#tw residential school

[pocfansmatter]

Okay I said before I was going to get more in depth with blood quantum eventually so now is as better time than any I guess. Mind you I'm speaking as a Native American meaning an Indigenous person from America. Specifically from 2 southern California tribes. I cannot speak for all Native or Indigenous people. I can only speak for myself, I can’t even speak for my tribe. However most Natives tend to have the same view when it comes to the blood quantum debate. From this point on blood quantum will be shortened to BQ & Native American to Native(s).

Originally this was gonna be a reply to another comment but decided to make it it's own post so I don't associate my blog with that anti Indigenous one. Please try to read the whole post before clicking the articles. I screenshotted the main parts to keep the discussion going. Feel free to click on all the articles because they are good & most of them are from Native run news websites.

I was gonna do this with a read more tag but my laptop doesn't want to work. I'm literally getting anyther one on Thanksgiving but my old one doesn't cooperate sorry so y'all are gonna get a long post. 😕

So let's start with the basics. What is blood quantum?

"Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States and the former Thirteen colonies that define Native American identity by percentages of ancestry. ... For instance, a person who has one parent who is a full-blood Native American and one who has no Native ancestry has a blood quantum of 1/2."

In case that was confusing if one person is "full blood native" they are considered 4/4. Meaning they have no relatives who are of any other race or ethnicity. If the "full blood native" has a child with a non Native person the child would have a BQ of 1/2 Native blood. If that child has a child with a non Native that child will be considered 1/4. This will continue to get lower & lower unless the child has a baby with another Native. Then the BQ raises or stays the same depending on the other parents BQ.

Now that the definition is out of the way lets get into the issue with this.

This is a good article that narrowed down an issue with Pharrell wearing a headdress. I wanna focus on one part of the article though.

"... deeply connected to their Native culture & live it every day."

"Having Native American ancestors doesn't get you off the hook if you don't bother to do the homework."

So I mentioned before that a lot of Natives don't consider BQ as a proper way of measuring your culture. Being Native isn't something you can pull out when it's convenient like for a photoshoot. Its every single day. It's in the words we speak, in the clothes we wear & in the food we cook. Same as any other culture.

Asian people don't wake up not Asian. Black people don't wake up not Black.

So why is do some people pull out the Native card when it is convenient? Like Pharrell did or Elizabeth Warren claims.

This article sums it up well but I wanna focus on the last 2 paragraphs.

Link to the full article:

There's similarities in both articles by 2 different Native authors from 2 different news websites.

They both speak about connections to our culture. A DNA test cannot measure ones Indigenous Ancestry because being Indigenous is much more than something in your blood.

I made a post asking some questions that might help understand if one is Indigenous or not. Now I'm not saying these are all the questions nor that I'm the expert on this. These are just STARTER questions to help people understand what it means to be Native.

Does the tribe you claim, claim you?

Have you been to the reservation?

Do you participate in the community?

Have you met your family from the tribe?

Do you know your history, traditions, anything about the tribe you claim?

The big one is are you claimed. You cannot claim a tribe that doesn't claim you. Now I'm not saying the entirety of the tribe has to know you personally. I'm not even saying you have to stand in front of the tribal council & ask them if they claim you. A claim can be made as little as just your family saying "this person is one of us".

The reason I bring this up is because multiple tribes have in the past & continue the practice of "adopting" a person into their tribe. There's many examples of this. Some can be adopted because they married into a tribe. Non Natives & Natives of other tribes alike have been adopted into tribes. There can be legal adoptions like adopting a child. And countless other examples.

A lot of the time biologically those members aren't apart of the tribe & cannot be enrolled but are still viewed as a member by the community.

For personal example, my sister has been adopted by my tribe. She's actually an enrolled member from another tribe & technically my cousin but was taking away by CPS & my family took her in. She grew up & still lives on my reservation. She is from another reservation. Although her tribe still claims her as a member my tribe also does. People in my community know her as a member of my family & have grown up with her. She knows many of our traditions & practices some ceremonies with us that are specific to my tribe. No one in our tribe has expressed any issue with this so far & even if they did they would have a stern talking to. We are even in the process of organizing her to be buried on our tribal land instead of hers. Her choice & we are okay with it.

