Thursday 10 May 2012

Good Ole White Folks

Amazingly (for lack of a more negative word) all the issues Aboriginals face are from one root problem: White people. With the arrival of European settlers searching for free land to conquer and expand came extreme heartache for the Native people already living in Canada. The history of how the Europeans treated the Aboriginals can be described in four words: colonization, segregation, assimilation, and discrimination.

source: National Resources Canada

To see a timeline look at my prezi on the history of Canada and how we treated the
Aboriginal people: shortest history timeline ever

With the creation of the reserves, the forced European ideals, the stripping of the Aboriginal culture, and the residential schools that tore up communities it is no wonder they are facing issues today. Aboriginals were told that there way of life was uncivilized and outdated. They were told that everything they had been doing for the past thousand years was wrong and had to be changed. This still creates problems today as Aboriginals feel unwanted and put astray with their identity crumbled. How can we better ourselves when we don't even know who we are? The residential schools enforced the European ideas and caused great suffering throughout the communities. Children were taken from their families and stripped of their identities and cultures. Residential school is also the reason for a lot of the alcoholism with Aboriginal people. With their children taken from them the adults resulted to drinking to waste away the days missing them. Or, if they themselves went to residential schools they drink to forget the suffering they went through while in the residential schools.  Alcoholism leads to violence and sometimes death. Loss of identity leads to crime and gangs, so does poverty and poor living conditions. Everything is the aftermath of the arrival of the Europeans. A chain reaction has progressed and grown like a snowball rolling down a hill at an uncontrollable pace. Every action has a reaction.
See this diagram to show one way of looking at the cycle: The Cycle of Destruction

Another Cause for a lot of grief is the absence of fathers in the Aboriginal community. As I mentioned in the last post, a lot of children are brought up by either foster parents or grandparents. This talk show explains the issue of absent fathers. Aboriginal Fathers
Without a father or support system the children turn to other people, like gang members, or end up lost with nowhere to turn. These youth are at risk to drop out of school, turn to drugs or alcohol, and commit crimes.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Esther !
    I really appreciated all the extra work you put into your blog post. I found the time line and diagrams very effective because they helped me understand the history between the natives and the "good ole white folk". Seeing as your topic relates to my own, your post has helped me understand my own a lot better. The fact that many aboriginal children lack the support system necessary for any child to grow means that they often make poor decisions such as becoming involved with drugs and alcohol and dropping out of school. Through my topic I have learned that this cycle leads many aboriginals to the the streets where there are a whole new set of dangers at hand.
    Thank you for the detailed post !

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anne!
      I am glad you like the prezi diagrams. I find that visuals are the best way to explain something without writing out a whole essay. I hope that when people see this they will see how complex the issue is and that the initial cause branched out into many different causes. Lack of support systems play a huge role. Whether it is explaining unemployment, violence, crime, gangs, poverty, or social issues, lack of support can be a cause and factor. This is really shown in our prison systems where Aboriginal inmates are not let out because they have nowhere safe and supportive to go.
      I am glad you liked the post and that it connects so well with you topic. I like that we can compare notes and find a solution that benefits both of our issues.

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  2. I agree with you on that esther : ). I am glad we got topics that overlap ! Thank you.

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