Readings 9/8/08

Unsettling Settler Societies, Chapter 4: The Fractious Politics of a Settler Society: Canada

This article looked at the effect of settlers and colonizers on the land of Canada, and the people living in it. The thing I found most interesting about the article was the easy comparisons that could be made between Canada and the United States in terms of the lengths they both took to ostracize their Native American populations, while at the same time practicing forced assimilation and other detrimental policies. For some reason, in the back of my head was the assumption that Canada could in no way have as tarnished a history as the U.S., lulled into complacency by their somewhat progressively-minded current government and the stark contrast between that and what the reality is on this side of the border. It was interesting to read about how their history was as rife with racism and violence as ours; it doesn't take a genius to realize why they, too, failed to sign the Declaration of Indigenous Rights.

Their government is still undermining the rights of the indigenous population, something that - again, not-so-surprisingly - is widely unreported or remarked upon. Hopefully the rise of indigenous rights awareness and support that is happening globally will help increase public pressure on the administration, so that wrongs can at long last can be righted.

Chapter Six: Miscegenation as Nation-Building: Indian and Immigrant Women in Mexico

The thing I thought was most interesting about this article was how diverse Mexico really is, with a completely different racial background than either the United States or Canada. While the colonial period was still horrible for the indigenous people, at this point I'm almost not surprised when I hear that. I suppose that's just what happens.

What I thought made this section stand out from the others I've read is the government policies that aim at multiculturalism and a "culturally unified nation" (183), instead of the government policies of the U.S. and Canada that seemed to aim at just wiping out the culture of the indigenous people. The end result is the same, in a way; the loss of identity for a specific group of people is still tragic. But the different terminology used makes it seem less offensive before you think about it.

The article also talks about the conflict between the groups as indigenous women fight for the independence of their culture as well as their rights as women of color. Having to fight so many equally important battles would be hard on any community, and I can't even imagine it for communities that are so alienated/condemned by the rest of society at large.