Although Canada the nation State’s parliamentary base illegally squats on Algonquin Anishinaabeg traditional territory, inclusive of its House of Commons, its Senate Chamber, the Governor General and the Prime Minister’s residence, and the Supreme Court of Canada, very few Canadians know who the Algonquin Anishinaabeg are. We are still here! Many Canadians do not know that the Algonquin Anishinaabeg were one of the first Indigenous nations recorded by Samuel de Champlain, nor do they know that through the creation of Canada, the British pitted the Algonquin and the French against one another when they gave the French colony Algonquin land. Yes, this is what the British did! This was an act of reprimand on the part of the British because the Algonquin were allies with the French. This action on the part of the British continues to undermine Algonquin sovereignty efforts today. The Algonquin have been divided by the provincial federal order, language, law, and religion. In addition, the Algonquin have been divided through the imposition of the reserve system and the Indian Act where as a result some communities today are federally recognized First Nation communities and others are not, and where some are registered Status Indians and others are not. What is more, some of our traditional communities and subsistence lands were flooded, or converted into provincial parks for the social, physical, and entertainment activity of the Canadian citizenry. Through these means of power, a Canadian cultural hegemony (read oppressive power) was established. Despite this historic genocide, what many Canadians also do not know is that this genocide continues in an evergreen way. Yes, this is correct. What Canada calls the “modern treaty process” is in fact a land claims process that forces economically impoverished First Nation communities and their Status membership, inclusive of the more disenfranchised non-Status Algonquin, to relinquish their land and resource rights. There are several reasons why Canadians are not knowledgeable about the historic and ongoing evergreen Algonquin genocide. One reason is because the governments of Canada control the school curriculum, a curriculum that creates a foundation of ignorance versus truth. A second reason is because Canada manipulates the mindsets and hearts of the Canadian citizenry through song, art, museums, monuments, provincial park recreational activity, and the news media inclusive of social media. A third reason is that incoming prime ministers place their party’s political power and money behind electoral candidates who are accommodating and obliging because they will be the token cabinet ministers and members of parliament needed to control (through party whipping) and perpetuate the evergreen genocide against Indigenous people. While Canada has been manipulating the mindsets of its citizenry in these ways, Canadians need to come to the place of valuing that when it comes to understanding the truth of Canada’s history, the locus of control is best understood as internal, meaning individuals hold and manage the jurisdiction of their own agency and thus read, think, and learn what they want to or need to. Cancel Your Canada Day Celebrations! Witness Canada’s Algonquin Genocide Instead. Take the time needed to learn about how it is that the Algonquin Anishinaabe today are facing genocide through the land claims and self government processes. Compiled below is a series of news articles that I have written (one is collaborative). Once you have completed these readings, let me know and I will send you a certificate of completion: “I completed the Algonquin challenge: Witnessing Canada’s Algonquin Genocide”. See below.
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Jason Depotier
6/21/2021 02:35:01 pm
Cancel Canada Day.
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