Dear editor,
Why support the Idle No More movement?
With Indigenous rights being under attack from the Harper government, the First Nations people on the North Island and in Canada need our support.
These people have been oppressed for far too long by assimilation policies enforced by the federal government.
One of the most violent policies with ongoing effects was the forced removal of First Nations children from their families to have their native language and culture beaten out of them in residential schools.
This practice occurred across Canada for over 100 years.
These families also endured the suffering of being forced to leave their homes and communities to live on reservations and were treated inhumanely.
Evidence of this still stands in Alert Bay in the form of the old residential school where unmarked graves of unnamed children lay.
Memories continue to haunt many former students. Ignorant racism continues to hurt these people and we all need to look inside to see if we are part of the problem or solution.
As a Canadian of only a few generations, I support the Idle No More movement.
I wish to thank the leaders and supporters of the Idle No More movement as they are also voicing concern over the sweeping changes to legislation that once protected rivers and lakes in Canada.
These changes will affect all Canadians and I am thankful that these people are wise enough to know and care about these issues, for without clean water, none of us can be well on this planet. This movement gives hope for a better future for all.
Holly Tracy
Sointula