DOCSLIB.ORG

Full Circle Full Circle

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Full Circle Full Circle FULL CIRCLE FULL CIRCLE the aboriginal healing WAYNE foundation & the K SPEAR unfinished work of hope, healing & reconciliation AHF WAYNE K SPEAR i full circle FULL CIRCLE the aboriginal healing foundation & the unfinished work of hope, healing & reconciliation WAYNE K SPEAR AHF 2014 © 2014 Aboriginal Healing Foundation Published by Aboriginal Healing Foundation Aboriginal Healing Foundation 275 Slater Street, Suite 900, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5H9 Phone: (613) 237-4441 / Fax: (613) 237-4442 Website: www.ahf.ca Art Direction and Design Alex Hass & Glen Lowry Design & Production Glen Lowry for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation Printed by Metropolitan Printing, Vancouver BC ISBN 978-1-77215-003-2 English book ISBN 978-1-77215-004-9 Electronic book Unauthorized use of the name “Aboriginal Healing Foundation” and of the Foundation’s logo is prohibited. Non-commercial reproduction of this docu- ment is, however, encouraged. This project was funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation but the views expressed in this report are the personal views of the author(s). contents vi acknowledgments xi a preface by Phil Fontaine 1 introduction 7 chapter one the creation of the aboriginal healing foundation 69 chapter two the healing begins 123 chapter three long-term visions & short-term politics 173 chapter four Canada closes the chapter 239 chapter five an approaching storm by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm 281 chapter six coming full circle 287 notes 303 appendices 319 index acknowledgments “Writing a book,” said George Orwell, “is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness.” In the writing of this book, the usual drudgery was offset by the pleasure of interviewing a good many interesting, thoughtful and extraordinary people. I am grateful to them for their generous offering of their time and attention. It is no exaggeration to say that without the wealth of material they provided, this book would not have been possible. The twelve years I spent at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation were among my most challenging and rewarding. I am grateful to Georges Erasmus, with whom I enjoyed an especially productive collaboration. Whether they know it or not, everyone who ever worked at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was the beneficiary of his calm, competent and principled leadership. The ahf Board of Directors were, to an individual, among the most professional and inspirational people with whom I’ve had the good fortune of working. Here I must mention my friend viii Garnet Angeconeb, a residential school survivor who exemplifies resilience, and a giant among men. The large-hearted Maggie Hodgson was characteristically generous: as anyone who knows her will attest, she is the rare and invaluable person who’ll tell you what you need to hear, in direct terms, no matter the inconvenience. Mike DeGagné was my boss but also, at the end of my days at the Foundation, a friend. I valued his generous leadership and his keen sense of humour. He expected the best of his staff and made every effort to support and further them in their professional endeavours, not only while at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation but in their years beyond. This book would not have been written without Mike’s support. I wish I could name every colleague from whose acquaintance I’ve benefitted, but that would be a book in itself. I miss my colleague Gail Valaskakis, and the thought that she’ll never read this book sores me. Linda Côté, our Corporate Secretary, was the very model of professional competence, and she kept the ahf running smoothly. It’s astonishing to me how many talented folks flowed through the Foundation, proving that aboriginal people can indeed run effective and efficient organizations. Or even, as in the case of the ahf, create them. The careful and trained eye of Flora Kallies caught more errors in this book of mine than I’d like to admit. A good reader is every writer’s secret weapon, but I’ll make no secret of the fact that this is a better book on account of her diligence. Somewhere around 2010, I asked Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm to research and write what became Chapter 5 (An Approaching Storm). In 2013, she contributed an additional section, on the Legacy of Hope Foundation. Kateri, a well-known and respected author, worked ix closely with me and with the ahf board on these sections. I edited her contributions for the purpose of tonal and stylistic consistency. I still regard them however as her work, and I hope my changes were sensitive enough that she still regards them this way too. I was hired in 1999 by my first boss at the ahf, Kanatiio Gabriel. A man of great principle and compassion, Kanatiio created the Communications department which I would lead after 2006. To him I am much indebted, for his example of personal integrity and for my lucky inheritance of a shop he had put on solid ground. I’m mindful of the fact that my parents have supported my writing from the very beginning, and that this support is the foundation of my accomplishments. So much in one’s life is a matter of mere fortune, and I’ve been lucky to have had loving parents who provided me every advantage necessary to a good and happy life. I had no interest in applying for the Communications Officer posting when my partner brought to my attention the Globe and Mail advertisement in the Summer of 1999. I did it merely to appease her. I’d worked for years in aboriginal organizations, and the last thing I wanted was more of the nepotism and dysfunction that I had come to regard as inevitable. