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When is an apology not enough? or too much?

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 4:26 PM EST 19/11/08

Prominent Canadians debate the issue in a new online feature ...Read the full article

This conversation is fully-moderated What is moderation?

  1. Jim Sheppard from Executive Editor, globeandmail.com, Canada writes: Editor's Note: In keeping with the nature of this discussion, we will be fully moderating reader comments to ensure the highest level of debate. We will be strictly enforcing our written guidelines on comments. Please 'Join the Conversation' but please do so in the spirt we hope to create for the GlobeSalon.
  2. Donald S. Holmes from Listowel ON, Canada writes: This would appear to be another example of the media making a lot of noise and calling it informed comment.

    Mark Twain once expressed this truism: 'If you do not read the newspapers you will be uninformed; If you do read the papers you will be misinformed'.
  3. Global Villager Without Border from Canada writes: Ok. He apologized. Now what??
  4. Bruce Wayne from Canada writes: This appology to these abused children could & should have been given many years ago by the Government, the churches and by their native leaders.. I think the appology yesterday, while scincere, may also soften the public up and have the effect of transfering more money to the native leaders. Money to Native leaders who still oppose giving native woman their freedom & protection under the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms. It's time natives paid taxes and were brought back into mainstream Canada. After all everyone was a native, somewhwere, at sometime in history.
  5. BiB AmomA from Canada writes: ..//

    My comment is simple. Despite an apology from a man who did nothing to the natives except apologize, the apology will be judged as insufficient and in 20 years yet another apology will be demanded.

    This is victim politics pure and simple. If the victims can keep you feeling guilty, then you feel obligated to do soemthing.

    I don't feel obligated and I do not feel guilty for anything. This is out of control and getting to the point of abuse.

    ..//
  6. D M from Canada writes: I have to agree with D Holmes. I'm not saying that an apology was not deserved. Really, only those who were victims know, and they obviously think it is. But.. how many ordinary Canadians REALLY care about this? The journalists and papers go on and on about how touching this is to ordinary Canadians, but how many families have sat around the dinner table discussing it? Are they sitting over their beer in the bars with their friends saying, 'It's about time'? Very few... very few... If anything, they are saying 'It's about time' to the Leafs hiring a new coach.

    Until we do, apologies on behalf of 'Canadians' are hollow. The apologies are from the government. People will carry on their daily lives and forget about this as soon as the media lets us. Should we? I guess not. But that doesn't change how the population feels, and that won't change how Natives are treated, either. Sad.
  7. DR G from Ottawa, Canada writes: I agree somewhat with the previous comments. This whole thing is much ado about not a lot. The vast majority of Canadians, I truly believe, do not think this is as big a story as reporters have made it out to be. There must not be anything left out of the Couillard/Bernier affair to wring out.
  8. Don Wells from Calgary, Canada writes: I believe this apology was a legal requirement requirement of a number of land claims settlements. It has been met, now it's time for everyone to take responsibility for themselves and build productive lives.
  9. Peter S from Toronto, Canada writes: The situation with residential schools was truly an abomination. But I can't understand why an apology from a people who were never involved in the situation would matter in the slightest. We seem to be embracing this mass-emotion movement, where rational thought goes out the window in favour of optics and 'closure'. If I had suffered as the natives in residential schools suffered, an apology decades later from uninvolved people would be meaningless. I would be seeking healing within myself. You can't change the past, only learn from it and move on. Empty words of contrition are meaningless.
  10. Gerry Pankhurst from westport ontario, Canada writes: I welcome this new feature but am afraid it will go the same way as the other comment forum, i.e. individuals using anonymity (as per numer 3 above) instead of identifying themselves as an indication of some degree of self assuredness. Your panel members are named, why not call upon the contributors to do the same?

    The aliases used in the other forum simply leads to a bunch of frivolous, very often inane, ill-informed, vacuous comment that defeats your presumed target of receiving sober sensible opinion from the public at large.

    I wish you luck with this.
  11. A S from Canada writes: “If I had suffered as the natives in residential schools suffered, an apology decades later from uninvolved people would be meaningless. I would be seeking healing within myself.&8221;

    &8211; Do you know what aboriginal people are doing to help themselves? An even better question is, do you even know that they ARE doing something? The apology isn&8217;t to be assumed to make it &8220;all better&8221;, it is to show recognition that Canada knows what was done and accepts it (as wrong). I am sure if you endured what some of the students did, an apology would mean something, even if not a lot.
  12. Darryl Styres from Canada writes: I watched with interest the proceedings of yesterday's eventful and historic occasion. Understandably there has been mixed reactions across the countyr from First Nations people and non-Aboriginal Canadians and these have been either positive, indifferent or negative.
    As a First Nations person, a Haudenashounee (Iroquois as the French called us), I can attest that the PM's apology had profound impact in and of itself. It has historical, human and spiritual significance. I do hope people can at least see that but of course the real challenge from this point on will be the outcome.
    Some have asked correctly, 'What now?' This will be the litmus test for the future, action. Of course this will take time and will involve hard work, tough choices but above all, wisdom. There is now hope so please lets not lose its momentum.
  13. Christopher Cornish from Ottawa, Canada writes: The Indian Residential School system is indeed a dark chapter in our history. In many ways it has been the most prominent and visibly destructive 'policy' instrument used to assimilate Canada's first peoples. For those who forget that Canada's offical policy was to assimilate the 'Indians', it's worth recalling the words of Duncan Campbell Scott, the Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs who in 1920, crafted legislation making attendance at the schools mandatory: ' I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill. ” Yesterday, Parliament, through our Prime Minister, unequivocally rejected that policy, and he is to be highly commended for it. But it hasn't completely been abandoned. The Indian Act, the only race-based piece of legislation left on Canada's books, is alive and well, and there are, seemingly, no signs that it will be discarded anytime soon. I did find it interesting that the PM gave so much credit to Jack Layton, and his Ministers, but conveniently forgot to credit the previous government for setting the stage for yesterday's apology. It was the previous Minister of Indian Affairs, Andy Scott (who is not a lawyer), who convinced his lawerly risk-averse colleagues (Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, and Deputy PM, Anne McLellan) to abandon the Alternative Dispute Resolution process dealing with the class-action lawsuits. The process was time consuming and humiliating for the survivors. Had PM Martin not approved the $2B settlement, and the Conservatives not honoured it (Kelowna?), yesterday would never have happened. The most credit, however, belongs to Phil Fontaine, whose persaverence prevailed
  14. Older'n Dirt from Belleville, Canada writes: Give the man his due. Despite every effort by his opposition to cast him as un-Canadian and uncaring, Harper has righted long standing wrongs for our chinese and aboriginal communities that can only make Canada a more inclusive and caring place to live. Coupled with his national olive branch of recognition to Quebecers, he has demonstrated concilliatory nation building skills not seen in previous leaders. Who would have figured on this. Guess a little dignity goes along way. Maybe now we can put yester year behind us and deal with todays issues in a meaningful way!
  15. Doug MacLellan from Canada writes: I hope that now the apology has been delivered and we, Canadians , can move on. For too long we, like the aboriginals have been held in a victim mentality. The aboriginals for what has happened and for the situation they continuously find and place themselves in and Canadians for not being able to move beyond the past. As long as aboriginals stick to the idea that they are owed something and do nto start looking after themselves they will continue to fall back into lifestyles that leave them more pain and more trouble. THe paternalistic system that has evolved does not allow for accountability and does not allow the aboriginals to gain respect for his or her life. As long as you live cheques and payouts from a paternal figure you do not break away and develop your own individuality and self respect. In addition, i do not think Canadians need to keep apologising for being non-aboriginal. Certaily two hundered years ago people were displaced, just like the centuries before that in every country in the world. I am descended from highlanders displaced in Scotland by mistreatment. My relatives were also displaced in the Ukraine and in Hungary. Following the same philosphy I should ask for redress and payment and continue to question the historical solutions. However, at some time a group or people need to move on. There are no technically first peoples. That is a myth and was created by lawyers and bureacrats. The aboriginals in North America came from Asia. So in the past we all faced issues of displacement. Now all of us need to learn to stand on our own and have respect for what we earn and strive for. Now that the aology has been delievered let's see if everyone can grow rather than continue to see how many lawyers we can enrich and how much money we can waste. Cash does not solve individual respect
  16. T Rogers from Vancouver, Canada writes: I fear an apology will be due the Canadian taxpayer who will have to finance this folly.
  17. A S from Canada writes: “How many families have sat around the dinner table discussing it? Are they sitting over their beer in the bars with their friends saying, 'It's about time'? Very few... very few... If anything, they are saying 'It's about time' to the Leafs hiring a new coach.&8221;

