A Youth's View

The first time I heard about a residential school was when I was in grade six. The first time a teacher mentioned a residential school to the class, I was in grade eight. The first time I learned what a residential school was and how it impacted millions of Indigenous Canadians was when I looked it up on the internet in my own time.

The injustice that had occurred has always and will always baffle me. We’re all humans after all, no matter the race, the sexuality, the gender. What gave one race the right to say “we’re above all”, even though they were just lucky enough to be born in a world where the writers of history favoured their skin tone over the rest?

But that was in the past. It doesn’t excuse the horrific events that had unfolded, but we can’t change history. What we can do is make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes of our ancestors, we can make sure that we’re fighting for a better future for all. So why aren’t we making any progress?

There are so many people in Canada who are disgusted by the racism in the US, and yet, we don’t seem to realize that the same thing happens in Canada as well. Even now, Indigenous Americans are still being mistreated, being treated cruelly and unfairly, and not having their voices heard just because of the colour of their skin. At school, we acknowledge the unceded territory where we learn, live and play, but the acknowledgment is reduced to just a couple of sentences. Is that truly enough? A sentence or two doesn’t seem enough to encompass and understand the tears, the bloodshed, and the suffering that the Indigenous have experienced and are still experiencing to this day.

So far, I have not heard the Indigenous being described as “savages” in real life, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen. The better question is why is the word sometimes associated with them? In socials this year, we learned about the 7 Years War, and how both Europeans and Aboriginal Americans committed atrocities during the conflict. Homes were burned, families were killed, but both sides were trying to make the best decision for themselves, the decision that would best benefit their people. At the end, it was the Indigenous that suffered most, even if a tribe had fought for the victorious side. History is never not biased, and it is the victors that gets to write it.

We can’t change the past. We can’t undo the suffering, but we can work to make things better. By raising awareness, and educating others, we might never be able to right the wrongs of so many in the past, but we can work together in ensuring a bright and equal future for all. We have a responsibility to uphold, we have a promise to make. As the future leaders of the world, my generations needs to learn to listen and understand, to be willing to be wrong, and ready to be educated. Only then can we make progress in the right direction.