Now I want to point out another way people can be considered Native even if they aren't enrolled or cannot answer those questions properly.

Let's look at something called "reconnecting Natives".

What is a reconnecting Native?

A reconnecting Native is someone of Native Ancestry who for whatever reason has been removed from their culture, family, reservation, etc so they do not know them & are actively trying to learn those things so they can reclaim their Native roots.

So, how does this happen? This is actually a very common issue in the community.

One of the main ways a Native might become disconnected is through the process of Residential Schools or Indian Boarding Schools. What is that? Here's a snippet of an article to help explain.

Of course here is the link:

The official motto of these schools was "kill the Indian, save the man” and if you think it sounds awful I promise you, it was much worse than you could imagine.

There's a movie on Netflix called Indian Horse which I have not watched yet but is based off a novel by an Indigenous author that looks at these Boarding Schools if you wish to check that out.

The goals of these schools were to strip Indigenous children of their culture. They were beaten, starved, punished of things as simple as speaking in their languages. A lot of them didn't even speak English. It was illegal to keep your kids from this school & often times tribal children went to these schools and never returned to their family. Natives who attended these schools or are children of children who attended these schools more often than not stop practicing their culture or forget it. In that way they become "disconnected".

Those members can if chosen too began the process of reconnecting.

I found this really good article going a little more in depth on the do's & don't's of reconnecting.

But here's a screenshot of important parts.

Granted this is a long process. Lifelong. Every journey to reconnect is difficult & very different from others. It depends on your tribe & community. Some of them make it easier & some make it harder. It's up to the individual to put in the work.

Now I don't want to make it like being a connected Native is easy. Yes it's easier but connected Natives also put in work to live their culture everyday.

Now what does this have to do with blood quantum? As you can see none of these articles about being Native or even a reconnecting Native mention blood quantum or DNA being a requirement.

If one is Japanese & someone asks "how are you Japanese?" What would the answer be?

"Because I just am. Because my parents are Japanese."

If someone is white & has kids those kids are white, correct?

So if it's so easy to explain for other cultures why does mine require math? Why are some of my family members not enrolled members despite having Native parents & growing up on the reservation? Why do my people have to actively think about the DNA results of our children if we choose to have them?

Because of BQ. Its a tool created by colonizers that are forced upon us. If we do not abide by the rules & requirements the government sets in place we run the very big risk of

Losing our status of a Native American tribe.

Losing our land & land rights.

Losing funding from the federal government.

Losing our housing.

Losing Healthcare.

Losing our basic citizenship rights.

The thing about BQ is it's designed so that we fail. If we fail to keep a certain amount of enrolled tribal members in a tribe then the government can break treaties & take away our land & things that are rightfully ours.

BQ is a lose/lose situation all around for us as well as extremely racist.

Because of the BQ requirements Natives actively worry about who they have children with. Some don't date outside of the their culture in fear of their children not being seen as legally Native. The problem here is a lot of the tribe is related. The issue of inbreeding increases. How do we solve that problem? Well we can have children with Natives of another tribe. But there's a problem here too. Most tribes do not allow what we call dual enrollment. Both of my tribes for example don't allow this. Which means one would have to pick which tribe to enroll their child. That means one of the tribes will lose out on a member. So that's another way identities are erased using BQ.

Okay I think I'm going to end this here. There is so much more I could've added. I also could've expanded on residential schools, what it means to be Indigenous, & reconnecting Natives but I wanted to keep it focused on BQ. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask or research on your own. We're still here. We aren't stuck in the 1800's. We weren't all killed by cowboys but the government is still actively trying to erase us.

[dragonladdie]

Hey remember when they found over 200 bodies of native children buried behind a residential school and the world cared for... what, a week?

