(no subject)
It’s kind of funny how first impressions can so long. The Native Peoples of Canada were initially misunderstood, and they still are. Idealistically they are not, since Canada is known for its peacekeeping, freedom, and multiculturalism, you would think Canada would at least know their Native Peoples without romanticizing them. Since the Native People were discovered by Europeans the misunderstanding has managed to sustain itself to this day. It would make sense, because the history books have discriminating biases towards Aboriginal Peoples. To the dominant society the biases would be hard to pick up on because of little education on Native People’s perspective. I think this could highly be avoided if there was more of an emphasis on the Native People’s perspective during the European People’s colonial times.
In high school, the way the history of the Native People of - formerly known as - Canada was portrayed gave the impression that Native People were primitive, and European people were ethnocentric acquisitive explorers who took advantage of Native People’s vulnerabilities, that soon resulted in them to succumb to the European colonial systems. The way the schools taught the history, there was not any mention that the culture was bad, but what was taught was; where Native People lived, how they lived, what happened to them, European technology, intelligence, and their politics, etc. Since European ways are more common in modern dominant society, it sort of implies that the European’s ways were more valid, while contributing and maintaining that way of thinking. On another note, the way the content was studied was like as if we were studying how Neanderthals are studied. The history was taught from a European perspective, and the Native People’s perspective was never emphasized on, nor was anything about their lifestyle. I think that is an important perspective that should be more stressed upon. I now find the way the history was taught in high school offensive and demeaning. I know from my own experiences that I have been ashamed and felt stigmatized of my culture, and learning about my people in this context gave me a primitive view of my ancestors- in that sense, it was wrong.
As much as Canada would like to be considered a place of freedom of discrimination, it is not. Idealistically Canada is free of discrimination based on the Canadian Charter of Rights, which most people learn about in high school. If high school teachers were educated about Native Peoples perspective or if they are educated they forgot to make a bigger emphasis on Native People’s perspective, because the history classes are still maintain misconceptions of Native People, which is easily can turn into oppressive views towards Native People. There is no one to blame but the oppression itself. So the question I leave you with is, do impressions really last forever?
In high school, the way the history of the Native People of - formerly known as - Canada was portrayed gave the impression that Native People were primitive, and European people were ethnocentric acquisitive explorers who took advantage of Native People’s vulnerabilities, that soon resulted in them to succumb to the European colonial systems. The way the schools taught the history, there was not any mention that the culture was bad, but what was taught was; where Native People lived, how they lived, what happened to them, European technology, intelligence, and their politics, etc. Since European ways are more common in modern dominant society, it sort of implies that the European’s ways were more valid, while contributing and maintaining that way of thinking. On another note, the way the content was studied was like as if we were studying how Neanderthals are studied. The history was taught from a European perspective, and the Native People’s perspective was never emphasized on, nor was anything about their lifestyle. I think that is an important perspective that should be more stressed upon. I now find the way the history was taught in high school offensive and demeaning. I know from my own experiences that I have been ashamed and felt stigmatized of my culture, and learning about my people in this context gave me a primitive view of my ancestors- in that sense, it was wrong.
As much as Canada would like to be considered a place of freedom of discrimination, it is not. Idealistically Canada is free of discrimination based on the Canadian Charter of Rights, which most people learn about in high school. If high school teachers were educated about Native Peoples perspective or if they are educated they forgot to make a bigger emphasis on Native People’s perspective, because the history classes are still maintain misconceptions of Native People, which is easily can turn into oppressive views towards Native People. There is no one to blame but the oppression itself. So the question I leave you with is, do impressions really last forever?