    It&8217;s not about how many discuss it, it is about if they accept what has had happened and what was done and is being done. If one believes the Leafs are more important than what is happening in Canada, then I feel sorry that they are not as welcoming, accepting and culturally diverse as Canada is claimed to be.
  18. Kim Philby from Ottawa, Canada writes: That the disclocation and abuse was perpetrated on children makes it especially evil - so evil that I'm not sure it is something that can be forgiven.

    If the residential school abuse is unforgiveable, is an apology appropriate? Does an apology not come with some expectation of forgiveness? Perhaps an 'acknowledgment' of the wrongdoing would have been more appropriate.
  19. Nadine Marothy from London, Canada writes: Watching APTN there was a lady who survived one of those schools and she was waiting for a cheque from the government. No apology or money could ever make up for the damage inflicted on these people but at least it's a start. One of the things that seemed most important to her was to 'heal'. An apology is a step towards that. I just hope that there are and have been resources available to help with the emotional impact of being forcibly seperated from family and institutinalized.
  20. Carly MacKay from United States writes: I think that there are many countries in the world today that should emulate Canada. Our Native Americans have suffered at the hands of our ancestors as well, unfortunatley there have been no apologies. The plight of Native Americans, who suffer from the same afflictions as your Native Canadians, is not even news down here. As far as the apology, although well deserved, it was not the first and somehow I do not think will be the last (requested). Although Native populations receive financial support for schools, drug and alchohol rehabilitation and other social services, the change that is needed must come from within the community itself. You can lead a horse to water. . . . . The difficulty lies in that children in these communities see disproportionate amounts of drug and alchohol abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Like any child who lives in a community that relies on welfare for generation after generation, and learns little about the importance of getting a good education and establishing themselves in a career - they see this behavior as normal since they have only been exposed to this lifestyle. I am not advocating for the assimilation of these communities into mainstream Canadian culture - I am simply saying no matter how much money you pour into these communities, they will become reliant on the support and the situation will not improve. Native leaders must inspire their people to overcome their vices, become productive members of society and stand on their own feet.
  21. Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: Hello Patrick, interesting read. I'm curious as to why all the commentators assembled for this were non-Indians?

    I think it's very appropriate that Lorna Dueck was on the panel, at any rate, to bring in the viewpoint of the Faith Communities, and to remind us that the Indians are, amongst other things, also a Faith Community, something we are used to overlooking.

    Brian Flemming raises an interesting point, which I wonder if we're all dodging because of the terrible consequences of thinking it through: 'Is it possible that the policy-makers who established residential schools thought they were helping aboriginal children?'

    I would propose that it is in fact quite likely that was one of the motives for many people involved. Were those Canadian policy-makers any less self-assured in their idealism than today's? Are yesterday's government policies mixed with Christian idealism any more damaging for some than today's government policies mixed with secular idealism? Who are we harming today, by knowing what is best for them, and making sure -- whether they want it or not -- that they get it. Are Canadians any less arrogant in our assuredness in our own goodness? Sometimes the most brutish evils are delivered with the best of intentions.

    By dodging our side of the story, we may perhaps risk repeating our mistakes all over again, with Indians, or with other groups.
  22. Anne P from Canada writes: Kim that is how I feel as well about this. They were innocent, precious children. The horror of being beaten, raped and tortured under a systematic realm of church/state sanctioned child abuse is purely evil.

    To those who take this lightly I wonder if they would condone their child, their nephew, or another child that they care about being abused to this degree for decades.