They've counted about 6,000-7,000 now, for those of you who do still care

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #2,025

Children forced into Indian Residential Schools in Canada had their name taken away and were given a number instead. 

[konowiw]

Are you fucking kidding me @staff get these disgraceful predatory ads off of my dash! The site claims to be giving partial proceeds to the Orange Shirt Society, BUT THIS IS A LIE. I emailed the Orange Shirt Society and within an hour got a reply that they haven't been in contact with the clothing company Alsiee and these designs are FUCKING STOLEN FROM THEM!

Not only are they exploiting a dark time for all NA Indig people, they're lying about giving a portion of the sales to the charity they stole the designs from! AND TUMBLR IS GIVING THEM A PLATFORM! It took me one goddamn email and less than an hour to verify that these are RACIST FUCKING ADS.

I can't even fucking report this ad to tumblr @neechees @allthecanadianpolitics @indigenousfantasy @doesthendnlive please tag more people, god I'm fucking livid.

[eruthiawenluin]

if you have a couple of bucks to spare, consider throwing them to The Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS). they provide counseling and other forms of support to First Nations people who are residential school survivors. this is a list of other charities that support first nations people, this list is a mix of charities and ways to learn more about first nation activism and history, and this is a link to a free online college course called Indigenous Canada

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The federal government is heading toward trial on a class-action lawsuit seeking reparations for the devastation residential schools inflicted on First Nation cultures, languages and communities.

The claim for reparations was originally part of a broader lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Tk'emlups te' Secwepemc and shíshálh Nation in B.C. — along with residential school survivors known as day scholars — who were forced to attend Kamloops Indian Residential School and Sechelt Indian Residential School.

Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc announced last Thursday that preliminary findings from a survey of the grounds at the former Kamloops institution uncovered an unmarked burial site with the remains of children.

So far, 105 First Nations have signed onto the lawsuit.  

[...]

The federal government, in court filings, denies any legal responsibility.

It says the loss of language and culture was an "unavoidable implication" of "children being educated in English or taught the Christian doctrine," according to Ottawa's amended statement of defence, filed in 2019.

It admits the schools were meant to "assimilate" Indigenous people, but denies the federal governments of that era "sought to destroy the ability … to speak their Indigenous language or to lose the customs or traditions of their culture."

Those languages and cultures were also eroded by "historical, personal and society circumstances" and by interactions between "Indigenous communities and the dominant culture," along with urbanization, the federal government argued.

"While the federal government may have contributed to those losses in various ways, such losses were not as a result of any unlawful acts or omissions of Canada or its employees or agents with respect to the operation of residential schools."

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[newsfromstolenland]

Taking down statues of residential school supporters and slave owners is the opposite of erasing history.

By putting up these statues and naming things after these people, you (white people) portrayed them as great, inspiring people. That's the actual erasure of history, the erasure of the atrocities these people committed.

By tearing down these statues and renaming things, we are starting a conversation about the genocide and oppression that was and still is happening on this land.

White people didn't just erase history, they also rewrote it. And holding people accountable, even after their death, is the first step in bringing the true history of this land to light.

[pocfansmatter]

I meant that in like what point did they make sorry that last ask was so direct from me

No ur chill I knew what u meant. I sent the main post but there was asks where they went in detail about residential schools & their theory that Willie has a Blootfoot tribal name.

It was just super triggering & I found it weird.

[brilliant-soul]

I did the math on the Kamloops residential school controversy.

The school opened in 1890 as a work camp, and the Indian day school opened in 1893.

It ran until 1969 under the Catholic Church, and until '73 under the federal govt.

So if we divide 215 victims by the 76 years it was open, we get 2.8 kids per year. I think its safe to round that up to a solid 3.

Kamloops Indian Residential School killed about 3 kids per year, for 76 years.

This is Canada's history. Don't forget it.

