I was taught from a young age that being an Indigenous person in Canada came with many rewards. The treaties that were signed long before our time would ensure that Indigenous people who lived on reservations would be taken care of by our tax dollars. “We are all Treaty People” meant that we, the settlers of this country would always owe a debt to the Indigenous people who lived here before us. The community I grew up in was near two reservations. It didn’t take a genius to see that the conditions these people were living in were well below what I was accustomed to, and I came from a single income household of 7. Why then, if these people are being so well taken care of, do they live in such poverty?
The understanding that many Canadians have about treaties and what it means to be a Treaty Person is a compilation of years of misinformation fed to us by the people who most benefit from keeping the marginalized Indigenous people of this country down. It is no accident that Canadian history, as taught in schools up until 2007 did not include the accurate depiction of how Canada came to be. Teaching this history would mean owning up to the injustices done over hundreds of years.
Being a Treaty Person means having the uncomfortable conversations with our families and friends. It means being a voice for the marginalized people of our country instead of sitting silently. It means actively working towards reconciliation. As Lori Campbell puts it in her TedTalk Reconciliation is Dead, “Reconciliation is what you do at your dinner table. It’s the conversations you have with your families when you’re watching the evening news.”
Works Referenced
Hey Nicole,
Thanks for sharing your story and journey on truth and reconciliation. I completely agree with you, it is important to have these tough discussions with friends and family on these topics. It also is important to be an advocate and share learned knowledge within these discussions. The only problem with these discussions is you get a lot of push back from peers (usually older generations) that turn the other cheek away from the facts of Canada’s past. I can also relate to the poor living conditions on reserves that many indigenous people live with. The one that makes me the most frustrated is how many reserves do not have access to clean drinking water! How do we expect to help stop the poverty cycle if we can not even give them drinking water?
Thank you Riley. It can be a really difficult subject to talk about, especially as you say with older generations. I recently shared my Journey to Reconciliation with my parents, and was happy to see that they were open to hearing about what I had learned! There are so many injustices when you compare the living conditions of Indigenous people to the standard that we are accustomed to, but my hope, with education is that we can change this!
Loved reading your post, Nichole. I agree with you on a lot of this. There is a lot of miss information about being a treaty person being told. I use to think that indigenous people got free university because that is what I was told all the time and it isn’t true. I still have arguments with my friends and family about that topic because when I tell them it isn’t true they don’t believe me because that is what they have been told their whole lives. I try my best to spread knowledge on this subject the best I can so that I can try to do something for the indigenous people of this country.
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for sharing your opinion about the matter. I appreciate reading them. I do have the same question; that if they were well taken care of, then why do they live in such poverty? This may be because of how everyone has been misinformed about the actuality of the situation. I think that most of us haven’t received proper instruction about the reality and truth of the issue, since mainly this has become generational. Although, I haven’t been really exposed to the history of treaties. I think that us future educators can have the chance to properly educate and instruct about the reality of the matter with truth and reconciliation. I didn’t realize the extent of the misinformation about being a Treaty Person, not until recently. I think 2007 was not too long ago and that is quite shocking. I liked how you defined being a Treaty Person and I completely agree! I don’t have any questions as your opinion quite mirrors mine. Well done!
Good Morning Nicole,
I was also taught from a young age about Indigenous peoples but this year in university was the first time I have ever heard the statement “we are all treaty people”. I think about the statement almost everyday because I was mind blown that I have never thought about it that way. I feel indigenous people still live in poverty because they are already over crowed and since they are in rural areas it can decrease their educational/employment opportunities. I also agree with ajc706’s comment saying “I think that us future educators can have the chance to properly educate and instruct about the reality of the matter with truth and reconciliation”. Extensive learning about indigenous peoples cultures will help us educators to stop the “misinformation fed to us” and our children. Also being educated on these issues helps us give a voice to the oppressed but we can be backed up with facts. I agreed lots with what you said Nicole and writing about this is already a great step to reconciliation. Take care!
Good Afternoon Nicole,
From a personal standpoint, growing up we were taught very little about the reservations, if at all. Knowing what I know now, I find it very sad. Over the past few years in University, professors have really been pushing the topic of Indigenous cultures and it has truly been eye opening to me. This is a topic that like you said, needs to be talked about. Not just today or tomorrow, but consistently as we move forward. I ask myself questions all the time, why has this happened? Where can we go from here? How do we make it better? All questions that I cannot change on my own, but can play a part in helping the situation, which I hope I can do moving forward as an educator. The fact that other people are commenting similar things about being a future educator and properly educating, gives me hope that one day this topic will be a positive discussion rather than a negative.