#Canadian History

[r0ckgrrl]

TOM THOMSON 'The Jack Pine'

1916

[teaboot]

How do Canadian schools teach about indigenous Canadian history and culture? -a curious USAmerican

In my experience we learned about colonization at the same time as we learned about the formation of Canada. At first it was "European settlers came and pushed out the indigenous population", then in the higher grades we learned more about the how and the why.

For example, how carts full of men with rifles would ride around shooting Buffalo, then leaving the meat on the ground to rot, because "a dead Buffalo is a dead indian", which was so fanatical it almost wiped out wild Buffalo entirely

Also how Canadian settlers were lured in with beautiful hand-painted advertisements for cheap, beautiful, fertile land that was unpopulated and perfect, if only you'd sail over with your entire family and a pocket full of seeds- only to be met with scared, confused, and angry lawful inhabitants already run out of ten other places, and frigid winters, and rocky, forested, undeveloped dirt.

also, smallpox blankets, where "gifts" of blankets infected with smallpox were intentionally given out

And treaty violations- Either ignoring written agreements entirely, or buying them out at insanely low prices and lying about the value, or trading for farming equipment that they couldn't use because they weren't farmers.

Then in the first world war, where they told indigenous peoples here that they'd be granted Canadian citizenship if they enlisted

To Residential schools, which was straight up stealing kids for slavery, indoctrination, and medical experiments

But we also covered the building of the Canadian Railway in which Chinese immigrants were lowered into ravines with dynamite to blow out paths through the mountain for pennies on the dollar

And the Alberta Sterilization Act, where it was lawful and routine procedure to sterilize women of colour and neurodivergent people without their awareness or consent after giving birth or undergoing unrelated surgeries

But I'm rambling.

We kind of learned Aboriginal history at the same time as everything else? Like. This is when Canada was made, and this is how it was done. Now we'll read a book about someone who lived through it, and we'll write a book report. And now a documentary, and now a paper about the documentary. Onto the next unit.

And starting I think in grade 10 our English track was split between English and Aboriginals English, where you could choose to do the standard curriculum or do the same basic knowledge stuff with a focus on Aboriginal perspectives and literature. (I did that one, we read Three Day's Road and Diary Of A Part-Time Indian, and a few other titles I don't remember.)

There was also a lunch room for the Aboriginal Culture Studies where Aboriginal kids could hang out at lunch time if they wanted, full of art and projects and stuff. They'd play music or videos sometimes, that was cool

And one elective I took (not mandatory cirriculum) was a Kwakiutl course for basic Kwakwakaʼwakw language. Greetings, counting to a hundred, learning the modified alphabet, animals, etc. Still comes in handy sometimes at large gatherings cause they usually start with a land recognition thanking whoever's land we're on, with a few thanks and welcomes in their language.

And like- when I was in the US it was so weird, cause here we have Totem poles and longhouses and murals all over and yall... don't? Like there is a very distinct lack of Aboriginal art in your public spaces, at least in the areas I've been

My ex-stepfather, who was American, brought his son out once, and he was so excited to "see real indians" and was legitimately shocked to learn that there weren't many teepees to be found on the northwest coast, and was even *more* shocked when we told him that you have Aboriginal people back home too, bud. Your Aboriginal people are also named "Mike" snd "Vicky" and work as assistant manager at best buy.

If you'd ask me, I'd say that the primary difference is that USAmerica (from what I've seen, and ALSO in entirely too much of Canada) treats our European and Aboriginal conflicts as history, something that's tragic but over, like the extinction of the mammoths, instead of like. An ongoing thing involving people who are alive and numerous and right fucking here

But at the end of the day, I'm white, and there are plenty of actual Aboriginal people who are speaking out and saying much more meaningful things than I can

So I'm just gonna pass on a quote from my Stepmum, who's Cree, that's stuck with me since she said it:

"You see how they treat Mexicans in America? That's how they treat us here. Indians are the Mexicans of Canada."