[bucksfucks]

what’s happening in canada right now is an example of the violence that has been and continues to be inflicted on indigenous people.

the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced thursday the remains of 215 children had been discovered at the site of a former residential school.

the last residential school closed in 1997 in canada. 25 years is not a long time & for people to say that it is shows the blatant and prominent disregard that is held for indigenous communities in canada.

what happened was a cultural genocide & there needs to be accountability and consequences for the disgusting atrocities committed and then brushed under the rug like it’s nothing.

the death of these 215 children have NEVER been recorded or reported.

THIS IS CANADA’S HISTORY.

[shoplifting]

// LINE 3 & RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS TW

[Transcript:

Now, this is something that I've been wanting to talk about for a while, but everyone is starting to treat natives and our issues today the same way y'all treated black people and Black Lives Matter last year. I have been seeing literal aesthetic profile pictures of Stop Line 3 and everyone stopping talking about the residential school children and their bodies being unearthed because last time when people were actually talking about it, it was 215. Now it's almost 6,000 and you see nobody talking about it. There's zero coverage, no more boosting. It's complete radio silence from everyone. Everyone who sought to be an activist for indigenous people and to stand in solidarity with us. Another thing is on this app, I see a lot of the same things, like those kind of videos where it's like they kind of bait people with trying to say, start off the video saying like "Oh my god, you don't have no idea what Kim Kardashian did," and then go to switch and say, "Oh, here's this about Line 3," and with absolutely zero links, no donations to water protectors, no coverage of the front lines. In fact, I've been seeing you do that with the same thing with Afghanistan and Palestine, and I've also been seeing a fucking thirst traps to stop Line three with no donations whatsoever to our water protectors on the front lines. And not only that, but none of you are providing trigger warnings or sources for mental health for natives who are dealing with the residential school children and seeing footage of the front lines. Because what a lot of non-natives will not understand is that a lot of natives, especially native youth who grew up on the front lines can be easily triggered by this. We can go down spirals and for Native Americans having a high risk of mental illness due to generational trauma and oppression, as well as us having the highest suicide rates in the world. Y'all being real fucking considerate because I remember when everyone was showing graphic footage of the front lines. Not only that, but people were sending me videos of that shit and I saw one of my friends and mentors getting arrested. Just, people are so fucking ignorant. But also like this app is silencing the Native creators who are trying to show off footage of the frontlines and tell people how to help. I just find all of this absolutely harrowing because you're treating us like a friend coming to pick up and where is an accessory to make yourself look good and feel better about yourself? Nothing changes until direct action is put into place and actual solidarity.

End transcript.]

Donate to the Line 3 front lines

Donate to legal support for water protectors

Indian Residential School Survivors Crisis Line, available 24 hours a day: 1-800-721-0066

Red Lake Treaty Camp Instagram Page

Linktrees with more info, more donations, and action to take:

If anyone has more resources on donations, how to keep up with news on Line 3 and the residential schools, and trusted mental health resources four Indigenous people, Palestinians, or Afghans (trustworthy donation sites for any of the above as well), please add!

[oorevitcejda]

ORANGE SHIRT DAY - September 30th

This day honours those who were taken from their homes and placed in residential schools around Canada. These schools forced Metis, Inuit, and First Nations children to disconnect from their culture and assimilate into Canadian society. It is important for the reconciliation process for the individuals and families that were affected by the residential schools.

Why...

September 30th? This was the time of year children were taken from their homes to the residential schools.

Orange? Phyllis Webstad, a former student and creator of orange shirt day, left for her first day at the residential school in her new orange shirt given to her by her grandmother. When she arrived, they took her brand new shirt away from her.

See below for what you can do:

[Image ID: Orange text on a white background reading:

"Orange Shirt Day

September 30th

What can you do?

Read books by Indigenous authors

Review the 94 Truth and Reconciliation calls to action and commit to at least one.

Watch online events hosted by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Identify and connect with your local Indigenous serving organizations

Read Phyllis Webstad's book "The Orange Shirt Story"

accompanying each listed is a corresponding image of an orange minimal bookshelf, an orange list, and orange computer mouse pointer, a minimal circle of people, and a single book outlined in orange. /End ID]

[agentsix606]

I hate this fucking Province, y’all are fucking disgusting.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS

STOP AVOIDING CANADA’S ISSUE’S FOR FUCKS SAKES!!!!!!!