    Mr. Harper can make Canada proud with this apology. He gave this integrity and did an outstanding job. I hope it helps the survivors, and Canadians to understand just how wrong the whole residential prison/abuse system was.
  23. 100% Conservative from Victoria BC, Canada writes: Mr. Harper did Canada proud on this one and even though I am a Conservative I do not intend this in any way to be partisan statement. Having family members who experienced this blight on our collexctive history I can safely state that I have never been so proud to be a Canadian as I am today. I think that as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission moves forward we should keep up the work started here and maybe some day our children we can look back in wonder at what their parents achieved.
  24. jimmie rabbit from toronto, Canada writes: i just read pierre poilievre's comments. it would seem that the cpc contains some rogue elements, assuming mr. harper's apology is meant to be sincere. or, if mr. poilievre's comments represent what the cpc really thinks, the apology would seem to be insincere.

    what is the true stance of the cpc on this issue?
  25. Ryan Hardy from Toronto, Canada writes: I fear Brian Flemming is misrepresenting the nature of 'Sorry Day.' Sorry Day, which has been renamed to something less silly, is not an official holiday and wasn't iniated by the Australian state (I don't believe it is supported either). So it's not really germane to this discussion.
  26. Well, I'll Be A West Virginian Albino Mexican from Canada writes: jimmie rabbit from toronto, Canada writes: i just read pierre poilievre's comments. it would seem that the cpc contains some rogue elements, assuming mr. harper's apology is meant to be sincere. or, if mr. poilievre's comments represent what the cpc really thinks, the apology would seem to be insincere.

    what is the true stance of the cpc on this issue?

    ====================================================

    jr, ALL PARTIES contain rogue elements.
  27. jimmie rabbit from toronto, Canada writes: 100% Conservative from Victoria BC, Canada writes: Mr. Harper did Canada proud on this one and even though I am a Conservative I do not intend this in any way to be partisan statement. Having family members who experienced this blight on our collexctive history I can safely state that I have never been so proud to be a Canadian as I am today. I think that as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission moves forward we should keep up the work started here and maybe some day our children we can look back in wonder at what their parents achieved.

    >>you should take a look at the comments of mp pierre poilievre - they might make you think twice about your support of the cpc
  28. Darryl Styres from Canada writes: In all of this negativity there are lights of hope in First Nations communities across this land. Unfortunately we do not hear often enough of the positive stories that abound in our communities.

    In my community there is a high level of educated professionals and a very low rate of welfare recipients. Professionals, skilled labour, and business owners are plentiful enough where I live. In fact one of our First Nations owned and managed companies in our community pays about $160 million a year in taxes, that's right, taxes. Our community's elected council requires an annual budget of $50-60 million for an entire year to run every public agency. Also, there are thousands of people who pay income tax due to the fact that they work outside of our community. I think we do an excellent job of paying our own way thank you very much.

    By the way, Scotland defended her land very well against the invading English. Mr. McClellan, you should be proud that your ancestors defended your land so valiantly. We are still working to get at least some of ours back!
  29. chris brown from Canada writes: This is a typical one-sided discussion of an issue affecting Aboriginals. Why haven't you invited a First nation, Metis or Inuit person into the salon? Why is there no regular column in your paper written by an Aboriginal? why is there so little diversity in the profiles of your salonists? This so smacks of elitism. And guess what? You won't dare post this comment. It's a pity. We have a subscription.
  30. Wilma De Bruyn from Toronto, Canada writes: The First Nations had it correctly from the very beginning, and the
    meaning very simple, 'white men speak with forked tongue' and they
    still do to this very day. Nothing really has changed except there's more lawyer(politicians) on the government dole.

    Let us all hope this has not been a futile performance from Harper.
    Time will tell.
  31. Jack Mitchell from Canada writes: There's a particular reason why I hope this apology to First Nations doesn't set a precedent for future apologies to wronged groups, namely that the crime of residential schooling is by far and away the worst crime this nation has ever perpetrated. If further apologies follow, I fear it will cheapen this one. Let this be the last apology for the past and thereby the sincerest.
  32. Joe McGrath from Hamilton, Canada writes: It would ne nice if we all could hold the sins of someone else's ancestors against the federal government. I suppose the I would have an excellent case against King George or more accurately the ancestors of his followers.

    But I'd rather enact change on my own rather than wallowing in my own pathetic self-pity.
  33. only mikey from Canada writes: To Carly Mackay---thankyou for your posting.
  34. Granny Fed Up from Canada writes: To the Commentators: Please go to the Osoyoos Indian Band website and read up on Chief Clarence Louie and his economic development strategy that has brought his people to a position of pride and partnership with the Province of BC and adjacent communities. This is an example of what can happen and should happen, once native leaders accept that being a victim is self defeating. I pray that the apology from the Government of Canada will start them on the track, using the example of Chief Louie, to self sufficiency. Please, G&M print some of his speeches, write more about those Native Bands who are being successful, which inspires and helps others to have hope, that they, too can achieve better conditions on their reserves. I do believe the non native population could use this enlightenment as well....
  35. D M from Canada writes: 'It's not about how many discuss it, it is about if they accept what has had happened and what was done and is being done. If one believes the Leafs are more important than what is happening in Canada, then I feel sorry that they are not as welcoming, accepting and culturally diverse as Canada is claimed to be.'

    What do you mean by 'accept'? Do we accept it happened? I think we all do. Do you mean 'accept responsibility?' Hell no. I, and I think many others, do not accept any responsibility for something perpetrated by people before I was born. I do not look into the eyes of my young German friends and expect them to feel guilty about the holocaust, just because they were born to German parents.

