Lesson 3.1: The Make Believe Ethnical Boundaries of Nationalism

Q2:

Nationalism is an umbrella term that encompasses such a vast amount of knowledge, feelings, ideas and concepts. Sometimes this term is used for the better in a positive light, but in regard to the Aboriginal people of Canada, this is often seen as a discriminatory concept that encompasses ethnicity and race in a demeaning way. Since settlers came to Canada in the 1600’s, the First Peoples have been persecuted and disregarded due to their lack of “Nationalism” and assimilation to white European Culture. This concept is perhaps exemplified most by The Indian Act of 1876, which essentially clamed First Nations people in North America as wards of the state.

The Indian Act of 1876 sought to assimilate First Nations people into White European Culture and essentially strip them of their Aboriginal Identity. The Indian Act not only establish First Nations peoples as “other” but even further separated women as not being able to hold their own status. This oppressive legislature established itself as one of the most notoriously “white washing” documents, especially within Canada, which brought with it many horrors.

Under the Indian Act of 1876, residential schools were created to assimilate First Nations children into white culture. The schools involved stripping children from their families, abuse to enforce “white behaviour”, and discrimination against any Indigenous culture. I grew up learning about these schools, and truly there is nothing that makes me more ashamed to be Canadian. The abuse and oppression present during the time of the Indian Act is extensive and horrific. I have always found that learning about something from an academic point of view is a very different experience compared to learning about something from an emotional point of view, which is why I searched for an article on first hand accounts of people who experienced residential schools. This article illustrates the depth of hurt that the Indian Act and its legislature caused on First Nations people as a whole.

The Indian Act also came with the amendment of banning Potlaches, a sacred ceremony between bands that shared wealth, food and gifts that was banned by the government in an attempt for assimilation. The Potlatch was crucial to coastal First Nations bands sharing wealth and establishing relationships, so by stripping them of this right it was a huge step in oppressing and assimilating First Nations culture.

The Parliament of Canada passed the Indian act in an attempt to unify Canada, with the idea of Nationalism in mind, which reinforces the misconceptions of what Nationalism should be. The Indian Act fully reinforces many of the claims that Coleman is making in his book White Civility on the critique of Nationalism, civility and white culture.

The Indian Act exemplifies a point made by Coleman, where he states that “No nation possesses an ethnic base naturally.” (7) The Canadian Parliament made a choice to discriminate against First Nations culture in favour of “Nationalism”, in favour of unifying and assimilating Aboriginal people into white European culture. There was no need for assimilation of culture in Canada, which I would say present day, though still flawed, we have more of an understanding of the multicultural mosaic we need to embrace rather than the melting pot that The Indian Act of 1876 sought to create.

Bibliography

Chapman, Daniel. “White Civility: The Literary Project of English Canada.” White Civility , University of Toronto Press, 2006, pp. 3–12.

Hansen, Erin, and Karrmen Crey. “The Indian Act.” Indigenousfoundations, First Nations Studies UBC, 2009, indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act/.

Pressprogress. “14 First-Hand Stories Underlining How Residential Schools Tried to ‘Get Rid’ of Indigenous Cultures.” PressProgress, 16 Dec. 2016, pressprogress.ca/14_first_hand_stories_underlining_how_residential_schools_tried_to_get_rid_of_indigenous_cultures/.