The Theme Of The Baby In The Airmail Box

From the late 1800’s to 1996 more than 100,000 aboriginal children attended residential schools in Canada. At a majority of these government operated schools there were reports of emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse along with punishment for cultural activities. Residential schools were implemented to liberate aboriginal people from their savage ways in order for them to survive in the modernizing society.1 To a majority of the current Canadian population, impacts of residential schooling are a part of a distant past, disassociated from today’s events, this misconception. Long lasting impacts as a result of residential schooling include minimal education leading to poverty, stigmatization by the non-aboriginal public, abuses of aboriginal rights in areas such as land and the environment and the growing loss of Indigenous cultures in younger generations. With the continuing misconception of the history and lasting impact of residential schools conflict between Indigenous people and the Canadian Government has not ceased, but increased.

Residential Schools were systems set in place by the Government of Canada and enforced by Christian churches as a way to approach the “issue” of the First Nations. They were used by the government to assimilate the Aboriginal children into European culture. It is significant that Canadians remember this time in history because it's not so far in the past. We see the repercussions to this day. This source shows the perspective of the Government, and supporters of the Government. On the other hand Aboriginal people may disagree, they are still greatly struggling with misfortune due to Residential Schools. The perspective shown in the source should be looked into considering the government's insufficient response to the legacies left behind by Residential Schools. For example we see higher prison rates, more drop outs, and family abuse more than most cultural groups in

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

In the past, Canada’s Aboriginal people’s culture was at stake and for it to resolve. The Residential Schools were established to help aboriginal children to not forget about their language and culture in the contemporary society. In 1931, there were about 80 schools in Canada. It was a total of 130 schools in every territory and province. In 1996, Residential schools in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick closed all residential schools which led all the Aboriginals, Intuits, and Métis were forced to attend the schools.

Anecdotes are one of the core rhetorical devices in King’s letter because by providing examples of discrimination King and others have faced, he better gets across his point that the discrimination should end. For example, King’s quote, “...tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that funtown is closed to colored children...” shows how King effectively uses anecdotes to boost the appeal pathos, by adding in details about a crying little girl. Another instances of anecdote in the same paragraph are, “...when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodyness,"” as well as, “when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored". Both of these inform the

For several hundreds of years, Aboriginals have been impacted by the Indian Act in many ways. They have dealt with numerous challenges that have changed their lives forever. Laws were created by the Canadian government with the purpose of controlling Natives and assimilating them into Canadian culture.For multiple years,

Thomas was a NDP candidate who ran on March 30th, 2007 for the Guelph region. Political influences have affected him in a way because of who he votes for it shows some of his beliefs such as how the NDP wants to give first nations land and keep their taxes off which could be portrayed in the inconvenient Indian when he says "The issue has always been land. It will always be land, until there isn’t a square foot of land left in North America that is controlled by Native people" (King). The NDP will leave there land alone, that is why that could be an influences in Kings Life. Secondly, King uses the reserve to say “it was an unpretentious community of buildings (King 1). This shows that he might be trying to show us what it was like to grow up a native from an economic standpoint, meaning that King uses economical influences to write his stories in a way. King didn’t grow up struggled, he attended grammar school and went to post-secondary school twice, but he knows what it’s like for people that did struggle because in his books he gives aboriginals a voice that they never had which is an economical influence on him. Using what he learned at school to teach first natives English math etc. All though Thomas King hasn’t had many political and economic influences it seems evident that they are hanging In the back of his head when he writes his

Throughout his piece, King uses quotes said by famous historical figures to support his central claim that black oppression needs to be addressed. King quotes St. Augustine, a highly respected religious figure, “an unjust law is no law at all” in the middle of his logical reasoning about why there are laws that we should and should not obey (84). He uses St. Augustine’s words to differentiate the two types of laws, just and unjust laws. King agrees with St. Augustine’s words

Residential schools started in the 1870s and ended in the 1990s. The last one to close was in 1996. Aboriginal children from the ages of 4-16 were forced out of their homes and put into residential schools. The point of these schools was “to kill the Indian in the child”. It is estimated that over 150,000 aboriginal children attended the residential schools.

Knockwood explains the enforcement of residential ideologies as a “combination of physical intimidation and psychological manipulation which produced terror and confusion” (12). The premise of residential schools was to strip Indigenous children from their culture and Indigenous identity, forcing them to only speak English, or face severe consequences. Despite the government and churches best efforts, many Indigenous children still maintained their cultural roots and kept their language while at home. This governmental need for assimilation has had lasting impacts far beyond the scope of active residential schools. Neeganagwedgin notes, “while the schools may be physically closed, the legacy lingers” (34). Beyond this, she urges, present-day institutions still function in a way that continues to undermine and systematically deny, “Indigenous peoples their inherent rights as First Peoples” (Neeganagwedgin 34); such as the justice system, child welfare and the education systems.

Some privileged people disregard the violence against the oppressed people to develop a sense of safety. They hide behind their entitlement and exemption; ignoring the rest of the people that are suffering around them. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” in response to the criticism that was expressed by eight prominent white clergyman. He wrote the letter to battle injustice and oppression against African Americans during the events of the Civil Rights movement. His letter was written decades apart from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Letter to my Son,” however, both letter still reflects the ongoing events of today’s society. Coates’ letter, written on 2015, portrays a black American father writing to his son and fears that however hard he protects him from the street, encourages him to work in school, and do the right thing, the color of his skin, will always make him vulnerable. King and Coates’ letter both appeal to the broader public to inform them of the institutional racism in America. King focuses on the immorality of the church in order to justify the cause of the power structure that racism reinforce. Both authors expose the injustices of the legal system to support their indictment of the systemic racism in America.

Residential schools were a normal aspect of Aboriginal people’s lives in the 19th and 20th century. The purpose of a residential school was to convert Aboriginal children to Christianity and to assimilate them into Western culture. They were operated through the Canadian government and the church. Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their parents and put into a school, full-time. They were mistreated which led to problems that still afflict the Aboriginal population of Canada today. Many Aboriginal people want the Canadian government to recognize the inhumane and heinous acts that have been done and want compensation. The imposition of residential schools has greatly impacted the Aboriginal population which resulted in many repercussions

through. The book addresses the issue of racism before the time of Martin Luther King Jr. and

Although Kings technique of the front story to help balance the main plot throughout the novel works great within each individual volume King is still faced with the problem of having to bring up past events in order to refresh it to the reader. In order to solve this problem King used the method of shifting the narrator from past to present. Kings solution of shifting the narrator between past and present “adds complexity to the plot because the first-person narrator can reflect on the events and their causes both in the reliving and the retelling of

course of 500 years, there has been little progress in ending the inequity that the Native