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation changed my thinking, and it changed my life. I thank my partner Nicole for setting in motion one of the most amazing rides of my life. – wks a preface * by Phil Fontaine I was the Manitoba Vice-Chief at the Assembly of First Nations in 1990 when I first spoke publicly about the physical and sexual abuses I experienced in the Fort Alexander Indian Residential School, in Manitoba. This was, needless to say, an incredibly sensitive and private matter, not something that one talks about easily. I’d been preparing myself for months to talk about the residential schools, which I did at a gathering of Assembly of First Nations Chiefs in Whitehorse. I told my audience on that day it was time for a conversation about residential schools to begin, and that until we had this discussion our people would be unable to deal effectively with the many issues facing our communities, from poverty and addiction to treaties and self-government. The phrase “residential school syndrome” had been around as early as the 1980s, yet the residential school was still a taboo subject in the early 90s. My hope was that by coming forward with my story, I would make it easier for others to do the same, and that by breaking through the walls of fear and shame which imprisoned us we could all begin a healing process. Also important was to record for posterity the collective experiences of our people, so that there would be understanding not only of what had happened but of its effects on former students, their families and communities. This remained an important goal * Assembly of First Nations National Chief, 1997–2000 and 2003–2009 xii preface when it came time to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Before I spoke in public, I had conversations with church officials to determine if there was any willingness on their part to begin a disclosure process. These discussions convinced me that the time to deal with this terrible history had arrived. What I did not anticipate, however, was that this matter would so quickly become so public. It’s true I had spoken openly to the Chiefs, but I hadn’t expected the journalists in attendance to turn this into national headline news. As strange as it may seem today, I was taken completely by surprise. It would be fifteen years from this first public disclosure in Whitehorse to the Prime Minister’s very public apology on the floor of the House of Commons in Ottawa. In many respects, the Indian Residential School System dominated my work during this entire time. As early as 1990, those of us committed to addressing the residential school abuses were clear about what had to happen: we called for a public inquiry, stressing that a healing process had to be an integral part of this work. Furthermore, we didn’t want our memories to disappear and urged that the testimonies of survivors should become part of Canada’s historical record. I feel now, as I did then, that all Canadians should know this history and have some understanding of what it means to indigenous people. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement is an accomplishment of survivors. It simply wouldn’t have happened without their courage and unyielding commitment. Survivors came forward by the hundreds with their stories, determined to make certain that the truth about the residential schools was known and that the injustices they suffered as children were xiii by phil fontaine addressed. I am very honoured to have been able to serve them as National Chief, from roughly the time that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was first established in 1998 to the time of the Prime Minister’s apology in 2008. The ahf was very important, and its work was essential to addressing the legacy of the century- long residential school system. It was furthermore an honour to have been involved in the creation of the Common Experience Payment and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Want to Have Some Fun with Tech and Pol Cart
    Want To Have Some Fun With Technology and Political Cartoons? Dr. Susan A. Lancaster Florida Educational Technology Conference FETC Political and Editorial Cartoons In U.S. History http://dewey.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/edpolcart.html • Political cartoons are for the most part composed of two elements: caricature, which parodies the individual, and allusion, which creates the situation or context into which the individual is placed. • Caricature as a Western discipline goes back to Leonardo da Vinci's artistic explorations of "the ideal type of deformity"-- the grotesque-- which he used to better understand the concept of ideal beauty 2 • Develop Cognitive • Historical and Thinking and Higher Government Events Levels of Evaluation, • Group Work Analysis and Synthesis • Individual Work • Create Student • Current Events Drawings and Interpretations • Sports Events • Express Personal • Editorial Issues Opinions • Foreign Language and • Real World Issues Foreign Events • Visual Literacy and • Authentic Learning Interpretation • Critical Observation and Interpretation • Warm-up Activities • Writing Prompts 3 • Perspective A good editorial cartoonist can produce smiles at the nation's breakfast tables and, at the same time, screams around the White House. That's the point of cartooning: to tickle those who agree with you, torture those who don't, and maybe sway the remainder. 4 http://www.newseum.org/horsey/ Why include Political Cartoons in your curriculum? My goal was to somehow get the students to think in a more advanced way about current events and to make connections to both past and present Tammy Sulsona http://nieonline.com/detroit/cftc.cfm?cftcfeature=tammy 5 Cartoon Analysis Level 1 Visuals Words (not all cartoons include words) List the objects or people you see in the cartoon.
