied for First Nations groups. The provincial and municipal governments would also increasingly be responsible to provide ‘enriched services’ which would close the economic gap between Euro-Canadian and First Nations societies. In regards to the numbered treaties, it was claimed lawful obligations must be recognized, and the disparity between relevant and irrelevant provisions would inform a re-negotiation of the treaties with the ultimate goal of having the treaties phased out until they can equitably be ended. Finally, the White Paper argued that the control of Indian lands should be transferred to the Indian people, and it was proposed that reserve lands would no longer be held in trust by the Canadian government, but rather would held in full ownership by its own inhabitants as they saw fit to divide. Despite its positive language and (seemingly) good intent to help First Nations peoples, the White Paper possessed a clear disparity between what was stated and what was actually intended by the government. Essentially the Canadian government claimed to be attempting to provide equality, but this attempt really only served to disguise the underlying attempt at the assimilation of the First Nations population into Euro-Canadian society. This

The Canadian government enacted an Indian Act in 1876 which outlines their approach towards the elimination of the Aboriginal government, land, religion, and so on. This policy’s central goal was to assimilate the entire aboriginal population into Canadian civilization. The act described how to categorize one as an Indian, how one could lose their Indian status, the abolition of Native traditions and practices, and much more. Through residential schooling, which was administered through the Indian Act, the country was able to force allegiance in mass volumes. The word ‘residential schools’ refers to a schooling system which intends to enforce Euro-Canadian values into Aboriginal youth. After many years of agonizing discrimination and

The purpose of this essay is to investigate whether the Oka Crisis has had a positive or negative effect on First Nations affairs in Canada. There are many opinions that could be explored based on research of the crisis. The side that the crisis had a negative effect on Canada could be taken, because the crisis created tension in relations between the government and the Mohawks and caused many physical and emotional

Second, Canada’s First Nations’ plight can be improved through self-governance. According to Pocklington, “For several years, Canadian aboriginal leaders have been demanding the recognition of a right of Native self-determination and thereby, for the aboriginal collectivities that choose it a right of self-government” (102). Aboriginal self-governance is a controversial issue in Canada. Before researching the issue I believed that self-governance would deter national unity, after further investigation, I presently believe that the claim for Aboriginal self-governance is justifiable. Although, according to Blakeney, “It will be a real challenge to make effective

Canada has been home to Aboriginals for centuries, who play an imperative role in the history of Canada. Culture and tradition have been brought into this country with the help of millions of Aboriginals. Aboriginals have been known to be very strong supporters of their culture, and heritage and take very high importance towards it. They are very traditional people, and have been looking up to their Ancestral ways for centuries. The treaty relationship between Canada and First Nations has caused a rift and a divide amongst each other for many reasons. Although there has been so much history and tension amidst the two, there is always room for improvement. A lot of things can be done to strive towards a positive relationship, starting with accepting the culture of Aboriginals and realizing that it is something they will not be letting go. Secondly, education can play a big role in helping this situation, and bringing more awareness to the situation starting from a young age. (p. 5) Lastly, The rights and freedoms of all people in the country need to be equal and similar. Certain changes can really help the state of the situation but it is a matter of willing to try and see the change that we all want.

First Nation Peoples within Canada have been facing many injustices in their homeland since the dawn of colonization. The most unraveling point to First Nation assimilation was the formation of the consequential Indian Act and residential schools resulting in a stir of adversity. As racist ideologies within Canada developed, upheaval against such treatment was undertaken as First Nation communities fought back against government land claims and eradication of treaty rights. In attempt to make amends, proper compensations from the injustices within residential schools have been released and the key for the future is allowing First Nation self-government. Ideals with the intent of ultimate assimilation have been standardized unto First Nation

Access to the communities is provided year round by Wasaya Airline and airstrips that are maintained by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Of course, each Aboriginal community is unique with its own set of traditions and ways of healing but my observation after working within the communities for over ten years is that they all suffer from improperished conditions and substandard housing. The local economies are primarily based upon government services (Indian and Northern Affairs) (INAC) and small business. Most of the reserves have six hundred people or less, and each community has a nursing station. The nursing stations are well-maintained functional buildings built in or about the early 1960’s and are maintained by Health Canada. First Nations and Inuit Health (FNIH) maintains responsibility for primary care services in the majority of the northwest Ontario reserve communities. In the north, nurses are the primary care givers working in an extended scope of practice, and client care is centrally coordinated by nurses working within interdisciplinary teams. The majority of the nursing and medical staff working for FNIH in the Sioux Lookout zone are Caucasian and do not come from local communities. This could outwardly appear as a reinforcement of power relations in the racial identities. There is only very limited cultural training given to employees when they are employed by FNIH. Medical advice and

Trudeau made a number of promises during his election campaign, including five central claims revolving around aboriginal education reform and a public inquiry into the abduction of indigenous women. Trudeau remains committed to Indigenous relations after his election to office but the success of his mandates and implementation of conciliatory policies attract controversy. This year marks the three year anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its 94 calls to action to amend relations with Canada’s indigenous people, all of which Prime Minister Trudeau promised to bring to fruition.

The Canadian government has always found loopholes and ways around subjects that they do not want to deal with or talk about. When they were approached by the Nisga’a way back in 1890 they brushed them off and told them that as long as they did not get in the way of development, their communities would go unharmed. “Aboriginal people maintained only certain hunting and trapping rights on the land.” The people of this group wanted to have a self-governed community and felt that they should have the authority to make decisions that would better their standards of living. Their first attempt at approaching the provincial government in 1927 was declined due to the fact that a law was in place prohibiting Indians to advance land claims. Finally in 1973 the Canadian government overruled the laws that were set and began to negotiate with the First Nation’s people in 1976. “Aboriginal peoples argued that their right to self-government existed because their societies historically had been organized and self-ruling.” The Aboriginals were given the freedom that they

The Metis children were brought to residential school not on the context of providing them with a western education, but rather to convert them to Christianity. Colonialism and its lasting legacies still impact the lives of Métis people. With the federal government not assuming fiduciary responsibility for Métis education unlike the First Nations, decolonisation of the Métis people and recovery of their traditions and identity is impaired. Traditions and cultural education differ vastly between the Métis and First Nations and with no federal resources the road to recovery is a long one for the Mètis people.

* Having the government, and the first nations agree to these terms is very important because first nations are their own people and deserve to be treated as such.