Thursday, April 17, 2008
I have no words.
How is this horror not on the front pages of every newspaper in this country? We’re better than this ... or at least I thought we were.
Go. Read. Stageleft has done an outstanding job shining a light on a truly heartbreaking story.
Update. Something funky was going on with the link to Stageleft's post — it's now correct. Thanks to Susan for the heads-up in the comments.
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17 comments:
Thanks for the link LuLu. If enough people in the blogosphere start talking about this maybe the MSM will have no choice but to start asking questions.
The Commonwealth sure does have a good track record with aborigines, don't they?
Holy FSM, the absolute horror at reading that. The disgust and sadness overwhelm me.
You're very welcome, Stage ... the fact that it's not getting any play in the MSM is pretty damn telling.
P.S. Anytime you wanna take me for a ride on your bike, I'm free ;-)
P.S. Anytime you wanna take me for a ride on your bike, I'm free ;-)
You do know he's a grandfather, right?
It certainly makes you think about what Aboriginal activists think when white fuck-heads like Gary McHale go on about the "rule of law" don't it?
Ah Ti-Guy, but I'm the coolest damned grandfather you've ever come across.
You in the Ottawa area LuLu? I'm on the roads most week-ends... but not this week-end, I'm off to the airport in a few minutes for a bit of rest and relaxation on Baffin Island for a few days.
Hi, I've never commented here before but I do enjoy your blog. This story so upset me that I posted the link to one of my favorite hang-outs last night. This morning when I awoke, I found the article to have disappeared. What's up?! Do you know why it would have been taken down?
susan:
Are you saying you posted a comment on a blog post here, and that that blog post has since been removed? That would surprise me as we have a policy that we don't delete posts. Can you be more specific?
nvm...Here it is but it's now a different link:
http://www.stageleft.info/2008/04/18/residential-schools-locations-of-mass-graves-revealed/
Now I'm confused ... Did you comment on this post or did you comment on the original post at Stageleft's joint?
Nothing's been deleted here.
You in the Ottawa area LuLu?
I am - have a nice vacation, Stage.
The folks at SL managed to relocate that post from 4/15 to 4/18 in the URL. That's generally not a good idea but I fixed the link.
Saw one of those ignorant "Freedom isn't free" bumper stickers for idiots this morning and the first thing I thought of was this story.
Do you think the aborigines would agree with that sentiment?
What the fuck? Before I post about this in my own blog I want to clarify some things.
1. What the hell is a residential school? Like a boarding school or something?
2. WHy are these kids dying? Does anyone know? We talking deliberate murder? Neglect? Starvation?
3. How the hell has this been going on so long without anybody noticing before now? Or is it just that none of the white devils in charge give a shit about natives?
Let us not forget the concerned citizens who even now want a return to those halcyon days. Which blogger was it that made teh snark about returning natives to residential schools?
Even better, here's the author of "Harper's Team", that proud apologist for assimilation and the abolishment of treaty negotiated settlements, Tom Flanagan.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/april2008/tabootopics
I would really love it if someone could make Harper *own* Flanagan and this stance in big neon letters. Especially among the Native community and new immigrant voters. This is the brains behind the party 'reaching out' to you all.
e in md: Residential schools are a phenom of the white mindset in both Canada and the US of the 1800s. The idea was literally, rationally and institutionally to 'kill the indian to save the man'. IE: rip kids at an early age away from their often remote families, ship them en masse to a (in the vast majority of cases) religious school and pretty much beat their indigenous culture right out of them under the guise of 'educating' them in the culture of the superior race. If the intent had been the alleged education promised, it might have been a tolerable thing, but it was de facto *absolute* power over the minds and bodies of vulnerable children. Guess what happened next? Guess! Wikipedia has an entry and more links.
"Harper *own* Flanagan"
As you probably know, Niles, ITK, NWAC, AFN and MNC (the national Aboriginal organizations) all called on Harper to repudiate Flanagan's views before the last two elections. He declined.
Flanagan, for those who don't know, is Tom Flanagan, one of Harpers senior policy advisors, mentors, and campaign strategists. In his 1999 book "First Nations, Second Thoughts", he meticulously outlined the Conservative thinking on Aboriginal issues. It's worth reading. He believes that Canadian natives had no government or culture worth speaking of before Europeans arrived: that Canada should ditch all its treaties, Land Claims, and self-government commitments and focus on assimilating natives as quickly as possible: that there's no such thing as "Metis"; and dozens of other interesting tidbits.
Did I mention that this fucker is Harper's senior policy advisor on Aboriginal issues?
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