[theworldofwars]

A woman moving to another village takes with her the bones of her dead son, decorated with marigolds, the native mourning flower, Balkan Front, June 1916. Photo by Ariel Varges (1890-1972)

[folk-enjoyer]

Song of the Day

"Call of the moose" Willy Mitchell, 1980 As you might know, September 30th is Truth and Reconciliation day (more commonly known as Orange Shirt Day), a national day in Canada dedicated to spreading awareness about the legacy of Residential schools on Indigenous people. Instead of just focusing on a song, I also wanted to briefly talk about the history of the sixties scoop and its influence on Indigenous American music and activism.

The process of Residential schooling in Canada existed well before the '60s, but the new processes of the sixties scoop began in 1951. It was a process where the provincial government had the power to take Indigenous children from their homes and communities and put them into the child welfare system. Despite the closing of residential schools, more and more children were being taken away from their families and adopted into middle-class white ones.

Even though Indigenous communities only made up a tiny portion of the total population, 40-70% of the children in these programs would be Aboriginal. In total, 20,000 children would be victims of these policies through the 60s and 70s.

These adoptions would have disastrous effects on their victims. Not only were sexual and physical abuse common problems but the victims were forcibly stripped of their culture and taught to hate themselves. The community panel report on the sixties scoop writes:

"The homes in which our children are placed ranged from those of caring, well-intentioned individuals, to places of slave labour and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The violent effects of the most negative of these homes are tragic for its victims. Even the best of these homes are not healthy places for our children. Anglo-Canadian foster parents are not culturally equipped to create an environment in which a positive Aboriginal self-image can develop. In many cases, our children are taught to demean those things about themselves that are Aboriginal. Meanwhile, they are expected to emulate normal child development by imitating the role model behavior of their Anglo-Canadian foster or adoptive parents."

and to this day indigenous children in Canada are still disproportionately represented in foster care. Despite being 5% of the Total Canadian population, Indigenous children make up 53.8% of all children in foster care.

I would like to say that the one good thing that came out of this gruesome and horrible practice of state-sponsored child relocation was that there was a birth of culture from protest music, but there wasn't. In fact, Indigenous music has a long history of being erased and whitewashed from folk history.

From Buffy Saint-Marie pretending to be Indigenous to the systematic denial of first nations people from the Canadian mainstream music scene, the talented artists of the time were forcibly erased.

Which is why this album featuring Willy Mitchell is so important.

Willy Mitchell and The Desert River Band

This Album was compiled of incredibly rare, unheard folk and rock music of North American indigenous music in the 60s-80s. It is truly, a of a kind historical artifact and a testimony to the importance of archival work to combat cultural genocide. Please give the entire thing a listen if you have time. Call of the Moose is my favorite song on the album, written and performed by Willy Mitchell in the 80s. His Most interesting song might be 'Big Policeman' though, written about his experience of getting shot in the head by the police. He talks about it here:

"He comes there and as soon as I took off running, he had my two friends right there — he could have taken them. They stopped right there on the sidewalk. They watched him shootin’ at me. He missed me twice, and when I got to the tree line, he was on the edge of the road, at the snow bank. That’s where he fell, and the gun went off. But that was it — he took the gun out. He should never have taken that gun out. I spoke to many policemen. And judges, too. I spoke with lawyers about that. They all agreed. He wasn’t supposed to touch that gun. So why did I only get five hundred dollars for that? "

These problems talked about here, forced displacement, cultural assimilation, police violence, child exploitation, and erasure of these crimes, still exist in Canada. And so long as they still exist, it is imperative to keep talking about them. Never let the settler colonial government have peace; never let anyone be comfortable not remembering the depth of exploitation.

