How to Celebrate Canada Day in 2021 as a Non-Indigenous Canadian
Canada: a peaceful and proud multicultural nation, full of kind people.
This is the stereotypical view of Canada. While some Canadians may be proud of this stereotype, I believe it to be dangerous. I believe this longstanding harmonious view about Canada and Canadians can be very harmful because it can encourage people toward the idea that societal change in Canada is unnecessary.
Canada has a racist history of cultural genocide toward the Indigenous peoples - this dark history has recently been brought to light due to the recent findings of numerous unmarked graves of hundreds of Indigenous children at the sites of multiple Residential Schools.
How can one take pride in their country and be patriotic when that very country has and continues to oppress certain cultural groups? Indigenous peoples are the most marginalized group in Canada. The people who first occupied this land often face squalid living conditions.
It is important to acknowledge the injustices that Indigenous peoples have faced for centuries and continue to face. However, that is not enough.
We must listen to the Indigenous peoples and learn how we, as non-Indigenous peoples, can right all the historical wrongs and create equity for all.
Indigenous peoples themselves must decide how to move forward from the devastating findings of hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of Indigenous children who lost their lives due to the Government of Canada and the Catholic church. Non-Indigenous peoples in Canada must support the decisions of Indigenous peoples and help facilitate those decisions.
Ultimately, we must use Canada Day as a day for reflection, grieving, and thoughts about how we can create a better Canada - free from racism, discrimination, and marginalization.
Kashia Knowlton is a summer student at Nationhood Council House. Kashia attends McMaster University (majoring in Indigenous Studies) and is from Oakville, Ontario.
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