This is the man (The Dorchester Review fuck) that is writing Alberta’s *disgusting* curriculum, you can check out this group on Facebook (yes it’s actually accurate info I promise) for more info.

Fuck the UCP and fuck Alberta. INDIGENOUS LIVES MATTER.

Also, sorry to tag this in BLM but like this needs to be everywhere.

[paperstorm]

I think it's really important to remember as more bodies continue to be found at the sites of former residential schools in Canada that the federal government, while entirely worthy of our anger and criticism, is not the only body responsible for this genocide. The Catholic Church (and to a somewhat lesser extent, the Anglican Church) deserves at least as much of our rage directed at them, if not more. The Church ran these schools, they were the teachers and administrators and caretakers, and they are the reason that - while the existence of 'lost' children at these schools has been known for literally decades - it is only now that bodies are being found, thanks to new technology and to the calls to action that came out of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Church was responsible for the welfare of these children. The Church allowed them to die, buried them in unmarked graves or later removed the headstones, never told their parents what happened to them, and then either destroyed the evidence or are still, to this day, hiding the records of hundreds more because they don't want the world to know the extent of their cruelty and indifference to indigenous children.

It is also the responsibility of the federal and provincial governments, absolutely. But it's important when seeking justice to understand all of the factors involved in the injustice, and the Catholic Church is responsible for the death and murder and mistreatment and exploitation of brown bodies literally all over the world. The Canadian federal government has apologized for the residential school system - the Catholic Church has not. That would be such an easy first step on the path toward reconciliation and they refuse to do it. So please keep pressuring the government to do better because it has to do better, but the Church needs to be held to account, too, and it too often is left out of this conversation.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Anomalies consistent with unmarked graves have been found at the site of a former residential school near High Prairie in northern Alberta, the local First Nation said.

Kapawe’no First Nation made the announcement on Tuesday. During Phase 1 of the search, 169 anomalies were found at the Grouard Indian Residential School, also known as St. Bernard Mission School.

Of those, 115 were found in the community cemetery with no grave markers, while the other 54 were found outside of the cemetery.

The first phase of the search covered only one acre of the vast property.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada @abpoli

[newsfromstolenland]

Sign the NDP's petition to demand that Trudeau stop taking Indigenous kids to court

"The news that the bodies of 215 children were found buried at the Kamloops Residential School is horrifying. But it is not the only example of the genocide of Indigenous people that is a dark stain on our nation.

A government committed to true reconciliation with Indigenous people doesn't take kids to court. Justin Trudeau must be accountable for his actions today that continue to harm Indigenous children, residential school survivors and Indigenous peoples.

It is simple.

Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government cannot claim to honour the spirits of children who died in residential schools when they continue to take Indigenous kids to court.

Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government cannot claim to take their role in reconciliation seriously when they force survivors of residential schools to wage legal battles for recognition and compensation.

Here are the facts.

After years of underfunding schools and ignoring the needs and safety of Indigenous youth and kids in care, Justin Trudeau continues to hide behind his empty promises to Indigenous kids – while denying them their rights in court.

Canadian courts have ruled that Justin Trudeau “willfully and recklessly” discriminated against Indigenous kids.

And appeal after appeal by the Liberals is forcing Indigenous kids, their families, and entire communities to fight a costly and heartbreaking legal battle.

While Justin Trudeau keeps trying to fight the ruling, Indigenous kids continue to face huge gaps in funding to their education, school and homes infested with dangerous mould, and unsafe drinking water for many communities across the country. Enough is enough.

It’s time for Canada to support Indigenous communities with respect and real action. And that means having leaders who don’t just say the right things but actually do them.

Join Jagmeet Singh and New Democrats in calling on Justin Trudeau to end all legal actions against Indigenous kids and residential school survivors.

We have an opportunity to support the Indigenous leaders of tomorrow and build respectful, lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Add your name today."

Tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics