I must make an admission before continuing on in this conversation. I will admit that majority of my knowledge in regards to treaties and the importance of identity is minimal. Perhaps even incorrect at this point. Some may perceive that as naïve or selfish however I am still learning and I will continue to do so with courage. I will also admit I am a member of society who has experienced being socialized into racialized points of view and am guilty of not inquiring further into statements made out of presumption or prejudice. Prior to the exploration of the topic “Treaties and Identity” I fell into the category of society where it is easiest to keep quiet about topics that may be considered “taboo”, “provocative”, “controversial” and etc… As you begin to engage and educate yourself further past the basic historic information you have been taught in the school system for years, your mind and soul begin to expand. You are not responsible to solve the world’s problems however we are all treaty people and this means we are equal. To be equal this involves the way we treat one another, how we learn and how we live aside one another in the community. To move forward we must admit to guilt in the past and ensure truth in our history. When we say we are “Treaty People” we are committing to the healing and reconstruction of a damaged society due to past mistakes made. As I did above, I admitted to being guilty. As a Canadian and treaty person I believe we must also admit that we as white people did benefit from the systems of oppression and inequality. The moment I admitted out loud to being what would be considered a privileged individual was the same moment I felt a connection I did not have prior to the inquisition of the improvement with our relationship with ALL people in Canada. We have the power to participate in making others feel equal, welcome and empowered to show their identity regardless of what that may be. “Each of us must let go of the racial understandings that we have been holding onto in order to move forward” (Pg. 3 ” Beginning Courageous Conversations about Race”- Glenn E. Singleton& Cyndie Hayes).
Before initiating this post I felt as though I was at a stand still or even a wall when responding to topics that made me feel uncomfortable or nervous due to their sensitivity. After completing the assigned readings as well as a few informative videos I was able to get better in touch with the importance of recognizing our culture and where we originated and who took part in the shaping of the world we graciously live in today.
Thank you Meg for opening up and expressing your experience with Treaties & Identities! I can say that I completely relate with having little prior knowledge to these topics and because of this often staying silent in cases of “controversial” conversation topics. The whole course of ECS 110 has been opening my mind up and getting me to think deeper than I am used to, and comfortable doing. Before looking at the readings about treaties from week 3, I would not have been confident in saying I was a Treaty person.
I think it important for all people to be educated on the Treaties that were signed in Canada, and the importance and impact of them, especially educating the young people, by implementing it into the school system and curriculums. I feel as though in some older Canadians have to have their minds changed on topics like this but if we work to teach about Treaties while children are young, they won’t have negative opinions to change. I just recently finished high school and noticed a lot more talk about Treaties in the past few years, but I do not think that this is enough. It is important for Canadian people to actually understand the meaning of treaties, and how all Canadians are impacted by them.
Thank you Meg for opening up and expressing your experience with Treaties & Identities! I can say that I completely relate with having little prior knowledge to these topics and because of this often staying silent in cases of “controversial” conversation topics. The whole course of ECS 110 has been opening my mind up and getting me to think deeper than I am used to, and comfortable doing. Before looking at the readings about treaties from week 3, I would not have been confident in saying I was a Treaty person.
I think it important for all people to be educated on the Treaties that were signed in Canada, and the importance and impact of them, especially educating the young people, by implementing it into the school system and curriculums. I feel as though in some older Canadians have to have their minds changed on topics like this but if we work to teach about Treaties while children are young, they won’t have negative opinions to change. I just recently finished high school and noticed a lot more talk about Treaties in the past few years, but I do not think that this is enough. It is important for Canadian people to actually understand the meaning of treaties, and how all Canadians are impacted by them.
Meg, In response to your blog about Treaties, you have left me with very little to say because you expressed how I feel so eloquently. I honestly thought Treaties were an “Indigenous Peoples thing” that the Aboriginals were entitled to because of horrible things white settlers had done to them many years ago, long before I was born. I thought, in innocent ignorance, that Treaties favoured Indigenous People and were only for the Indigenous benefit. I had no idea that Treaties were developed for mutual understanding amongst all who share the land. I feel privileged to now call myself a Treaty person! I do not claim to completely understand it but I am certainly ahead of where I started. The challenge I leave with myself (and others!) is how I (and us) can better understand Treaties and what this means for us to move forward in a positive direction. How can I contribute to equality for all who share this land, particularly Treaty 4 land as that is where I currently reside.
I really liked your statement “You are not responsible to solve the world’s problems however we are all treaty people and this means we are equal.” I agree. The challenge with this statement is we are not equal. Unfortunately the Indigenous People are over represented in our criminal justice system, our social services system, our street gangs, etc. This leaves us unequal even though we say we are equal. I wonder why there is this imbalance? Is it because of choice? In the past I would certainly argue absolutely YES….. as I learn more I come to wonder if systems are contributing to this? For example: why are there more Indigenous children in the care of social services? Is it because others negatively view how Indigenous children are cared for? I do not have the answers but I do question the why behind the Indigenous over representation in most social programming. I leave myself and each of us with the final thought that there is certainly more to think about and learn. This is an exciting time as we enter the school systems because we can make a difference!
This was an interesting read and an interesting perspective. Prior to this class it had been quite sometime for me since touching on the topic of treaties. I too would agree that I have a lot to learn and should likely be questioning the curriculum I did learn at that time. When you said “However we are all treaty people and this means we are all equal” it raised a number of questions for me. Sure, we are all treaty people but are we really equal? I respect where you were going with that statement but I don’t concur that society is at a point where I could comfortably say “we are all equal”. As a white settlor, are we even in a position to determine the point at where we would all be considered equal?
Meg, You have eloquently captured how I feel. Thank you for your post regarding Treaties. I too consider myself very uneducated regarding Treaties. I used to believe Treaties were created for the sole benefit of Indigenous Peoples because of the horrible things white settlers did to cause harm. I too have enjoyed learning more about Treaties and admit I have much more to go. I am proud to consider myself a Treaty person!
I enjoyed your statement “You are not responsible to solve the world’s problems however we are all treaty people and this means we are equal.” It made me wonder if we are all equal though. Indigenous Peoples are over represented in the criminal justice system, gangs, social services, etc. It makes me wonder why, if we are all equal? There is certainly an imbalance here. Have White people contributed to this imbalance or is all due to “choice/ agency” of those directly involved? I do not have the answers, I am just throwing it out there.
By continuing to educate ourselves regarding Treaties, especially Treaty 4 land because that is where we live and attend school, we can continue to move forward in positive and productive ways especially as we will enter the work force in the Education field.