Every Child Matters

[catgirl-kaiju]

so, i'm a weirdo and have archived some old atomic age propaganda, PSAs & commercials on my plex server. however, i was dismayed that that there were no proper posters available for them, making my library look kinda bad and messy, imo. so, i made some myself!

here's some of my favorites:

some of these were more complex than others, but for all of them i used pre-existing materials as the basis for them. i made sure to incorporate visual elements from the respective shorts into the poster design, but i also looked to pamphlets and posters of the time for inspiration and elements that I could use.

i also had to go hunting down some of these fonts to match the specific style i was going for, and that was a pain in the ass lol

(also, fun little easter egg, i layered some flipped text at a low opacity over the "Fallout When and How to Protect Yourself Against It" poster to give it that look of a cheap pamphlet. the text is a transcription from an interview with a scientist explaining why fallout shelters don't work. the same fallout shelters that the psa in question heavily promotes.)

[kazhanko-art]

out of some curiosity (and a desire to procrastinate) I have a poll on some WW1 Canadian history for you guys

in case anyone wants to know what I’m talking about

[godbirdart]

ORANGE SHIRT DAY / NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION ◦ SEPTEMBER 30 2024

Took a moment to make a quick easy-to-share graphic about Orange Shirt Day. Note: this covers only a few barest of basic facts. Please utilize the sources and additional reading. Links have been added here for ease:

Sources: orangeshirtday.org ◦ nctr.ca ◦ reconciliationeducation.ca Additional Reading & Support: whose.land ◦ native-land.ca ◦ irsss.ca ◦ reconciliationcanada.ca ◦ rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca ◦ andyeverson.com National Crisis Line (IRSSS): 1 (866) 925-4419

Information can update over time. Always be certain to double-check information, especially if you are viewing this graphic years after it was posted.

[little-desi-historian]

A Day to Listen & Every Child Matters

I'll share more on this on September 30th, but I just thought I'd share this here. This is for Canada but the issues the speakers bring up are relevant to the United States as well, perhaps more so because Canada at least pretends to be 'nice' about it (which is fallacy but even so...).

Tagging: @decolonize-the-everything and @nickysfacts in the hope this reaches more people and cause I think they'd appreciate the observations the speakers make, I am not Indigenous and I do not presume to speak for them, please kindly don't take this post out of context, dear people of the internet.

[clove-pinks]

July 2nd, 1812: the start of U.S. General William Hull's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

Unaware that war had been declared, Hull sent the American-flagged schooner Cuyahoga Packet up the Detroit River past the British fort at Amherstburg carrying musicians with instruments, invalid soldiers, and his personal baggage of journals, top-secret military plans, and correspondence with Secretary of War William Eustis.

Cuyahoga Packet was promptly captured by armed men in a British longboat who informed the surprised Americans of their situation, and forced the musicians to play "God Save the King." (Then they sent the war plans to General Brock).

[la-belle-histoire]

Mme. G.F. Murray (Montreal, QC). William Notman & Son. 1886.

[r0ckgrrl]

TOM THOMSON

'River In Spring'

1916

[snoopylovessoup]

Snoopy says happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦

[theworldofwars]

Christmas Dinner 1916 At the Front, Canadian Expeditionary Force From the collection of William McLellan

[pinkprincessmisandry]

I am against nationalism in all its forms, but I will ALWAYS stand for the Canadian national anthem: "Speaking Moistly Autotune Remix" by Anonymotif.

RIP Justin Trudeau. You were a terrible prime minister and a colonizing bitch, but it was funny when you said "speaking moistly".

[neechees]

[image description: gifs stacked vertically of Native American warriors of various tribes, in traditional attire and in the fashion of their tribe. Text overlays on top of each gif, labeled, in order: “Brave’s society of Young Warriors, Blackfoot.”, “Women Warrior’s Society, Cheyenne.”, “Black Knife Society, Comanche.”,  “Okichitaw, Cree.”, “Crazy Dogs, Crow.”, “Koitsenko, Kiowa.”, “Kit Fox Society, Lakota.”, “Iruska, Pawnee.”. end image description.]

Plains Native American Warrior Societies

(not an exhaustive list)