Jeff Thomas. Reclaiming One’s History in Public Space
In December 2012, Jessica Gordon, Sylvia McAdam, Sheelah McLean and Nina Wilson launched the Idle No More movement in Saskatoon to oppose Bill C-45 proposed by the Harper government. This omnibus bill, which became famous in the wake of the events, contains clauses that not only threatens some important rights and treaties signed between Canada and the First Nations, but also endangers the preservation of protected ecological zones. One of the most significant impacts of the Idle No More movement is to have given a new impetus to native demands throughout the whole country, notably in Quebec, where the question of educational reform at the high-school level has become a political issue.1 More concretely, in 2013, the Quebec Native Women’s Association relaunched the call to give a more prominent place to First Nations history in the history curriculum.2 The Eurocentric-charged content of the high-school history program is in fact quite surprising when one considers the major “forgotten” events that punctuate it, such as the forced enrolment of aboriginal children in residential schools over several generations, or the various colonial and territorial repression strategies. These historical gaps directly impact our perception of the First Nations. In other words, the historical narrative – in which generally advocated linear and chronological form itself is open to debate – is a powerful socio-cultural and political tool, which can shape our perception of a particular phenomenon or group.
The Other History
However, history is not only taught in schools. Public
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