    [Show full text]
  • National Aboriginal Awareness Week Booklet
    National Aboriginal Awareness Week 2016 May 19–22 Aboriginal Awareness This week of celebration is an opportunity for all Canadians, especially young people and educators, who have the opportunity to create a Shared Teachings/Learnings environment to learn more about Aboriginal cultural heritages of Canada. By sharing our knowledge and experience, there will be greater understanding and harmony among all Canadians. In recognition of the many aboriginal cultures and experiential difference that exist among the BC and Canadian aboriginals, the Shared Teachings/Learnings suggested in this booklet are intended to highlight Aboriginal peoples, events, places, issues and realities that are statement of knowledge about Aboriginal peoples’ cultures, values, beliefs, traditions, history and languages. Source(s) Shared Learning: Integrating BC Aboriginal Content K–10 Did you know? Did you know that some of BC’s towns or cities have names that come from aboriginal sources. Find out what the following names mean and from which language the words come from. Match the names with the description. Chilliwack The name comes from an Okanagan word meaning “the always place”, in the sense of a permanent dwelling place. Coquitlam Is the name of the local tribe, ch.ihl-KWAY-uhk. This word is generally interpreted to mean “going back up”. Kamloops Is likely from the Salish tribal name which is translated as “small red salmon”. The name refers to the sockeye salmon common to the area. Suggestion: Make up your own matching work list or create a word search, etc. Place names reveal Aboriginal peoples’ contributions: Place names are never just meaningless sounds.
    [Show full text]
  • Proposal for a National Program of Reparation and Reconciliation-1
    ORIGINS INC SUPPORTING PEOPLE SEPARATED BY ADOPTION A Submission of Origin SPSA Inc in Response to Part (b) of the Terms of Reference of the Senate Inquiry into Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices A Proposal for a National Program of Reparation and Reconciliation to Address the Consequences of Forced Adoption 1 Introduction This proposal outlines a program of reparation and reconciliation to address the consequences on families -- mothers, sons and daughters, fathers, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren – who were separated from one another by past forced adoption policies. It follows and elaborates on previous submissions by Origins to the Senate Inquiry into Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices. Background Forced adoption practices which separated single mothers in Australia from their children have parallels to similar events in other nations and other cultures. Similarly, one can also look at global principles of redress and reparation for guidance on how to proceed with a program that will meet not only the needs of the mothers and their lost sons and daughters, but also the needs of their immediate and extended families, and of society as well. “16(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) On December 16, 2005, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed The Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law.” This document gives direction to nations on how to address gross violations of human rights, including violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
    [Show full text]
  • Alternative North Americas: What Canada and The
    ALTERNATIVE NORTH AMERICAS What Canada and the United States Can Learn from Each Other David T. Jones ALTERNATIVE NORTH AMERICAS Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20004 Copyright © 2014 by David T. Jones All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s rights. Published online. ISBN: 978-1-938027-36-9 DEDICATION Once more for Teresa The be and end of it all A Journey of Ten Thousand Years Begins with a Single Day (Forever Tandem) TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Borders—Open Borders and Closing Threats .......................................... 12 Chapter 2 Unsettled Boundaries—That Not Yet Settled Border ................................ 24 Chapter 3 Arctic Sovereignty—Arctic Antics ............................................................. 45 Chapter 4 Immigrants and Refugees .........................................................................54 Chapter 5 Crime and (Lack of) Punishment .............................................................. 78 Chapter 6 Human Rights and Wrongs .................................................................... 102 Chapter 7 Language and Discord ..........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond the Sixties Scoop: Reclaiming Indigenous Identity, Reconnection to Place, and Reframing Understandings of Being Indigenous
