Categories: All - trauma - government - children - identity

by Anthony McQueen 6 years ago

166

Ripples in time

During the period known as the 60's Scoop, spanning from the 1950s to the 1980s, the Canadian government systematically removed Aboriginal, Inuit, and Metis children from their families and communities.

Ripples in time

The connection between the LGBTQ and the 60's scoop is continuity, in the sense that they had to hold rallies, protests,and campaigns for the rights every Canadian has. Yet the end of the 60's scoop in the 1980's links to the progression of change by the Canadian government by them putting an end in to the racist and discriminatory practices and understanding what factors make others justify blame and hate making them much more accepting and a government to depend on.

The 60's scoop shows the beliefs and values of people in this time.Their beliefs and ideals are identical to the events that led to the internment camps as the government disregarded freedoms ad rights granted to everyone else in Canada, which caused the recurring unintended consequence of a loss of identity, culture and, family relations.

Canada's treatment of minority groups such as Japanese Canadians has shown a decline in progress, as their rights have once again been taken away just like residential schools. Internment camps have also had a lasting unintended consequence as many generations felt the affects of the unjust seizure of their rights and freedoms.

Seeing the intended and unintended of residential schools, it is undeniable that the aboriginal children and communities in the present time as well as the past have been affected by residential schools. The Canadian government took away rights and freedoms of the native people, Which leaves for discussion if we had a just society. But with the Truth and reconciliation committee created, with a government apology, a change has been made and has caused repairing relationships with the Aboriginal communities.

Rights and freedoms taken in Canada

Unit 1: Residential Schools

Event:The Aboriginal children were taken from their family and sent to Residential schools, stripped of their identity, language and culture in order to assimilate them into the British/Canadian society.
The unintended consequence: Survivors of the schools found themselves unable to participate in religious belief and lost Aboriginal identity.Generations of Aboriginals were affected and traumatic events from the schools have not been forgotten.

The intended consequences: The Canadian Government's will is to assimilate Aboriginal children into Canadian society to convert their religion and culture and therefore making a less diverse country,due to racism in the 20's this was seen as progressive.

It is estimated that over 150,000 aboriginal, Inuit, and Metis children were taken to residential schools. CBC News. A history of residential schools in Canada,May 16, 2008,http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280

Odds of dying for children in Indian residential schools: 1 in 25 Odds of dying for Canadians serving in WW2: 1 in 26 Schwartz, Daniel. Truth and reconciliation commision:By the numbers. CBC News, June,3,2015.

The Aboriginal children were denied the right to practice their own language and culture due to rascist beliefs that Native Canadians were "savages" and were not seen as people due to this.
The children of Native decent were forcibly taken from their homes and sent to residential schools where they were beaten, raped,and used as free labor as well as unwillingly made to practice the Catholic Religion.

The Indian Act was Created in 1867 to promote assimilation of First Nations, in the 1920's was changed to a non-optional take over of cultural and religious practices.

The rights were taken away from the parents of the children who lost their say in raising their own child, as well as freedom for the Aboriginal children who were placed in schools against their will.

This statistic shows the chance a child had of dying in residential schools. This reveals that residential schools were more prone to death than Canadian soldiers in WW2. This death statistic is an unintended consequence as well due to the blind belief of assimilating aboriginal children, which to the Canadian government, was more important then the lives of children.

Unit 2: Internment Camps

Event:During WW2 and after the attack on Pearl Harbour Japanese Canadians were moved rural towns and placed in "internment camps" where they were forced to live and work.
The influence on the Canadian government had was their ability to be able to enact the War Measures Act.Two excuses for the internment of Japanese Canadians, first being they were protecting them from other trying to harm them, anti- Japanese riots, second is they were afraid they were spying for Japan which could lead to an enemy invasion.

The beliefs and values of the Canadian government is shown as they intern Canadian citizens due to their race, second and third generation Japanese Canadians were taken from their homes as well as immigrants.The government saw them as less than them simply because of their origins.

