By Balwant Sanghera
The unfortunate discovery of remains of 215 students from the grounds of a former Indian Residential School in Kamloops has brought international attention to the plight of the Indigenous communities in Canada. The National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 has placed a sharp focus on this issue. A day dedicated to celebrating the Indigenous culture, language, customs and traditions of the Indigenous communities has been overshadowed by the discovery in Kamloops. This, along with an increase in incidents of racism againstpeople of Chinese heritage has brought the issue of racism in Canada to the forefront.
A brief overview of Canada’s history indicates that the European settlers in this country have been a dominant presence in Canada all along. The Indigenous communities were more or less sidelined in this process. The concept of Indian Residential Schools devastated the Aboriginal culture, language, customs and the way of life of the Indigenous communities. The arrival of other communities did little to change this thinking. In this context, policies like the Chinese Head Tax, the Komagata Maru tragedy and the internment of people of Japanese heritage during World War Two solidified this approach of racism and discrimination against racialized communities. Things did not begin to change till early 1970s when Canada was officially declared as a multicultural nation. This prompted apologies and redresses of these communities by the federal government and certain provincial governments.
This country’s early history has emphasized all along the concept of two founding nations-British and French in building Canada… Unfortunately, the third most important partner in this process-the Indigenous community- has been completely overlooked. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, the Chinese community has also played a very important role in the growth and development of Canada. Since 1890s, the South Asian community has also made a significant contribution to making Canada a better place to live. Unfortunately, all ofthese communitiesthe Indigenous, Chinese, Japanese and South Asian, never got the kind of recognition and respect they deserved. Rather, from time to time they have been the targets of racism, violence, abuse, discriminationand what not.
Our past including our history cannot be changed.We have to accept it. . What has happened in the past can’t be changed. However, we can all learn lessons from our past. This is what is happening now. The Indigenous community has begun to assert itself. To their credit, various governments and agencies recognise this reality and are trying to find best ways to address injustices of the past. These attempts at reconciliation with the Indigenous communities are commendable. Other communities including the Chinese, Japanese and South Asian and others appear to be fully supportive of the federal and provincial governments’ initiatives to accommodate the Indigenous communities. Canada of 2021 is very different from the one in 1867 when four of its regional partners joined hands to form the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.
To-day’s Canada is a truly multicultural and multilingual country of 38 million people from all over the globe. It is known around the world as one of the most inclusive, welcoming and peaceful countries in the world. Majority of Canadians are eager to move on and work hard to make this country a truly inclusive one where our differences are not only recognized and accepted but also appreciated. Now the momentum is there to move on and start the healing process. Of course, changing our education system to teach the histories, contributions and perspective of these marginalized and racialized communities at all levels of schooling will be a good start.
Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.