    I also don't believe that worrying about the apology makes me less welcoming or accepting. There's that word again. Accept. Maybe I don't know what it means..
  36. A S from Canada writes: - ''Listening to some native leaders, it almost seems as if they think what happened in the schools explains all the dysfunction and suffering in native communities. It's much more complicated that that and I fear that by focusing almost to the point of obsession on the schools, natives are putting on a mantle of victimhood that weighs them down instead of taking them forward.'' ------ Yes, that is exactly it, it SEEMS that way. I for one, do not put all the 'blame' on residential schools. Before saying it seems that way, perhaps one should've asked those several native leaders if they felt that way. It is better to get an answer than a conclusion from another's mouth that ends with 'seem'. I do not think there is an obsession or almost a point to an obsession either, but there is something. When something as tragic as what has happened to some students in residential schools for a number of years, or even for one year, it has a effect and sometimes a dramatic one, on their lives. It's a memory and pain that, in some cases, has not been dealt with. One must also remember that there are many stories from past students who say their time at residential schools were unpleasant but they do not 'obsess' over it. Please, don't fear something that you do not know the answer to, because when something seems as it is, it may not be when you find out the answer.
  37. David Baker from Canada writes: Brian Flemming has the most intelligent analysis of this issue. (Many Canadians are recognizing that Pierre Trudeau had the most sagacious wisdom on this type of issue, and it is perhaps logical that, based on his past public service, Mr. Flemming would adopt his same perspective). I am disappointed in Professor McMillans' interpretation, as it emanates from a professional historian with such a great ouvere of scholarly work to her credit. History is too complicated and nuanced a thing to be politicized in the way it has been in this matter. Human history (and the human condition) is intrinsically tragic and sad. There are other components to it yes; but in its main pith and substance, much of history on an individual life and societal basis is tragic. So of course, there is a tragic element to the residential school experience and legacy. But I would say that this thing is being done in somewhat of a factual vacuum. Yes, the Government can acknowledge that the policy of assimilation, etc, was morally wrong and so forth. But is it fair or intellectually honest to imply that the residential school system was such an abusive, horrific experience as is being portrayed? Is it any way analogous to the Holocaust? I do not believe there is any fair comparison and even a light comparison would make a mockery of that sui generis event. There is supposed to be a Commission seeking the 'Truth' (along with 'Reconciliation'). Shouldn't we have discerned the truth in its legalistic, historcally accurate guises (and in all of its multifacted contexts), before making the gargantuan admissions our Government has made? Therefore, in my respectful view, what this is about is historical revisionism. The cynic in me is saying that this has also been about political opportunity--most undoubtedly by the government, but also for the First Nations' leadership.
  38. Melody Jonnie from Toronto, Canada writes: I am an Ojibwa/Pottowatomi Woman who currently resides in an Urban center, I am University educated, lived on the Rez in my formative years, raised by my grandparents, have a global world view, recycle, have been homeless, incarcerated, married for a time, had two children, am dark skinned, so I am over-qualified to enter this discussion hands down... I am sickened by the fact that my relations had to endure the Residential School experience to illuminate the fact that those who perpertrated these unjustified attempts at cultural genocide with the blessing of the Government of the Day had for centuries done these very same things to their own children, if they were not of the elite class. The Europeans must have held such a self-hatred for themselves that they wanted to destroy the backbone of our culture, our children, our 'gifts'. The train of colonization went unimpeded for many years and had never been put in check until our people utilized and learned to reverse the rules of the game. And I use that term generically, as this is no game... and I am still here and so are my children and their children will be here too. The penal system is trying to take over where the residential school system failed but our spirit will never be broken. Truth is an amazing concept, but not an easy pill to swallow when a version of truth is offered with an ulterior motive. Yesterdays' apology is an epilogue to this next Canadian chapter. The chronology of the apology is the history of Canadas' version of their truth. I look forward to the ensuing discussion.
  39. talk to the hand from Canada writes:
    the biggest problem with the apology is that they didn't mean a single word of it.

    it was an empty political gesture with zero remorse behind it.
  40. boom boom from Canada writes: Just a bunch of BS. I'd like an apology for it raining today!
  41. J Lee from North Vancouver, Canada writes: I was watching a news channel from France yesterday and the lead story was about the apology in Canada. It made me feel proud that our country can publicly recognize a past injustice, and in effect promise to do better in the future. There was no discussion of how much and how often and how severe were the damages and how some suffered more than others and maybe some not at all; no trying to minimize the issue by showing that there were some good teachers and some successful students. It was a simple straight forward report that the school system had failed and that an apology was due. Bravo. Another step forward in our continuing effort to build a more open, free and just society.
  42. Global Villager Without Border from Canada writes: Gerry Pankhurst, thanks for not contributing anything to this discussion with your 'original' identity. So what is next for the victims?
  43. pierre chevrier from Ottawa, Canada writes: Norman Spector alludes to genocide and apartheid. The genocide of the Jewish people in WWII is the most often cited case, but extermination is not the only definition. The definition of genocide in the UN Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocidegenocide includes ANY of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. I have also heard definitions that include the attempt to erase a peoples language and culture. On mentioning apartheid: it is widely known that the South African system of Apartheid used Canada's reservation system as its model. Words do matter Mr. Spector. More important than the appology was the clear and unqualified accountability that was taken and the beginning of an education of the Canadian public, who were never told any of this in schools. I feel that if Mr. Spector was given the task of crafting the appology in his 'I'm sorry, but...' fashion, we would just be back here for another round a decade from now.
  44. C R from Canada writes: The apology was right. Regardless of who was there or when, the government has to take accountability for its position in society. So, koodos to the Cons. Like them or not, they have done the better thing.
    What is better though is the bill coming that will put all peoples under human rights legislation. Forget the fairy tales we hear, many on reserves (children and women especially) suffer daily abuse that should never be tolerated in a country such as Canada...not to mention the abuse of power and funds in many Band run community. These things should have been in place from the beginning. Any person who is suffering abuse needs to be protected...so bring on the new human rights...er...old human rights...well, whatever!
  45. Gail C from Canada writes: A number of the salonistas suggested that the only way forward for Aboriginal peoples was to join the modern economy and become integrated participants. Restoring traditional cultures was simply viewed as a dead end.

    Have they any idea of the richness of Native cultures? How many of the commentators have ever attended a Native ceremony, spoken to a Native person, shaken a Native hand?

    There are many opportunities to do so in Toronto. I can assure them the experience will be moving and enriching.

