A Commentary by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large
Posted February 15th, 2016
“When I look back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.”
Of all the Paul Simon lyrics I’ve fallen in love with over the years, that one, from his 1970s song ‘Kodachrome’ is right up there near the top of the list.
The late Metis leader – known in some ciricles as the true ‘Father of Manitoba’ – Louis Riel
And the more I’ve learned since my years in school, the more that lyric rings true. I feel like I’ve spent most of my adult life undoing the crap I learned in school, including virtually everything I was taught in our Ontario public schools about the aboriginal people on this continent.
So much so that back in the 1960s when I went through most of my grade school years, I never would have imagined the day would come that I would open up my inbox, as I did this February 15th, to a media release from the Prime Minister of Canada, paying tribute to ‘Louis Riel Day.
Back then, those of my generation who went to public schools in this province were taught that the Metis leader was a treasonous rebel who deserved to be captured and hung, as he was back in the 1880s with the blessing of Canada’s first Prime Minister, John A. MacDonald.
Back then, Riel was officially portrayed the same way a so-called “domestic terrorist, like the guy who shot and killed an honour guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before storming the Parliament building in Ottawa two years ago, is portrayed today. Certainly not as the “champion of minority rights” he was called by our 23rd Prime Minister in a statement he released this February 15th, 2016.
As for John A. MacDonald? We were led to believe that his record was unblemished except for a drinking problem and something about bribes involving a contract to build a trans-continental railway.
Nothing was ever said or presented to us in a text – at least not enough to leave any kind of impression – that it was MacDonald who first sanctioned the infamous residential schools that wrested aboriginal children away from their families and communities so that the “Indian” could be drummed out of them.
Nor were we told that when it was brought to MacDonald’s attention that these schools were so substandard, they were hardly teaching the children to read and write, he wondered out loud what good would come from having “savages” who could read and write.
There was also little or nothing said about a program MacDonald governed over that sought to literally starve aboriginal people out of existence to get hold of their land.
Instead, our school had us spending weeks leading up to Canada’s 100th Birthday celebrations in 1967 building exhibits for a community festival honouring the late John A. as if he were the great, omnipotent Moses who lead all of the God-fearing settlers of European stock out of the wilderness.
There wasn’t a single thing said in our class that those residential schools were still operating across our country while we were putting that festival on. A lot of the ugly things about those so-called schools and other terrible things done to aboriginal people didn’t really come to light until the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada were released last year.
‘When I look back on all the crap I learned in highs chool….,’ don’t tell me that Canadian students aren’t fed as much propaganda as American students are. The only difference now is that the crap is coming from the corporate sponsors our schools have to turn to because they are being underfunded by our governments.
The good news, at least, is that Canada’s new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement this February 15th in recognition of Louis Riel Day.
“Today, I join the Métis people, Manitobans, and Canadians across the country to commemorate Louis Riel: a champion of minority rights, a Founder of Manitoba, and a key contributor to Canadian Confederation.
“Louis Riel made important sacrifices to defend the rights, the freedoms, and the culture of the Métis people. The ideals that Louis Riel fought for – ideals of inclusiveness and equality – are now the very same values on which we base our country’s identity.
“As we work to renew a nation-to-nation relationship with the Indigenous peoples of Canada, including the Métis people, let us take a moment to reflect on the life of Louis Riel, and celebrate the many contributions of Métis communities to our great country.”
For more on Louis Riel, click on – http://www.gov.mb.ca/february_holiday/biography.html .
For more on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and its findings and recommendations, click on – http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=905
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Doug it is rewarding to see truth about our aboriginal cousins, to someday see their names inscribed in the history of Canada as deserving founders of this land called Canada.
When I visit Queenston Heights here in Niagara and look up to huge monument dedicated to the British General Issac Brock I find true irritation that an aboriginal who was one of the true founder of this country died in an unmarked grave, the where abouts unknown to historians and there is Nothing, no monuments, no plaques absolutely nothing to mark his contribution in saving Canada from defeat at the hands of superior American forces during the war of 1812.
We heard and were taught nothing during our years in public schools about Tecumseh and the aboriginal people who preserved and fought for Canada and who ended up with too many promises not kept by our British forefathers in England.
Thank You Doug you do seem to bring our history into the light with honesty
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I agree! The high school fodder for “learning how to learn” was a lot of crap, unless you were more into the sciences. That Kodachrome song resonated with truth and was very identifiable when Paul Simon put that on out. It seems that you really had to get past high school to engage in your passion, with the blinders off and actualities accessible.
As far as history goes, there are common threads back to the ancients, from Thucydides to Rob Roy of Braveheart fame and more, which seem to attest to the principle that the writings stemmed from “fools and cowards”.
This being so, I shall endeavour not to add to that dilemma here. I simply wish to encourage anyone and everyone to seek the Truth and ye shall find it. There’s nothing wrong with recognizing or even emulating a few hung heroes along the way.
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Bravo to Doug and both commentators. I am older than Doug but recognized what hogwash we were fed in the Ontario school system of my day. Just imperialism and colonialism run amok. And we were just kids, right? So we dutifully bought the story our teachers were told to give us.
What a shameful legacy..
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