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    Portfolio Essay 1

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    Indigenous people in Canada continue to face systemic racism, as outlined in the book Seven Fallen Feathers. The book details the mysterious deaths of seven Indigenous youths in Thunder Bay, Ontario between 2000-2011. Their deaths could have been prevented had recommendations from a prior inquest been followed. Canada's racist history, from the residential school system to colonialism, has oppressed Indigenous people and stripped them of their rights. Systemic changes are needed in policing, education, and societal attitudes to address racism and prevent future tragedies.

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    Portfolio Essay 1

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    Indigenous people in Canada continue to face systemic racism, as outlined in the book Seven Fallen Feathers. The book details the mysterious deaths of seven Indigenous youths in Thunder Bay, Ontario between 2000-2011. Their deaths could have been prevented had recommendations from a prior inquest been followed. Canada's racist history, from the residential school system to colonialism, has oppressed Indigenous people and stripped them of their rights. Systemic changes are needed in policing, education, and societal attitudes to address racism and prevent future tragedies.

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    Indigenous people in Canada continue to face systemic racism, as outlined in the book Seven Fallen Feathers. The book details the mysterious deaths of seven Indigenous youths in Thunder Bay, Ontario between 2000-2011. Their deaths could have been prevented had recommendations from a prior inquest been followed. Canada's racist history, from the residential school system to colonialism, has oppressed Indigenous people and stripped them of their rights. Systemic changes are needed in policing, education, and societal attitudes to address racism and prevent future tragedies.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    76 views3 pages

    Portfolio Essay 1

    Uploaded by

    api-546455253
    Indigenous people in Canada continue to face systemic racism, as outlined in the book Seven Fallen Feathers. The book details the mysterious deaths of seven Indigenous youths in Thunder Bay, Ontario between 2000-2011. Their deaths could have been prevented had recommendations from a prior inquest been followed. Canada's racist history, from the residential school system to colonialism, has oppressed Indigenous people and stripped them of their rights. Systemic changes are needed in policing, education, and societal attitudes to address racism and prevent future tragedies.

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    Racist Canada: Seven Fallen Feathers Analysis

    In a small town in northern Ontario, it’s no secret that Indigenous people are mistreated.
    Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga depicts the tragic reality of the racism against Indigenous
    people in the Canadian justice system, showing readers that without change, Canada’s racist
    history will continue into the future. With a lack of responsibility taken by both the police and
    justice system, as well as the Canadian government, Indigenous people are consistently
    disregarded when it comes to a mysterious disappearance and death. In this essay I will explore
    Canada’s history of racism, the lack of responsibility taken, and changes to be made.

    Although Canadians like to think that we're different from the rest of the world, with little
    to no racism, that’s not the case. Canada has a horrendous past with its treatment of Indigenous
    people. From 1831 to 1996, residential schools were the Canadian norm. It was estimated that
    over 150 thousand Indigenous children attended these schools, and it’s noted that nearly 3600
    children lost their lives at residential schools, but due to a lack of documentation that number
    could be over 6000 (Candian Encyclopedia). The purpose of residential schools was to assimilate
    Indigenous children to European standards. As Duncan Campbell Scott once said, the goal was
    to “kill the Indian in the child”, something that many have taken to heart. In 2008, Canadian PM
    Stephen Harper delivered an apology to all those affected by residential schools, including
    students, families and communities (Government of Canada). Although our racist past haunts
    many, our racist present and future is not over yet.

    Seven Fallen Feathers outlines the 2000-2011 deaths of seven Indigenous kids in Thunder
    Bay, all of whom died in mysterious circumstances. Five of the seven kids went missing, and
    were later found dead in the local river, while the other two had died under unknown
    circumstances in their own home. When each of the five children went missing, no amber alerts
    were issued, and it wasn’t until days later that a search started and a report was created. After
    Jethro Anderson went missing, a missing persons investigation was not launched until six days
    later. Reggie Bushie’s family back home was not notified of his disappearance until three days
    later.

    These deaths could have been prevented. In 1966 an Indigenous child, Chani, died, and
    an inquest was made. The inquest consisted of four recommendations to keep Indigenous kids
    safe and prevent another tragedy, but none of the four were put into place. No investigations
    were launched after the bodies were found in the river, and each family was left without answers.
    The police had noted that each child had either willingly or accidentally made their way into the
    river, and drowned. Many officers blamed intoxication. These deaths were preventable, and
    suspicious, yet poorly handled by the police system. By looking at the effects that colonialism
    has had on Indigenous people, it’s no surprise that they are still being severely mistreated. Since
    colonization, our system has been built to oppress Indignous people, strip them from their rights,
    and bury their culture.

    Indigenous children up north in Ontario are forced to leave home for an education. They
    are to leave their family behind to live with strangers (most of the time), and attend a
    predominantly white school. Jordan Wabasse had begged his mom to let him leave and go to
    school in Thunder Bay. The school in his home town Matawa was dated, had no green space, and
    was extremely underfunded. Once moved to Thunder Bay, Jordan was lucky enough to board
    with a distant cousin. Curran Strang, on the other hand, had no one. He was boarded with
    strangers, and was constantly neglected. In Thunder Bay these children are mistreated by those
    around them, and the results can be fatal. Many of the kids face racist remarks from others.

    On October 28, 2008, Darryl Kakekayash was beaten severely and tossed into the
    Neebing River. Darryl is an example of the abuse these poor kids face. The justice system has
    failed the seven kids, their deaths preventable, and rights stripped. A change is needed to better
    the lives of future generations, making life on and off the reserves a little bit better. The police
    need to begin taking Indigenous people seriously, and investigate their deaths to bring justice.
    The people of Thunder Bay, as well as all of Canada, must learn to be more understanding, kind
    and accepting of those around them. The pain of losing a child is unbearable, and we should be
    working to keep kids safe.

    With problems come solutions, yet somehow the Candian government has found a way to
    ignore each and every solution proposed by Indigenous people. Canada values its diversity, yet
    fails to recognize what goes on behind closed doors. Indiegnous people are beaten and
    brutalized, yelled at and spit on, and even killed. Canadians live on stolen land, and we need to
    be respectful of those who came before us. Colonization has impacted the lives of every
    generation of Indigenous people, resulting in inequality and mistreatment. Without a change in
    attitude, a change in views, and a systemic change, our racist past will continue into a racist
    future.

    Works Cited:

    Government of Canada. “Prime Minister Delivers Apology to Former Students of


    Newfoundland and Labrador Residential Schools.” Prime Minister of Canada, 24 Nov.
    2017,
    pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2017/11/24/prime-minister-delivers-apology-former-stude
    nts-newfoundland-and.

    Miller, J.R. “Residential Schools in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2 Sept. 2020,
    www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools.
    Talaga, Tanya. Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City.
    W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services Library, 2019.

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