Canada's Colonial History: A Personal Reflection on Indigenous Peoples

This journal entry provides a personal reflection on Canada's colonial history, expressing strong sentiments against the treatment of indigenous peoples. The author discusses the disrespect shown during settlement, the stripping of identity and power through colonialism, and the dehumanization experienced by indigenous communities. The paper highlights the government's control over native lands, the establishment of residential schools aimed at eliminating aboriginal culture, and the denial of freedom and cultural practices. The author emphasizes the importance of respecting indigenous history, criticizing the forced removal from lands, and the role of Catholic explorers. The conclusion calls for acceptance of indigenous communities, preservation of their history, and the right to live independently. The author argues that the colonialists significantly affected the lives of the Canadian citizens, and the natives suffered considerably during the colonial period.

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My thoughts and feelings about Canada’s colonial history are very unsettling for the most
part. I have never agreed with what indigenous people have gone through in the past which was
caused strictly because of their history, background of this community and most importantly
their beliefs which were ignored and erased from history (Cass, 2013). I find it so disrespectful
when the settlement of the indigenous culture took place. Colonialism is technically a way for a
majority group like Canada and the United States to just come in and strip them of their identity
and power, when that’s all they had, to live for . It’s extremely profound knowing that
indigenous people were considered “lesser humans” when realistically, we are all the same
humans at the end of the day, that are all here for the same reason: to live happily (Cass, 2013).
Concerning that, they were able to get relationship/rights to native land by the government as
they were the higher power controlling their every move, and placed them anywhere they wanted
to without minding their initial settlement. Even on top of that, they conceptualized their space to
shape and redefine the indigenous perspective of space by creating boundaries and map
territories to mark the limit of colonial power (Cass, 2013). Currently, indigenous people always
stay together within their community at these reserves as they were told that they had to stay
there since the colonialists gave the space just to them, hence disconnecting them fully from any
community outside of the reserves. Additionally, they created residential schools for the children
because they weren’t accepted anywhere else. It is evident that the indigenous people already
had their identity stripped from them (Cass, 2013).

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The purpose of residential schools was another way of eliminating all aspects of
aboriginal culture as they required everyone to have their hair cut short and were to be dressed in
uniforms (Shepherd, 2014). As I see it, indigenous people shouldn’t have been treated differently
or even their culture disrupted altogether for that matter at all, because their history was just as
important as many other culture’s histories, as that’s what makes a culture; is the history behind
it.
The colonialists abused the rights of the Canadian natives fully as they denied them any
sort of freedom. The Canadians were not allowed to practice their culture which is the most
important aspect of every society (Shepherd, 2014). Research shows that many Canadians lost
their lives due to the harsh treatment they were subjected into by the colonialists. The colonialists
denied the Canadians the right to health care and safety. The natives were subjected into slavery
where human rights and their human rights abused significantly. The colonialists could have
offered medical care to the Canadian natives to at least promote their health (Shepherd, 2014).
We have to understand that everyone will have to be pay for who he does to others. The
colonialists were very inhuman to the Canadians. Treating others with humanity and kindness is
always encouraged as all humans have the same destiny. We have to understand that at the end
of life what matters is the way we have lived. A person who wants to lead a better life must be
ethical in all aspects.
One of the things that pain me most is the fact that the Canadians were forcefully
removed from their lands by catholic explorers (Shepherd, 2014). The catholic explorers were
given mandate by Pope to violate the rights of the Canadians. In normal life, I expect the church
to protect people from any harm (Shepherd, 2014). However, it was the contrary during the times
of Canadian colonization. The Papacy should have protected the Canadians from any sort of

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exploitation. Separating people from their loved ones also affected the emotional stability of the
natives significantly. Families tend living together due to the social nature of the humans.
In conclusion, my opinion on Canada’s colonial history is that it should have been more
accepting in terms of letting the indigenous community keep their peace of mind and allowed the
first nations, metis and Inuit people have their history kept alive, rather than erased it to the point
where they are not acknowledged. The natives should also have been allowed to keep their
power. People should be given the right to live independently. Separating one from his/her
family pains much. In a nutshell, the colonialists significantly affected the lives of the Canadian
citizens. The natives suffered considerably during the colonial period.

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References
Cass, J. (2013). John Galt and the Colonization of Canada. The Wordsworth Circle, 44(2-3), 136-
139. doi: 10.1086/twc24044237
Shepherd, L. (2014). From Colonization to Right Relations: The Evolution of United Church of
Canada Missions within Aboriginal Communities. International Review Of Mission,
103(1), 153-171. doi: 10.1111/irom.12054