    And when is this newspaper going to hire a Native columnist to give its readers the unique Native perspective? I'd say this measure is long overdue.
  46. Jonathan Reynolds from Calgary, Canada writes: This apology will cost the Indian population far more than is justified by the emotional rhealing some people will find. This apology will only serve to help keep Indians segregated, isolated, degraded and in all ways kept under the heel of those in power. By those in power I mean the Indian leadership which supports the general cultural malaise of a group of people who define themselves almost exclusively by their belief in the victimization of their ancestors. That leadership is bent upon marginalizing its own people and resisting integration into Canadian society. They do this by perpetuating false stereotypes and promoting a culture of dependance based upon the 'victim' psychology. Please note that I do not refer here to true victims of abuse such as what did take place in some residential schools. Those victims deserve our sympathy and support. I refer to the practice of linking modern Indians with the whole mythology of the near deified native 'nations' living in harmony with mother Earth and being robbed of their land by the evil, imperial, white men. The greatest struggle todays Indians have is to distinguish themselves from these stereotypes so that they and their children have the oportunity to prosper in the modern world. It is my fervent hope that concern for their children's future will drive the Indian people into a revolution where they demand from their own leadership to be accepted as equal citizens of the nation of Canada. The few Indians I work with and know have done this for themselves and look forward to the day their people can be released from the psychological bonds that hold them. This apology, while well intentioned by the Canadian government will only serve to reinforce those bonds. So, accept the apology for what it is, but understand we may well be apologizing for the apology in the future.
  47. Joe xyz from Canada writes: There are three separate issues that are always garbled together re this topic. First, there is the question of students being molested, which is clearly a terrible and criminal thing, but it is difficult to know how commonplace that was. One victim is one too many, but I doubt that the average classroom was an orgy of pedophilia. The Churches have, incidentally, apologized again and again for their involvement, and provided compensation. A completely separate issue is that of the decimation of the native population. In Canada, that tragedy was largely due to infectious diseases that the Europeans brought over, that the native population didn’t have a natural immunity to. There were also the “Indian Wars”, often orchestrated by cynical Europeans, and which were effectively “turf wars” having to do with the fur trade. Total bloodbaths near the Manitoba border. A third completely separate issue is what is absurdly called “cultural genocide”. Why is it that First Nations people have satellite dishes and tv when they could be sitting in a tepee listening to the elders talk about the old ways? It is the same reason that US movies and tv sit-coms are popular all over the world dubbed into other languages. Lower-tech cultures collapse simply by having access to higher-tech cultures. There is no act of “genocide” involved. The biggest insult to First Nations peoples is our world-topping per capita immigration rate, given that the basis of a hunter-gatherer culture is a low population density. Many reserves today are surrounded by monster homes. No apologies for that, apparently. And what about the issue of uranium mining on or near reserves? That issue is barely on the radar, even though aboriginal Chiefs have been jailed for their acts of protest. Apologies and cash settlements are fine, but I agree with Melody Jonnie about the importance of getting the truth out. I disagreed with some of her other comments, but that one hit the nail on the head.
  48. Watcher of the skies from Montreal, Canada writes: Errr... can anyone explain to me why THIS government should apologize for the actions of a PAST government?

    Queen Elizabeth II recognised the trouble caused by her ancestors to the Acadians, but she did'nt apologize for the deportation, she did'nt order it herself.
  49. bill thecat from Canada writes: This apology is extremely important to the first nations. It acknowledges the validity of their culture and their right to exist. How many words it was compared to the Australian apology and the Mulroney apology to the Japanese is not the point. It is the act and the sincerity behind it. I don't think that Harper is going to open up the cheque book to make up for this and he shouldn't. It is time to heal wounds and move on. Hopefully the first nations can work on rebuilding their own self esteem and profit from this in more ways than financial. The sad thing is a recent report I read that the suicide rate from natives that had received compensation from the residential fund had skyrocketed because many slipped back into alcoholism and when the cheques ran out they took the worst possible alternative. what a shame.
  50. David Wozney from Edmonton, Canada writes: There are statements that 'all Canadians bear some responsibility for the residential schools scandal' and that this is 'a formal apology on behalf of all Canadians'.

    I do not bear any responsibility for any residential schools scandal.

    Stephen Harper did not apologize on my behalf.
  51. slapdash dapoint from trawna, Canada writes: while i can see the importance of the canadian gov't acknowledging the horrible mistakes of previous gov'ts, i'm tired, as a white canadian, of being held accountable - to whatever degree - for the transgressions of other whites i wouldn't even call my forefathers.

    not to be glib, but will future generations of natives be apologising for any of their actions?
  52. Jenny Greene from Thunder bay, Canada writes: I live in a largish Northern community, I have also lived in a small northern cummunity cheek-by-jowl with the First Nations communities. Ihave spent time in Northern reserves as a health care professional. I think I offer an interesting perspective as someone originally from Toronto, with a former ignorance of what First Nations peoples and communities are like. We are a segregated society. We have seperate rules for education, health care access, hunting/fishing, taxation, etc. Segregation breeds ignorance, breeds resentment. I am not sure that integration is a bad thing. My First Nations friends who are successful, happy people all came from reserves and agree that the environmemmnt of entitlement and anger is poison. I don't think the majority of Canadians in major centres (esp Toronto) have a clue as to what our governenment already offers people on reserves: money for housing, money for intrastructure, money for food, 100% post-secondary education coverae (including housing, clothing, food, etc), 100% drug coverage, 100% travel expenses to larger communities, money for projects to enhance quality of life on reserves, money for schools, I could go on. So far, this hasn't offered any improvement that I have seen. We are not doing any favors by keeping people dependent. It is sad that the system will probably never change because any polititian who would point out the obvious would be labelled a rascist, and his or her political career would be over.
  53. Dana Dana from Canada writes: This particular government apologizing for the transgressions of past governments is especially ironic.

    Every past government of Canada had as it's basic starting point a certain respect for the traditions and institutions of our Parliamentary democracy.

    This government starts from a position of contempt for those same institutions. From Elections Canada to the Senate to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to the Canadian Wheat Board this government has demonstrated that contempt.

    For them now to be offering this apology on behalf of all Canadians is at best empty posturing and at worst crass political maneuvering. I suspect the latter as that is their usual modus operandi on every other file they've touched.

    Further to that I don't think they have a legitimate conception of the notion of the thing referred to as 'all Canadians'.

    List them off: Their paranoid and confrontational style of governance; their hyper-partisan attacks on anyone and anything they deem to be 'other'; their blatant pandering to their social conservative base with bills such as C-484 and the McVety clauses embedded in a tax bill in order to restrict tax credits for Canadian films they don't like; I could go on but you get my point.

    Until a government comes along that is not contemptuous of our traditions and institutions and is willing to be representative of more than a bare third of Canadians and a paranoid, confrontational, socially conservative third at that, I deem this apology worthless.
  54. HRC Thought Police from Canada writes: I wonder if there are any studies or statistics as to whether most graduates of residential schools are faring better or worse than natives that did not attend these schools. I would tend to guess that their problems are the same if not proportionally better than the ones who went through the system. It would be interesting to know.
  55. Scott Wicks from Canada writes: OR: When is an Apology insincere? The words of the Apology were deliberate and biting. No words were minced. And it is unfortunate that it fell to Steven Harper to speak for Canadians in delivering those words. The Governor General or almost any other representative of the crown would have been a more appropriate choice. Why? Because the contradiction here is so glaring and nobody wants to point out the obvious. Words are cheap and actions speak louder than words. This particular federal government has become notorious for it's silence on Native Issues, stonewalling Canada's Aboriginal People on every front. The past cannot be undone but equally we can change how we deal with Canadian Native Peoples today. But don't hold your breath. No matter what was said yesterday the CPC trashing of the Kelowna Accord and rejection of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are both acts that shame Canada at home and abroad. Harper's CPC has prevaricated in dealing with virtually every issue that pertains to Natives; refusing to deal with land claims disputes like the occupation in Caledonia; withholding funding and resources to government programmes that address poverty, systemic racism, an epidemic of suicide – all the results of government evasions and slights too numerous to list in this space. Respectfully, I cannot help but feel that the Apology is the result of political strategy and timing rather than self-examination and contrition. Still, the words and intent are clear. Hopefully the importance of this beginning will not be diminished and Canada will live up to those words.
  56. Paul M from Canada writes: As an Aboriginal person myself, I do think the apology does in some ways assist many many Aboriginal people to heal in some degree. It's not about money or fame, it's about someone actually standing up and admitting that indeed something horrible did happen, and acknowledge that fact.

