Friday, June 13, 2008

Excerpts from PM's Apology to First Nations People

See also:
Video of PM Apology
Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Indian and Northern Affairs info on resolutions.


Excerpts from Harpers' Apology:
(More on what this means later)


Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools. The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history.

In the 1870's, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools.

Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.

These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal.

Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, "to kill the Indian in the child."

Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.

Most schools were operated as "joint ventures" with Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian or United churches.

The government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far from their communities.

Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed.

All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools.

Tragically, some of these children died while attending residential schools and others never returned home.

The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language.

While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities.

The legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today. It has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors that have come forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered.

It is a testament to their resilience as individuals and to the strength of their cultures.

Regrettably, many former students are not with us today and died never having received a full apology from the government of Canada.

The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation.

Therefore, on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to aboriginal peoples for Canada's role in the Indian residential schools system.

To the approximately 80,000 living former students, and all family members and communities, the government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow, and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you.

Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry.

The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long.

The burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country.

There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system to ever again prevail.

You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey.

The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.

We are sorry.

In moving towards healing, reconciliation and resolution of the sad legacy of Indian residential schools, implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement agreement began on September 19, 2007.

Years of work by survivors, communities, and aboriginal organizations culminated in an agreement that gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to move forward together in partnership.

A cornerstone of the settlement agreement is the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This commission presents a unique opportunity to educate all Canadians on the Indian residential schools system.

It will be a positive step in forging a new relationship between aboriginal peoples and other Canadians, a relationship based on the knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward together with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us.


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Monday, June 02, 2008

Film nostalgia: vampires, breakdance, androids, doll-women, and lusty femicide.

During the summer of '94, I covertly watched B-films served up nightly by ASN at midnight. These films were pretty cheesy and bad by most standards, but transgressive to a 12 year old. Now everyone finds fringe and cult films online, or stumbles upon them, but I must thank ASN (a usually family-friendly channel) for bringing the films that taught me about technology run amok, taboo sexuality, vampire love, and of course, the dance battle:

Amantes (Dir. Vicente Aranda)

Have been haunted by this film since this one viewing. Follows a young man as he abandons his virginal fiance to be sexually educated by his Widowed landlord, with inevitable murderous ending. Innovative uses for a hanky are discovered en route.
Seeing Woody Allen's Match Point a few years ago reminded me of the film, though I had no idea what it was called or who made it. Today I tried many googling techniques, all which yielded nothing, and I finally typed in "spanish film about murder" and found this title halfway down the page. Bingo! Weird.
Levity aside, the final scene of this film has floated back to me many times in the 14 years since I first saw it. The emotional impact of understanding the intersection of sexual violence with domestic violence still resonates. This film was the first to give me that unsettled, morosely creeped-out feeling that comes from mixing death, sexuality, and trust, which I would later experience with films like Olivier Olivier!, A Ma Soeur (Fat Girl), My Summer Of Love, and more recently Red Road.

Full Amantes synopsis.


Beat Street (Dir. Stan Lathan, with Guy Davis, Rae Dawn Chong)

Stars a young Guy Davis (son of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee) in his first and only movie role. I loved the film then, and it has since taken on new meaning, as Frederictonians now know Guy as a guitar-strumming storyteller who used to make frequent visits to Harvest and to Salty Towers to trade notes with Hot Toddy.





Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo(Dir. Sam Firstenberg)

A developer tries to bulldoze a community recreation center. The local breakdancers try to stop it by putting on a dance spectacular. Obviously they succeed, as the coffeegrinder overcomes all obstacles.
I believe in the beat.


The Hunger (Dir. Tony Scott with David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon)

Saw it once and never forgot it.

The Bauhaus over opening titles, the David Bowie, the lesbian love, the loneliness of the undead, the mutating hemoglobin, the Flower Duet, the eighties eye-makeup, the billowing gauzy curtains, the Ankh-necklace dagger, the crumbling flesh... Too much to unpack here, I suggest watching it as soon as possible.
Online.


Making Mr. Right (Dir. Susan Seidelman, with John Malkovich)
Woman falls in love with an android that looks like John Malkovich. Yeah, right.
Most memorable moment is when android Malkovich goes through his human lover's purse and finds her diaphragm. He pings it around wondering what it is, and my young self wondered the same thing.


Weird Science (Dir. John Hughes, with Anthony Michael Hall)

My parents are away for the weekend. Party? No. Initiate woman-making software.
Two nerds design a woman using their geeked-out custom IBM attached to a Barbie, and through the magic of a freak lightening storm, the doll turns into Kelly "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" LeBrock. Anatomically correct or plastic panties? We never find out, because a gang of punk biker aliens break up the party (Time travellers from Tupac's "California" video, who found themselves in the wrong 80s movie. Sorry dudes, Mad Max is in the other studio.)

Cinema's proto-nerd Anthony Michael Hall begins to lose his way after this film, never truly resurfacing until taking on the role he was born to play, pre-humanitarian Ur-geek Bill Gates in Pirates of Silicon Valley.

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