    Beyond the Sixties Scoop: Reclaiming Indigenous identity, reconnection to place, and reframing understandings of being Indigenous by Sarah Wright Cardinal B.A., University of British Columbia, 1993 M.A., School for International Training, USA, 2003 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction © Sarah Wright Cardinal, 2017 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Supervisory Committee Beyond the Sixties Scoop: Reclaiming Indigenous identity, reconnection to place, and reframing understandings of being Indigenous by Sarah Wright Cardinal B.A., University of British Columbia, 1993 M.A., School for International Training, USA, 2003 Supervisory Committee Dr. Helen Raptis, Supervisor Department of Curriculum & Instruction Dr. Wanda Hurren, Departmental Member Department of Curriculum & Instruction Dr. Anne Marshall, Outside Member Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies Dr. Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, Outside Member Department of Political Science ii Abstract This study used life experience methods to gather the narratives of seven adult Indigenous transracial adoptees who have reclaimed their Indigenous identities after experiencing closed adoption during the late 1950s through to the early 1980s. Participants had been members of Aboriginal (First Nations, Metis, Inuit) communities at birth but were then raised outside their Indigenous nations in non-Indigenous families. Through analysis of their stories, I identified four themes that marked their trajectories to reclamation: Imposed fracture (prior to reclamation); Little anchors (beginning healing); Coming home (on being whole); Our sacred bundle (reconciling imposed fracture).
    [Show full text]
  • Crime Story Collection
    Crime Story Collection Level 4 Retold by John and Celia Turvey Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter Pearson Education limited Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England and Associated Companies throughout the world. ISBN 0 582 419190 This compilation first published in Longman Fiction 1998 This edition first published 1999 NEW EDITION 5 7 9 10 8 6 The story “Three is a Lucky Number” © Margery Allingham is reproduced by permission of Curtis Brown, London on behalf of P. & M.Youngman Carter Ltd. The story “Full Circle” by Sue Grafton is reprinted with the permission of Abner Stein, London. The story “How’s Your Mother?” © Simon Brett 1980 is from A Box of Tricks, published by Victor Gollancz Ltd. The story “At the Old Swimming Hole” © 1986 Sara Paretsky was first published in Mean Streets: The Second Private Eye Writers of America Anthology, edited by Robert J. Randisi, published by Mysterious Press. All rights reserved. First published in the UK by Hamish Hamilton Limited. The Patricia Highsmith story “Slowly, Slowly in the Wind” was first published in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine 1976. Copyright © 1993 Diogenes Verlag AG, Zurich. The Patricia Highsmith story “Woodrow Wilsons Neck Tie” was first published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine 1972. Copyright © 1993 Diogenes Verlag AG, Zurich. The story “The Absence of Emily” by Jack Ritchie is reprinted with kind permission of the Larry Sterring & Jack Byrne Literary Agency, Milwaukee, United States of America. The story “The Inside Story” © 1993 Colin Dexter. This abridgement and simplification © Addison Wesley Longman Limited 1997. This edition copyright © Penguin Books Ltd 1999 Illustrations by Les Edwards Cover design by Bender Richardson White Set in 11/14pt Bembo Printed in China SWTC/05 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry-Child Welfare Initiative in Manitoba
    The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry-Child Welfare Initiative in Manitoba: A study of the process and outcomes for Indigenous families and communities from a front line perspective by Gwendolyn M Gosek MSW, University of Manitoba, 2002 BA, University of Manitoba, 2002 BSW, University of Manitoba, 1991 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the School of Social Work © Gwendolyn M Gosek, 2017 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry-Child Welfare Initiative in Manitoba: A study of the process and outcomes for Indigenous families and communities from a front line perspective By Gwendolyn M Gosek MSW, University of Manitoba, 2002 BA, University of Manitoba, 2002 BSW, University of Manitoba, 1991 Supervisory Committee Dr. Leslie Brown, School of Social Work Supervisor Dr. Jeannine Carrière, School of Social Work Departmental Member Dr. Susan Strega, School of Social Work Departmental