    Sure other things have happened all over the place at different times in Canadian history. All men from all walks of life have seen things with their own eyes that others no not. Focusing now on the good and the positive, for the good of all mankind and our country is where the compass should now point.

    Walk forward together as one people no matter from what walk of life you came. Together, we shall all overcome any evil that shows itself again as long as we stand united !
  57. Jack Alope from Far East, Canada writes: alk to the hand from Canada writes:
    the biggest problem with the apology is that they didn't mean a single word of it.

    it was an empty political gesture with zero remorse behind it.

    * P
    I totally agree with this comment, an apology is meaningless unless it is totally sincere and leads to meaningful changes!
  58. Steve; No Oval Office for Obama's pastors from Canada writes: Groveling is so embarrassing.
    With that said the First Nations people do deserve better treatment and if I was in office I would plug the bursting dam called immigration and focus solely on the First Nations people.
    They are the first in line when it comes to assistance.
  59. jan bakker from Canada writes: An apology goes only as far as the recipient is willing to forgive and forget!
  60. Petit Karibou from Canada writes: When I was a kid, we had to do a research on Indians. The only things I remember of it: their traditionnal costumes, how they were using everything they could from the animals they were hunting in day-to-day life, the fact maple syrup was their discovery, some Indian common words we still use today, etc. Cute stuff. But one thing we badly learned is their History with a capital H, specially the bad part of it (in their point of view, making us feel guilty...).

    As a Quebecer, I know Iroquois, Hurons and Algonquins played a big part in the war between the French and the English. Of course, I also know about fur exchanges, evangelization attempts, Pontiac, the blankets infested with smallpox distributed by the English, and the Metis Louis Riel. But for the rest, I learned on my own, and even today, I can't say I really know the Indians like I should. In fact, the more I learn about Indians, the more I understand I don't know, the more I feel frustrated. We also didn't learn about their spiritual beliefs, we just knew they were - and still are - nature lovers, but that's about it. Finally, we have difficulties to distinct a first nation from another and have the tendancy to put them in one pot. I'm pretty sure it's the same all over Canada and probably worse: anglos don't even know the french part of Canada's history...

    This apology is welcome. Seeing Indians crying convinced me this was necessary and NO money will ever compensate for what they lived through. But besides money, new territory agreements and whatever the Indians need to take care of them, they need RECOGNITION AND RESPECT. As a Quebecer of French descent, I know how they feel...

    Our history courses should give us ALL the facts to really understand them, not just what we need to know to feel good about ourselves. Let's be fair for everyone, Indians, French and English, everywhere. And I mean fair: Indians are not angels either...
  61. jack Bauer from Canada writes: I don't think one can be guilty when an issue is looked at years later...values change.....I mean we could definitely then charge caveman with crimes against humanity. Very seriously the schools were born out of a want to assimilate the native Canadians (which is wrong) , on a more minor note it was also to protect the children, however evil people ensured that did not happen. Even today there are terrible examples of neglect an cruelty against children on reserves (like last year in Saskatchewan) that still need to be addressed, hopefully some of the 4 billion will be awarded in the form of child care.
  62. One Chance from Canada writes: Acting as a government to enact the will of a particular religion is deplorable to both our current consciousness as Canadians but clearly also to the consciousness of the disparate people who formed the population of Canada from the very beginning. Subjugation of a population by religion has been (and remains) so historically commonplace it may as well form part of the definition of the word itself. As should, 'disgusting' and, recently, 'criminal.'

    That the aboriginal population of what is now Canada suffered from this crime against self-determination is unquestioned. What seems more relevant to me than the self-congratulatory political correctness of this discussion, though, is why the aboriginal population of Canada is special in this victimhood. Further, since every new immigrant to a very foreign and strange Canada (no matter the name of the province or region at the time) was subjected to the same xenophobia and discrimination if they did not match the micro-regional denomination or ethnicity, why should the aboriginals be given special status in their alienation? Ask my grandfather-in-law what it means to arrive, alone, in a country that doesn't speak your language or care if you live or die of starvation, and how it feels to find a way to survive and thrive and populate an entire city with your fellow countrymen and their descendents and be 'Canadian.' No one offered them a thing, and, because of that, they became something to be proud of: fiercely independent and self-sufficient. Neither of those things can be said of the current crop of what once was the aboriginal population of Canada. Perhaps taking an active, contributing part in the world around them would help them to restore the human dignity they dropped from their grasping fingers long ago... It couldn't hurt, and their fellow human beings might just learn to respect them for it.
  63. K V from Dartmouth, Canada writes: I've read the comments and agree with many, notably Dana Dana, Jack Alope & Scott Wicks. Stephen Harper had to be convinced to apologize by an aboriginal MP in his own party and by Jack Layton. Harper's govt. killed the Kelowna Accord and voted against the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

