|
June 19, 2013
Eye View
It's a good start. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's visit to Kamloops
stripped away the layers of how we got here. It's not just First Nations'
experience being told but all Canadians. There is more to come.
Collective memories carry the baggage of the past. They are not the same as
thing as historical consciousness says former Thompson Rivers University
professor John Belshaw.
"Scholars draw a distinction between historical consciousness and collective
memory. The former is something on which we reflect but often forget. History as
a discipline consists of facts - - objective and recitable. Collective memory,
on the other hand, is an ongoing process that builds a shared and more nuanced
understanding of the past," he explains in Walrus magazine.
Collective memories are not history; history is not just facts. Stripped of
facts, what remains of history is often at odds with revealed collective
memories. History is a convenient story we tell ourselves to justify the
present. History is written by colonialists and leaves out inconvenient truths.
The convenient version of our history is that Canada was colonized by French and
English pioneers who bravely tramped through a wild, vacant land and encountered
a few Indians along the way.
This version does not go back far enough. Canada's true story is not one about
them and us but our shared experience. We are a Métis nation comprised of
Natives, English and French, says John Ralston Saul. Canada is not a new
country; at 400 years, we are the oldest federation in the world.
Collective memories carry culture from those earlier times. The customs of those
times remain embedded in our way of life, waiting to emerge from the
subconscious. Our struggle didn't start with Indian Reserves and residential
schools.
|
Approximately 150 years ago, a smallpox plaque radically change the dynamics
of our federation.
"One of the last major outbreaks in Canada began in the spring of 1862, when
a ship from San Francisco arrived in Victoria and patient zero stepped
ashore. Throughout the summer and autumn, smallpox raced north and east, up
the coast and inland through canyons of tightly packed settlements that were
perfectly suited to its appetite," says Belshaw.
The pit houses of B.C.'s first people became burial mounds. There were not
enough living left to bury the dead and pit houses eventually caved in on
the bodies. Communities were devastated. Survivors were disfigured and panic
ensued. When the dust settled, 20,000 lay dead and the ethic balance of our
nation was forever changed.
For the first 250 years of our 400-year-old confederation, aboriginal people
dominated Canada's culture. European explorers would have perished without
the generosity and hospitality of Canada's first people. Explorers were
welcomed into what Saul calls the "great circle," what is now the embodiment
of a collective memory we know as multiculturalism. Aboriginal Canadians
shared important technologies such as the canoe which was invaluable for
exploration.
All those events shape our modern lives are yet to be revealed. Only the
latter part of our 400-year-old confederation, after the plague, is
regurgitated in what we laughably call the history of Canada.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a good start in recalling our
collective memories. We need to dig deeper. Let's work our way back, past
the veil of tears and into the roots of our Métis nation.
David Charbonneau is the owner of Thompson Studio
He can be reached at
dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca
|