Member Dr. Sandrina de Finney, School of Child and Youth Care Outside Member iii Abstract As the number of Indigenous children and youth in the care of Manitoba child welfare steadily increases, so do the questions and public debates. The loss of children from Indigenous communities due to residential schools and later on, to child welfare, has been occurring for well over a century and Indigenous people have been continuously grieving and protesting this forced removal of their children. In 1999, when the Manitoba government announced their intention to work with Indigenous peoples to expand off-reserve child welfare jurisdiction for First Nations, establish a provincial Métis mandate and restructure the existing child care system through legislative and other changes, Indigenous people across the province celebrated it as an opportunity for meaningful change for families and communities.
    [Show full text]
  • How the Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Crisis Changed Private Law
    CARDINAL SINS: HOW THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS CHANGED PRIVATE LAW MAYO MORAN* ABSTRACT For several decades now, the unfolding of the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis has been front-page news. It has wreaked havoc on hundreds of thousands of lives, cost the Church billions of dollars, and done irreparable harm to a once-revered institution. Along the way, it has also helped to transform the all- important private law of responsibility. When the crisis began to break in the early 1980s, the few survivors who sought legal redress faced a daunting array of obstacles. Limitations periods alone had the effect of barring almost all child sexual abuse claims. Immunities also helped to shield the Church. Private law itself was generally hostile to institutional liability, particularly where the harm resulted from the criminal act of an individual. All of that has changed. Among the catalysts for change within private law, the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis looms large. The scale of the crisis and the universal nature of the Church were certainly both important factors, but so too was the Church's response. From the initial impulse to cover up instances of abuse to choices made in the legal and political arenas, it appeared willing to do almost anything to protect itself. Yet the Church had traditionally bene®ted from special treatment precisely on the ground that it was not an ordinary, self-interested legal actor. The tension between the Church's mission and its approach to covering up abuse began to attract notice. Courts and legislators were prompted to act.
    [Show full text]
  • Truth Commissions and Public Inquiries: Addressing Historical Injustices in Established Democracies
    TRUTH COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES: ADDRESSING HISTORICAL INJUSTICES IN ESTABLISHED DEMOCRACIES by Kim Pamela Stanton A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science Faculty of Law University of Toronto © Copyright by Kim Pamela Stanton 2010 Truth Commissions and Public Inquiries: Addressing Historical Injustices in Established Democracies Doctor of Juridical Science Kim Pamela Stanton Faculty of Law University of Toronto 2010 ABSTRACT In recent decades, the truth commission has become a mechanism used by states to address historical injustices. However, truth commissions are rarely used in established democracies, where the commission of inquiry model is favoured. I argue that established democracies may be more amenable to addressing historical injustices that continue to divide their populations if they see the truth commission mechanism not as a unique mechanism particular to the transitional justice setting, but as a specialized form of a familiar mechanism, the commission of inquiry. In this framework, truth commissions are distinguished from other commissions of inquiry by their symbolic acknowledgement of historical injustices, and their explicit “social function” to educate the public about those injustices in order to prevent their recurrence. Given that Canada has established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the Indian Residential Schools legacy, I consider the TRC’s mandate, structure and ability to fulfill its social function, particularly the daunting challenge of engaging the non-indigenous public in its work. I also provide a legal history of a landmark Canadian public inquiry, the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, run by Tom Berger. As his Inquiry demonstrated, with visionary leadership and ii an effective process, a public inquiry can be a pedagogical tool that promotes social accountability for historical injustices.