    IMO, this was political pandering at its highest level.
  64. Cynthia M from Canadian, United States writes: Firstly, and redundantly, Im a native woman who grew up paying medical, dental, education, land taxes, etc like those on here portraying native people negatively. Secondly, Im the daughter of a prominant WW2 veteran. Thirdly, my siblings and I have aspired in life- we arent drunks on reserves like some of the small minded people on this post portray natives ( We didnt grow up on reservations so this says a lot about the Indian Act; henceforth the negative impact the Indian Act and Residential Schools have had on native people). We know who we are! We have maintained who we are through practices through the feast system ( our self governance), language, and traditional pracrtices. I now work as a healthcare worker in a southern state and have observed some massive differences between people taken from their homelands in slavery and lost their languages and who they are--and to those who have immigrated to USA from those countries and know their languages and who they are. DONT UNDERMINE THE POWER OF TAKING ONES LANGUAGE AND CULTURE! IT HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT FOR CENTURIES! WE have to live with that and then contend with extreme hatred from some people who seethe on this post and probably act worse in the face of a first nations person. DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU REALLY ARE AND YOU ARE BEING JUDGEMENTAL? DONT FORGET MANY PEOPLE FROM EUROPE AND OTHER COUNTRIES WERE SENT TO CANADA SICNE THEY WERE CRIMINALS IN THEIR COUNTRIES--THAT IS WHO YOU ARE! I, as a Canadian and US taxpayer would rather see my tax money go to undoing damage done historically to the first nations of this country and not into buying used military equipment or a human rights museum( which I strongly oppose since it will probably be propaganda favouring a group of non canadians --israelites) So there.
  65. bob saunders from Belleville, ON, Canada writes: Cynthia M from Canadian, United States you are correct about the value of retain your mother tongue and cultural identity. Your shouted out loud statement show a lot of anger and inferiority complex coming out. Your statement doing OK until you got anti- Jewish at the end. It kind of destroyed the rest of your post. The apology seemed genuine to me. I grew up around natives, lived with natives, have a child that is part native, and am married to a brown skinned native from another country. Although I'm not one, I can empathize with the blight of the natives. If this apology gives even a few natives the ability to move forward in their lives in a positive manner it will be a success in my eyes.
  66. Terry Debassige from M'Chigeeng, Ontario, Canada, Canada writes: I don't know why I bother reading comments in the Globe. They always drive me to a seething rage that compels me to respond. Maybe this self inflicted pain is a result of my people being inculcated with a sense of worthlessness deserving of misery. Time and again the posters tells us our salvation lies in the dignity and respect from being self supporting. This is so true! The French Jesuits wrote in the 1850's that that despite a bout of deprivation the Anishinawbel refused to beg, it wasn't in their character. The French, English and Americans vied for our allegiance as our military might was necessary if one colonial entity was to defeat the other. What happened? Our principle strength was our Spirituality which governed our societies and culture. In most aboriginal languages this spirituality is embedded in the words of the lauguage so you invoke those tenets on a continual basis. The Spirituality we believe that is in all of creation is formost in your mind. That was destroyed. Whatever happened to the Scots, the Jews, the Acadians, despite being displaced , still carried that essential fabric of who they were. We still have trouble excercising ours in this society. When the Sacred Fire was lit during a protest for the Kithcheumakoosib leadership in jail. The police and fire department hosed it out. That is tantamont to me having sex on a church altar, pissing on the Talmud. It continues. When we are reminded that self reliance is the key it is always forgotten that it has to be in the context of being a successful white person. To be a successful logger you have to forget that each tree needs to be asked for permission. Those kinds of internal conflicts are still carried by many Aboriginal people. Ceremonies require four days, we can't carry our our obligations to the Creator and the Spirits if we want to keep our jobs. I don't know where we will go from here. I am so tired of it all.
  67. 100% Conservative from Victoria BC, Canada writes: Cynthia had the best point so far! Do not underestimate the power of this moment.
  68. Jenny Greene from Thunder bay, Canada writes: Cynthia,
    Actually, my background is African-Canadian.
    I don't hate First Nations people. I thnk the system is flawed.
    Quit hanging on to the past. Let's all of us move forward.
  69. Able Bodied Man from It's NOT 'VICTORIA' Island, Canada writes:
    I was living in Williams Lake BC when I first heard of the forced separation of children and their famililes. The St. Jospeh school near Williams Lake was torn down as part of the process of dealing with this atrocity. My heart went out. I found it very very difficult that people in power in Canada could do such a horrible horrible thing.
  70. Paul Bunion from Borups Corner, Canada writes: I am really glad that our Prime Minister apolagized. It was sadley required. This is a very emotional issue for Native Canadians that Canadian society does not yet appreciate because there are so other Native issues clouding the apology. I think most Canadians are sincerly sorry for the whole residential school issue-imagine someone taking a child away from their parents. I do think that many Natives, especially those on reserves, are not doing near a good enough job to look after themselves or their children. I feel bad for those bright little faces knowing full well many kids parents are pulling them down. I often wonder, what about taking responsibility for their own inactions, what can they do to immediately improve their own lives. I sometimes wonder if the only goal of many reserve Natives is to get a free house and welfare. This is another big problem that we Canadians have to face up to.
  71. GlynnMhor of Skywall from Canada writes: Christopher Cornish from Ottawa, Canada writes: '... Superintendent of Indian Affairs who in 1920, crafted legislation making attendance at the schools mandatory...'

    You write as if it were a bad thing not to have indians ignorant, unskilled, and impoverished on isolated reserves.
  72. GlynnMhor of Skywall from Canada writes: Jack Mitchell from Canada writes:'... residential schooling is by far and away the worst crime this nation has ever perpetrated.'

    What a pile of dung!

    Had indians NOT been educated, the current government would be apologizing for leaving them in illiterate ignorance, a much worse crime.
  73. GlynnMhor of Skywall from Canada writes: Cynthia M from Canadian, United States writes:'... my siblings and I ... arent drunks on reserves like some of the small minded people on this post portray natives (We didnt grow up on reservations so this says a lot about the Indian Act)...'

    Actually that says more about the indian leadership on reserves and their ferocious insistence on maintaining the status quo of having indians controlled and manipulated under their tutelage.

    By far the most successful and prosperous indians are those who have escaped the reserve system (bands, 'first nations', tribes, or whatever) and have exerted themselve in Society like everyone else.
  74. GlynnMhor of Skywall from Canada writes: Cynthia M from Canadian, United States writes:'I, as a Canadian and US taxpayer would rather see my tax money go to undoing damage done historically to the first nations of this country...'

