The Anishnaabe community has
suffered great pain, despair, hardship, torture and the list goes on. For any individual to have to endure these
conditions for even a day has potential to be devastating; imagine decades and
decades. Today the Anishnaabe people
still face situations that are not pleasant or adequate for safe living or
proper development and growth. However I feel as though there is the beginning
of a road to healing being built. Many
individuals and groups have taken steps forward in healing this community. One that comes to mind is the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation whose mandate is to promote resources allowing the
Anishnaabe communities to sustain the healing process, reconcile and rebuild
the intergenerational effects the residential school system brought (2012).
Foundations like the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation assist to clear away the stigmas that people have created
which will allow for the Anishnaabe community to move forward and expand
(Pearson, 2012). By changing our
thinking as a whole and educating our children when they are young about what
has happened to this culture of people will help in the removal of the
restrictions that are preventing the Anishnaabe’s path to success (Pearson,
2012). By educating our people about the
Anishnaabe’s past and present, discrimination will hopefully be abolished which
would open up a position for them take full advantage of the opportunities that
have arose (Pearson, 2012).
Even though there have been
steps taken to reconcile and heal this community of people there is still much
to be done. Looking at something as
simple as housing that is still a massive issue among the Anishnaabe
communities, one could say that the proper steps have not been taken to fight
against the abuse of power we feel from our governments (Pearson, 2012). Liberalism would frown upon this hugely as
insisting equality in opportunity for everyone (Pearson, 2012) is what they
strive for.
To break this continuous cycle I
think it is important for everyone to be educated not only on Anishnaabe issues
but politics. In order to ensure freedom
and prosperity for everyone knowing how and who to vote for is crucial.
Kristin*
References
Aboriginal Healing Foundation (2012). Retrieved from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/. Ottawa, ON
Pearson, L. B. (2012). Lester B. Pearson On Liberalism. Access Web Company. Retrieved from http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/documents/leaders/Pearson/On%20Liberalism.html
I thought your article had some very good points about the need for Education as a key role. Many years ago, I worked with our Education Department in Garden River and at that time their were problems with Tuition Agreements to the First Nations. The province gives more money to city school boards than to reserves.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of funding is a major concern to distribute the right programming to First Nation operated schools. There are many meetings coming up with the Assembly of First Nations and other government officials to examine the agreements and hopefully make changes.
Jennifer
I agree education is key and will help break the stigma attached to the major social issues that affect many first nations. Aboriginal Healing Foundation is a excellent support service for many First Nations who are moving forward with their lives. By educating our children on the past and the present i think that would help put an end to the stigma attached to the history and empower them. Educating our people on the politics would help them better understand why these issues are happening with regards to housing, education, environmental. Thanks Allison
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post! Education is key for understanding. Once there is background learnt people are more understanding. For me, I am an outsider to the background of the aboriginal culture. With many of the social work courses at Algoma having a section in each class having to do with the aboriginal perspectives or just learning about the backgrounds. So therefore I am slowly learning but would most definitely still consider myself an outsider only having little knowledge. The education process for these types of things is very important to help future support and break stigmas. This post is great for making that concept to be aware.
ReplyDeleteAlysha - Physical Disabilities Group
Kristin, great job on creating awareness. I know that your post definately educated me more in the area of how much has really happened and what still needs to be done in the area of educating people about the issues revolving the harm caused to the indigenous people's and their families. I think that there is still so much room for more as well as more people need to open there eyes and see what has really happened.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post
Angela