    [Show full text]
  • Fair Game: Canadian Editorial Cartooning
    FAIR GAME: CANADIAN EDITORIIAL CARTOONING Adrieme C,Lamb Graduate School of Journalism Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Faculty of Graduate Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario April, 1998 Adrieme C. Lamb 1998 National tibmiy Bibliothèque nationale I*l ofCanada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington OüawaON K1AW ûttawaON KIAON4 canada Canada Tne author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence dowing the exclusive permettant à la National Libmy of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains owxiership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thése. thesis nor substaatial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. This thesis is about people and politics, art and history, visuai satire, and current affairs. It traces the development of Canada's editorid cartooning heritage over the last one hundred and fifty years and examines the conternporary Canadian editorial cartooning scene as well. This author's main objective is to tum the tables on the editoriai cartoonists in Canada by rnaking them fair game and the subject of study Eom both a historical and a contemporary perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • Challenging Canadian and Israeli Settler Colonialism
    settler colonial studies ‘From Jerusalem to the Grand River, Our Struggles are One’: Challenging Canadian and Israeli Settler Colonialism MIKE KREBS Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign DANA M. OLWAN Syracuse University This article explores the possibilities and histories of indigenous solidarity struggles against the settler colonial states of Canada and Israel. Throughout this work, we examine activist and political movements from Canada that make connections between the struggles of indigenous peoples in Canada and Palestine. We ask: In light of efforts to usurp indigenous identities in the service of settler colonial states, how do Palestine activists in Canada create lines of solidarity with indigenous peoples? And how can we foster global solidarity with Palestinians that are attuned to local native struggles for sovereignty and self determination? We attempt to address these questions by utilising a comparative framework that addresses the gendered and racialised aspects of the settler colonial projects of Canada and Israel. In 2005, Phil Fontaine, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada, and Ed Morgan, founding National Chair of the Canadian Academic Friends of Israel, co-authored an opinion piece entitled ‘Aboriginals, Jews Stand Together’. Published in the Canadian daily, The Globe and Mail, and circulated widely through the internet, the article redresses the controversy surrounding the anti- Semitic statements made by David Ahenakew, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.1 Throughout
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Genocide and Perceptions of the Holocaust in Canada1
    Indigenous Genocide and Perceptions of the Holocaust in Canada1 David B. MacDonald This chapter explores genocide against Indigenous peoples in what is now Canada and the ways this topic has been tied to larger discussions of genocide and the Holocaust. Contemporary genocide claims in Canada revolve primarily around the Indian Residential Schools (IRS) system (1834–1996). Attempts to deal with the IRS system and its aftermath led to the establishment of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) in 1991 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada (2009–15). While the RCAP was set up by the federal government, the TRC was an outcome of Indigenous-led litigation to compensate for the widespread and systematic abuses endured in the IRS system. Both commissions provided a forum for Indigenous and settler peoples to discuss genocide, understood according to the standard legally binding definition in the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948. In a more derivative sense, the Americanisation of the Holocaust during the 1990s and the history wars over Holocaust uniqueness and Indigenous genocide had an influence on some scholars and activists in Canada. This marked a phase of what Michael Rothberg has called ‘competitive memory’, featuring debates over whether the Holocaust was unique and whether Indigenous history was marked by genocide or something else.2 Holocaust uniqueness theorists such as Steven Katz in 1994 asserted that the Holocaust could not be compared to other atrocities in world history. This provoked
    [Show full text]