Canada apologizes for religious and cultural genocide against native Indians

Canadians have always oozed righteous indignation when looking down on their Yankee neighbors still struggling to deal with race matters almost 150 years after the abolition of slavery. Indeed, one could be forgiven the impression that Canada enjoys complete racial harmony – unblemished by the legacy of slavery that still haunts America or by the challenges of racial assimilation that are now coming home to roost all over Europe.

The reality, of course, is that Canadians have simply managed to quarantine their racial problems more effectively than Americans or Europeans. Because, from the time America’s founding fathers codified racism in their constitution, Canadians have been living with their own racial shame….

Canada has a history of dealings with aboriginal Indians that is just as violent and exploitative as America’s.

[Delusions on matters of race are coming home to roost in Canada, The iPINIONS Journal, October 3, 2006]

From the late 19th Century to the 1970s, Canada forced hundreds of thousands of native Indians to attend state-funded Christian schools.

Of course, there was nothing unusual in the 19th Century about white men assuaging their guilt by presuming to civilize and educate the natives after stealing their land. In fact, the United States established similar boarding schools back then to civilize and educate American Indians.

But I commend Canada for taking this belated step – even if it was only inspired by the apology Australia issued a few months “for the past wrongs” it perpetrated against Aborigines

(Perhaps now the U.S. will be inspired to issue a similar apology. But the Americans probably think that the cold hard cash they’re helping (some) Indian tribes rake in from running casinos more than compensates for any heartfelt apology. On the other hand, I rather suspect apologizing for mistreating the Indians would be far less controversial than apologizing for the past wrongs of slavery….)

At any rate, here, in part, is how Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued this historic apology in Parliament on Wednesday in front of hundreds of these formerly interned schoolchildren:

I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools. The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history….

The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language…

We now recognise that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologise for failing to protect you…

The government of Canada sincerely apologises and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry.

Moreover, according to the Globe and Mail, Canada is putting its money where its mouth is; i.e., by setting up a C$2bn ($1.9bn) fund to compensate surviving former schoolchildren.

A truth and reconciliation commission has also been convened to fully address the racial and cultural prejudices that not only led to the establishment of these schools but also kept them functioning well into the late 20th Century.

Related Articles:
Delusions on matters of race…
Australia apologizes to Aborigines

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