We are Still Here.

-Native
Americans

By:TiaBabbar

________________________________________________________________________________________
Friday,April8th,2016

Todayinthe21stcentury,
manypeoplefaceinequality,
whetherit'sbasedoffofrace,
ethnicity,religion,sex,disability,
economicstatus,andother
statuses.HereinCanada,
everybodyissaidtohaveequal
rights,butwhenyoureadin
betweenthelines,thatisnotthe
truth.TheSDGare17sustainable
developmentgoalstomakeour
earthabetterplace.Mygoalis
reducinginequalitiesbetween
andwithincountries.Inthis
article,I'mgoingtobemainly
focusingontheinequality
IndigenouspeoplefaceinCanada.
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FamilyinFirstNationscommunity
livinginpoverty.

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Thereisalargegapbetween
Indigenouspeople,and
NonIndigenouspeople.

Theydon'thavethesamerights
toeducation,housing,training
etc.atherestofusdoherein
Canada.Wesetfootonthesame
land,yettheyarenottreatedthe
sameway.AllIndigenouspeople
areaskingforistoberespected,
andtreatedlikeeveryother
human.Wedisregardedthemas
people,anddon'tconsiderthem
equivalenttous.
Canadaisplaced8thontheUN
developmentindex,andifthe
indicatorsweretobeappliedon
Aboriginalpeoples,wewould
place63rd.Thisshowsthe
treatmentandinequalitythe
IndigenouspeoplesofCanadaare
accustomedto.Theirculture,
customs,beliefsoropinionsare
notrespectednorheard.
Aboriginalpeoplehavelongof
historyofrichculturaland
spiritualtraditions.Oncethe
Europeanscame,thesetraditions
werechangedortakenaway.
Thisiswheretheoppressionof
Indigenouspeoplestarted.They
weredispossessedoftheirland,
belongingsandculture.Mostare
affectedbypoverty,poorhealth,
andnoeducation.Theyhavelost
theiridentities,

areoppressed,andtheirrights
areignored.InCanada,weputa
heavyfocusonequality,anditis
stronglyinfluencedinschools.
Butweseemforgetaboutthe
Aboriginals,andwedon't
considerthemasthesame.Their
peoplehavebeenexposedtoso
muchracism,inequality,poverty,
etc.andtheyaretryinghardto
restoreitwiththelittlehopethey
areholdingonto.
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_

AboriginalprotestersinToronto,
fightingfortheirrightsandfreedom.

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_

1of2Indigenouschildrenface
poverty.Theyareunabletolive
traditionally,theirreservesare
poorlyorganizedwhichresultsin
poverty.Theycan'tusethesame
traditionstolivebecauseit's

food,shelter,healthcare,and
money.Theirlivingconditions
includebeingcrammedinhouses
withmultiplepeople,mould
inside,nocleanwater,and
unhygienicsurroundings.In
Canadawehavefreehealthcare,
andareconsideredoneofthe
countrieswiththebesthealthcare
services.Buthealthcareisoften
outofreachformostAboriginal
Canadians.

Thefactthatwestillhave
reservesthatFirstNationslive
on,showsustheracebased
segregationofFirstNationsin
Canada.Werestrictedthemto
certainareas,deniedofequal
rights,orfreedomandstealtheir
land.Reserveisjustafancy
nameforcrammingtheminsmall
spaces,withunimaginableliving
conditions,whilewestealtheir
landandtreatthemunfairly.The
onlyreasonmanynativeschose
toliveonreservesisbecauseits
theonlyplacewheretheyareable
toreconnectwiththeirculture
andpast.Leavingtheirreserves
wouldmeanfacingmistreatment,
andracismalotofthetimes.
Manywouldratherlivein
poverty,justtokeeptheir
traditionsandculturetogether,
whileothershavegivenupall
hopeandleft.Thesearethe
conditionsweputthemin,and
itshorrifying.Oncetheywere
allowedtoleavethereserves,
manyleftforurbanareastoget
outofpoverty.Insteadofgetting
offeredemployment
opportunities,theywere
mistreatedandfacedracist
attitudes.

Whyshouldpeoplehavetobeput
inasituationwheretheyare
obligedtoforgetabouttheir
culture,traditionsandidentity?

Thegovernmentcancomeup
withpoliciestohelpthem,but
thatdoesntmeanthattheyare
reinforced.Themajorityofthe
governmentismadeupofwhite
people.Whenwesayeverybody
inCanadahasequalrights,itsnot
necessarilytrue.Whitepeople
prevailinsociety,andhavemany
moreadvantagesthan
nonwhites,itsthehiddentruth.
ThereisnoAboriginalvoicein
government,sohowischange
goingtohappen?Whenwesay
wearegettingbetteratstopping
racismandinequality,theonly
thingwearegettingbetteratis
hidingit.

Themistreatmentthat
aboriginalsfaced,andstillface
cannotbesimplyforgotten.Just
likethemistreatmentofblack
peoplebywhites,itcantbe
forgotten.Whenyoutreata
wholeraceofpeopleterribly,and
evenresolvetheproblemsome
yearslater,itstillcantbeerased
becauseitisdeeplyengravedinto
theirminds.Whenaraceof
peoplehasexperiencedsuch
mistreatment,nomatterhow
muchyouapologize,itcantbe
thesame.Thisisnotasimple
mistreatmentofpeople,it
involvestragediesofawhole
race.Evenifwestarttreating
themthecorrectway,theywill
neverbeabletoforgetthepast.

nearlyimpossible.Manyofthem
evendiebecauseofthelackof

Solutions will not be found

while Indigenous people are
treated as victims for whom
someone else must find
solutions -Malcolm Fraser

Whenwilltheirvoicebeheard?

Usethehashtag
#raisingglobalawarenessto
spreadtheword!