I think we need to stop being so focused on the past. I was born in Canada, and instead of complaining and trying to change the world to suit my needs, I accepted the way the world is now, and used it to my advantage as well as I could.
Do I have all the same cultural elements of my ancestors from 500 years ago? No. Do I still own the land my ancestors did 500 years ago? Nope. But I’ve got a career, a home, a car, and a smartphone. It’s more than a lot of people have.
Sometimes you have to accept that this is the world you were born into. You can either choose to complain and be miserable, or make it work for yourself.
It’s possible to maximize and enjoy your outcome in a system while still opposing the atrocities that system did to your ancestors. I’m a Cherokee living in Oklahoma within the Cherokee Nation and we have to constantly fight to keep what rights we still have as a federally recognized sovereign nation. It’s not about “complaining and being miserable” it’s about holding onto our culture and doing the best we can to take care of our people. What the US government did to our ancestors still has ramifications and affects today. Native people are the poorest ethnic group in the US and a lot of it can be attributed to the treatment of our ancestors and the abuse that still occurs from state governments even today.
I think we need to stop being so focused on the past. I was born in Canada, and instead of complaining and trying to change the world to suit my needs, I accepted the way the world is now, and used it to my advantage as well as I could.
Do I have all the same cultural elements of my ancestors from 500 years ago? No. Do I still own the land my ancestors did 500 years ago? Nope. But I’ve got a career, a home, a car, and a smartphone. It’s more than a lot of people have.
Sometimes you have to accept that this is the world you were born into. You can either choose to complain and be miserable, or make it work for yourself.
To be fair Canada is still pretty awful to indigenous people.
What would you tell to Spanish people glorifying Hernán Cortés’ conquest of Mexico and the subsequent destruction of countless cultures in the region?
It’s possible to maximize and enjoy your outcome in a system while still opposing the atrocities that system did to your ancestors. I’m a Cherokee living in Oklahoma within the Cherokee Nation and we have to constantly fight to keep what rights we still have as a federally recognized sovereign nation. It’s not about “complaining and being miserable” it’s about holding onto our culture and doing the best we can to take care of our people. What the US government did to our ancestors still has ramifications and affects today. Native people are the poorest ethnic group in the US and a lot of it can be attributed to the treatment of our ancestors and the abuse that still occurs from state governments even today.
Are you a canadian indigenous person?