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speakup
Joined: Mar 28, 2006
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Native American lifestyles
January 2, 2009 - 10:51 PM
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What is life like for Native Americans today, on and off reserves? Which cultural practices from the past still exist? (I am mainly interested in the situation in Canada, but all replies are welcome.) Thanks!
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e.sum
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Re: Native American lifestyles
February 22, 2009 - 01:55 PM
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It varies widely across communities!!
Generally speaking, some of them may be very small or geographically isolated. But ICTs like teleconferencing have really made a difference in access to critical info resources like health care and education. I've just been learning about Northern Ontario (province where I live) where some communities are participants in a very robust information infrastructure called K-net which expands across the nation. (You can check out the site at www.knet.ca) It's really cool.
What else to say? It's important to remember that representations of aboriginals can be VERY distorted. Journalists tend to emphasize the negative and violent aspects of First Nations populations. e.g. higher death/suicide/disease rates, lower education, problems w/alcoholism, violent protests for land claims etc.
Worse, they don't write about the context: A great deal of the social problems faced by Canadian aboriginal communities are a direct result of a culturally genocidal project of the Canadian government to wipe out their culture, language, and identity. I would say this project extends beyond the residential school system, but that is my opinion.
HOWEVER, if you live in one of these communities, there is a lot to celebrate. I've met some incredible and inspirational youth who organize and run programs to help build healthy communities and protect the environment. You rarely hear about these types of stories and ppl in the mainstream media unfortunately.
In terms of what traditional cultural practices still exist, it varies WIDELY from community to community. The residential schools taught generations of aboriginals to be ashamed of their culture and language. There are many different Canadian aboriginal groups, each with their own culture and history. We also need to remember that culture is not static and that aboriginal culture is alive today!
This post was edited on: 2009-02-22 at 02:01 PM by: esum
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speakup
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Re: Native American lifestyles
February 22, 2009 - 09:36 PM
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Wow, thank you very much for your reply! One main reason I asked those questions was because I mostly hear negative stories about First Nations people, as you mentioned. I also believe the Canadian government has done terrible things to these people and that we have a lot to be accountable for.
Are there any residential schools still open?? What else do you believe is/was involved in the "culture genocidal project?" And what are some of the major youth accomplishments, particularly with regards to strengthening their community?
The link looks interesting and I will definitely look at it more closely. Thanks again!
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e.sum
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Re: Native American lifestyles
February 23, 2009 - 03:28 PM
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You're welcome!
The last residential schools closed in the 1990s, although I believe most had shut down in the 1970s (? I could be wrong). If you are interested, there is a really good book called "Stolen from Our Embrace" which describes the situation from a Canadian perspective and talks about other issues like the wave of adoptions of aboriginal children by non-aboriginals in the 60s or 70s.
As for youth leadership, you can probably find more examples in local papers or newsletters. I'm thinking of programs executed locally that have a positive impact e.g. at a youth centre I worked at, they facilitated successful youth-led sex ed and teen parenting workshops.
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