MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter to the editor and an open letter to Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop is in response to a letter from Dunlop, published Dec. 22.
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Many years ago on the sacred lands of Mnjikaning, settlers arrived here and eventually took everything (either by force, coercion or false pretenses) from the Indigenous peoples that were already occupying the land.
The land was eventually taken, too, and, with it, their very purpose to care for the lands they occupied. Most already know this part of our history.
The lesser-known part of that history is that on the edge of our beloved Couchiching shores, in the year 1846, a gathering took place where hundreds of principal men and chiefs came to hear a proposal presented by Thomas G. Anderson (Indian agent/superintendent of Indian Affairs) addressed to Indigenous people and their chiefs.
The words spoken (as recorded in the minutes of that meeting) were as follows:
“It has been found that you cannot govern yourselves. And if left to be guided by your own judgment, you will never be better off than you are at present; and your children will ever remain in ignorance. It has therefore been determined that your children shall be sent to schools, where they will forget their Indian habits, and instructed in all the necessary arts of civilized life, and become one with your white brethren. In these schools they will be well taken care of, be comfortably dressed, kept clean, and get plenty to eat. The adults will not be forced from their present locations. They may remove, or remain, as they please; but their children must go.”
The irony in those words is not lost on many. Those words are written in history but remain our current state in many ways. No one forces our children into concentration camps anymore but our children are certainly forced to live in a society that values profit and convenience over humanity and what really matters. What isn’t yet realized by government officials is you are also forcing your own children into a future they may never recover from, not just ours.
We are nothing without the land. You are nothing without the land. Without the land, none of us exist and we all lack purpose. We all have purpose and value. The land has purpose and value as well and no dollar amount can truly be placed on something that cannot be owned. Money will always require ownership. You cannot own your mother. Mother Earth cannot be owned. You do not own the land you walk on. You care for it like you would your mother.
At one point, our chiefs were established by their people. They placed the title and role on warriors who stood out amongst the others. Chiefs sought to build and guide other leaders, never to lead. They always consulted the people and were removed if they were no longer acting in the best interest of their people.
Then came the colonial system of elected chiefs. There’s an ongoing turbulence within all nations on this part of Turtle Island with respect to hereditary chiefs being honoured over elected chiefs.
With regards to Bill 23, many hereditary and elected chiefs are currently speaking out. That is how it should be, traditional and colonial constructs unifying for what’s best for the people and the future. Their voices aren’t being heard, much like many of the voices locally.
So, to you, Jill, I must ask, are you standing in the same spot Thomas G. Anderson once stood and silenced voices of protest in the interest of greed, power and control? Or are you going to stand in parliament and do what an elected official is intended to do, what an elected chief is intended to do and what a chief was intended to do and listen to the voices of the people and protect their interests above all?
Honour the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Presently, your government is in violation of this act. Listen to the voices speaking right now. There are many, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
Or put some more shovels in the ground. It’s good practice for when the final tree is eventually cut down.
Krystal Brooks
Orillia
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