"Tarpaper-covered barracks of simply frame construction without plumbing or cooking facilities of any kind." Villanueva, Ricco and Ross, Shmuel. Sandbox Networks inc. Https://www.infoplease.com/Japanese-relocation-centers

Forced to leave their possessions and homes and assured they would be returned once the crisis was at an end.This was allowed because the War Measures Act was enacted for the second time in our history, suspending all Japanese Canadian rights.
Japanese Canadians were denied freedom in the country they were born or immigrated to due to their race and much like the holocaust in Europe, we classified them to the public so that people knew their race and made barred them from stores and other areas.

The conditions of the internment camps were so terrible that Japan sent food and resources by means of the Red Cross organization, this camp violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as they were housed in atrocious living situations and many died from famine and other reasons due to these camps.

This quote shows the conditions of the internment camps in Canada caused by racism and excuses from the government. The decision to place Japanese Canadians in these camps made the unintended consequence of starvation,death and the violation of human rights, which in the present day is recognized via a formal apology and retribution for Japanese Canadians affected.

Unit 3: 60's Scoop

Event:The 60's scoop is a period from 1950's-1980's where aboriginal children were taken from their communities and families and placed in foster care or put up for adoption.
An event that did not change was the government taking the aboriginal children in order to more drastically assimilate them into the catholic faith and did not see them as people more as savages and under-developed.

The intended consequences of the taking of aboriginal children was to assimilate and severe communication with their family,however the unintended consequences were the children did not assimilate with ease and were mentally scarred.

"I lost everything,including my name.I lost my family. I lost my language. I lost everything about my culture." Martel,Marcia. A dark chapter in Canada's history, Http://www.google.ca/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/2898190/wat-was-the-60s-scoop-aboriginal-children-taken-from-homes-a-dark-chapter-in-canada's-history/amp/

This not only violates regulations of democracy and freedoms given supposively to every Canadian citizen but also violates parental rights and emotionally damaged children who are forced to surrender their heritage and live in a mainstream, catholic society.
The government completely and utterly disregarded the language and culture of the aboriginal,Inuit and Metis children by, once again, forcing them into residence separate and connectionally cut off from their parents.

The identity crisis of the aboriginal community and presently ongoing is a traumatic and emotionally scarring event which has cost an estimated 20,000 children cultural confusion and an identity crisis. Philp,Margaret. "The land of lost children", The Global Mail, Saturday, December 21,2002.

This quote explains the major consequences of the 60's scoop and how it still affects adult survivors.Their loss of identity and culture is evidence of the rights and freedoms they should have but did not receive.

Unit 4: LGBTQ Community

Events: The LGBTQ community (lesbian,gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer) is are types of sexuallity that people are and determines what gender they classify themselves as.
William Whatcott is an example of an a protester of the LGBTQ community who publicly expressed his displeasure and hatred via posters and his free speech. He had the right to freedom of speech until it involved hatred and discrimination of another group, in an attempt to oppress and remove them.

A continuity of the government's actions were appropriate bathrooms were ignored and many transgender males and females were barred from using restrooms in stores and restaurants.There is a generational gap between acceptance and the government many not be as accepting as teenager and youth adults who have grown up near and around LGBTQ people.

"When people are vilified as blameworthy or undeserving it is easier to justify discriminatory treatment" Supreme Court. National Post, Bloor ST East Toronto ON. www.Postmedia.com

This community faces an abundance of homophobia due to the hereditary hatred of any new or diverse group which protest for the same rights and freedoms as other groups like Asian, Black and Native Canadians, who have also been oppressed and stripped of their rights.
The right to free speech is in the Charter Of Rights and Freedoms but because of his hateful and malicious messages William Whatcott was imprisoned and the people influencing this event were the LGBTQ community who collectively altered the Canadian governments beliefs to seeing them as people with rights.

The right and freedom to use a restroom of your gender is a right extended to everyone in Canada. Simply due to the change in gender or sexual orientation these rights are taken from the LGBTQ community and put up for debate, when in reality anyone who is LGBTQ people are the only one who is affected and homophobia is depriving them freedom to live without fear of persecution from others.

This quote signifies the Canadian governments change,in that not a long period of time ago it was seen as scandalous and illegal to be gay, now they have understood the ideals and beliefs and attempt to end hateful discrimination as to learn from past mistakes.