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Canadians need to understand that residential schools didn't go wrong somewhere along the way
The *education* was the genocidal part
And that was the main purpose of the *schools*
Horrific abuse happened because the school system was, by design, already genocidal.
The *education* was the genocidal part
And that was the main purpose of the *schools*
Horrific abuse happened because the school system was, by design, already genocidal.
I could go on about the politics of recognition associated with the concept of genocide, but I won't. We know Canada engaged in dozens of #genocides through this system. This isn't even a debate.
Instead, let's look at the big picture for a minute.
Instead, let's look at the big picture for a minute.
Canadians need to know why. They need to understand that residential schools were always about the land.
The plan was to make Indians forget their responsibilities to their lands - to make us forget who we are - and by extension to eliminate competing claims to the land.
The plan was to make Indians forget their responsibilities to their lands - to make us forget who we are - and by extension to eliminate competing claims to the land.
This same goal of eliminating all competing claims to the land is still being pursued by the Canadian government to this day - except by different means.
The government calls it #certainty. It wants "certainty" on the question of who has #title to the land. (Spoiler: we do.)
The government calls it #certainty. It wants "certainty" on the question of who has #title to the land. (Spoiler: we do.)
What's even more gross is that this drive for certainty has been framed in terms of #reconciliation - as in reconciling competing title claims. Arthur Manuel writes about this in his book Reconciliation Manifesto, and it is the predicament Natives are facing today with #BillC15.
Canada still wants the land, and it still wants Indigenous peoples to just go away. It wants to solve the "Indian problem" and it wants to answer the "land question." This isn't a remnant of a bygone past.
The ideological terrain remains the same. We need you to understand that.
The ideological terrain remains the same. We need you to understand that.
Excellent thread on "intentions" here. Please check it out: https://twitter.com/justicedanielh/status/1339252923696443392?s=19