    Whereas in contrast I would prefer to see money and resource dedicated to undoing the damage to the indians themselves done historically and currently by the 'first nations' leadership.
  75. Dennis Tate from Canada writes: I am extremely glad that our Prime Minister has formally apologized for how we treated First Nations people in general and at Residential Schools but I agree with Margaret MacMillan who implies that vastly more should be done. There are virtually no surviving First Nations people in the province of Newfoundland but we can read about how when the Portugese first visited this province they easily captured about forty native people who they took back to Europe. At that time there was a high population of native people there. My English, Irish, Scottish and Dutch ancestors and distant relatives systematically organized a genocide on the native people of Newfoundland. A friend of mine several years ago theorized that were it not for the presence of French settlers here in Nova Scotia, the same policy might well have been enacted here as well. How and why did the French settlers stop my English ancestors from pursuing a policy of genocide in Nova Scotia? This is because the French settlers married native women, had children and closely allied with the native tribes. My English ancestors may have been somewhat evil, but they were not stupid. They feared that if they showed their fangs here in NS they would be defeated by a combined native and Frency army, with native people in possession of weaponry comparable to that used by the British. We North Americans like to think of ourselves as somehow superior to the people of Nazi Germany but frankly it is wiser that we think in terms of 'but for the grace of God there goes I.' From my readings I believe that an indepth understanding of the fascinating past life regression study conducted by Psychiatrist Helen Wambach can do wonders to help us not hate people from another race or ethnic group. On a recent Oprah Winfrey telecast a Dr. Weiss regressed a black woman under hypnosis and she saw herself as a white woman, a nun! A white woman in the audience saw herself as a native woman being hunted by..
  76. Eric Yendall from Ottawa, Canada writes: I think this whole exercise is misguided and symptomatic of the politically-correct (and cynically politically exploited by Harper) culture of entitlement and victim-hood which seems to prevail in Canada today. I was not consulted on this and do not accept that in this the government is speaking for me. No doubt the residential schools program was poorly conceived, executed and supervised, however the fundamental premiss that cultural assimilation was/is the only answer to native poverty was correct then and is correct now. Educating people out of poverty meant educating the children into the modern European culture. The native culture lost the Darwinian struggle: it could not and cannot compete. If native people want the fruits of the modern European culture-guns, cars, snowmobiles, outboard motors, healthcare, education, clean water etc. etc., and if well-meaning Canadians insist they have these, then they must assimilate into the modern culture, come to where the jobs are, and compete. The jews have done it, why not the native peoples?
  77. Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: >> Cynthia M from Canadian, United States writes: DONT FORGET MANY PEOPLE FROM EUROPE AND OTHER COUNTRIES WERE SENT TO CANADA SICNE THEY WERE CRIMINALS IN THEIR COUNTRIES

    I agree with what you said, and understand your outrage. Best to leave the above statement out, though, as that's actually Australia you're referring to, and getting that wrong undermines your statement. Now, what you could say, is that the people who came to Canada tended to be low-life in their own countries :} Otherwise if they had been comfortable back home, they wouldn't have left.
  78. francis mercer from Canada writes: i will not apologize for my father ,grand-father,and beyond ,and i will not let anyone besmirch their names by saying they did wrong. they did what they thought was right.

    you can use all the rhetoric you want but it took less that 24 hours for one Canadian to say what he thought..you can't change opinions that people have formed over years of observation by an apology

    i was 17yrs old before i saw my first native Canadian and my second black Canadian,is the PM apologizing for me

    i wish i could put a polarograph on the pulse of Canada ,because we have become a nation of,'we are Cnadians and we are right',hypocrites!. reminds me of the phrase years ago, i'm American.

    they did nothing wrong ,it was what they thought was right at the time..their time ,not ours!!

    will it change any thing,only time will tell ,but i know where my money will be bet on
  79. Joe xyz from Canada writes: It's amazing the way that legends from the US drift up over the border. Petit Karibou mindless parrots the rumour, 'the blankets infested with smallpox distributed by the English', as part of the hate campaign, but although there is some evidence that this happened in the US, there is no evidence whatsoever that it happened in Canada, and I challenge this babbling nitwit to provide a documented source for his hateful drivel. He can't, because it is a racist lie.
  80. Jaimie Kechego from Windsor, Canada writes: The apology from what I hear strikes fear into the hearts of those who have no education of what they speak. That is what I see and hear, fear...money is not the issue here as so many of you seem to think. Even now as I read you all still don't get it and maybe you never will. Native people did not ask for history to go down the way it did! We are a self sufficient people, why do you think we are still around? We are not stuck in the past nor do we ask for your pity or the governments but that is the way you people think! It's the way you've been taught to think. MY people are a proud people...we have preservered through an excessive amount negativity within our own country, our own lands, our own communities. Yet, we are still here. We have been trampled on, kicked off of our own land for the sake of 'development', we've been relocated, and spit on even to this day but we are still here and yes it's time to for the government to honor those legal and binding contracts with so many First Nations. From what I have been taught, to move forward, you have to look at your past and see what was done wrong so that it won't REPEAT through history again until you do that you cannot move on successfully. If you don't get that well...I feel for you. Here is my advice to those of you who feel that You are not apologizing for anything because you weren't there when it happened or that all the Native people you know hang out in front of a store begging for change, or to all the people who actually got to sit around and drink with a Native person to hear them tell the story of their mother getting raped or beaten. White Privilege in it's truest form is not hard to find these days, there is a glaring example of it through this forum and through this panel. My people have sustained and maintained and we will continue to do so. No matter what. Meegwetch
  81. tiffany fox from Canada writes: 'the healing begins when the wounding stops' ward churchill. thats how i feel about the whole thing as a child from a family of survivors and outlaws who hid from going. the apology was good in that the prime minister has validated the stories of the survivors as truth to his citizens of canada. acknowledging this particular type of treatment was employed in canada, by the organization of people who orchestrated the efforts to 'kill the indian, save the child', means that they now realize they have problems and can recognize them to work on them. that gives us hope. it is bad in that, contrary to the wonderful words, many survivors can simply just not forgive. while he says sorry, they are still caught up in paperwork and litigation 'sorry mr. so-and-so...since the church changed your name and we can not find your files at our offices, and all your teachers are now dead, we can not verify that you attended the rez school. you may appeal this decision....' id also like to know where all the missing children have gone. or...howabout...non-native folks get millions for wrongful imprisonment suits yet the native survivors receive chump change and even have to fight for that? give us back leonard peltier and honour the treaties. this type of action is the only way we can move forward. you cant say sorry for something you are still doing.
  82. Michael Peter from Canada writes: Actions must speak louder than words
  83. eric nelson from Canada writes: I appreciated the comments by Jim Stanford and David Beers. Beers easily shot down Norman Spector's apartheid/assimilation argument with:
    .
    'Apartheid and assimilation both assume the culture of the colonized is worthless and poisonous to the divinely ordained superior culture of the colonizer. In which case you either wall the heathens out, or 'convert' — assimilate — them.