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axioner t1_j57antc wrote

Reply to comment by _PM_ME_YOUR_FORESKIN in TIL Every two weeks, an Indigenous language dies. by ImAllAboutYou

Canada has spent millions upon millions to help indigenous recover and relearn their languages and cultures. The reality is that many young indigenous arent interested in learning a mostly dead language when the majority of the country speaks English. Is this a bad thing? Not really. Languages come and go... and at what point is it that culture job to keep their culture alive and not the governments? Every population on every continent has seen an ancient language die out and be replaced by a new language, perhaps even a modern hybridized version of theirs and another. Why is it that everyone loves to point the finger and blame Canada, but never acknowledge the decades of effort they have put in to right the wrongs of the past? Especially when it was primarily the church that ran the residential schools, with government funding. The government isn't free of blame, but they werent the main perpetrators. Just easier to go after a countries government than a religious faction I suppose.

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_PM_ME_YOUR_FORESKIN t1_j58toje wrote

They also allowed residential schools until 1996. So, let’s not pretend Canada isn’t just solving a problem that they created — and they achieved exactly what they wanted. To take the Indian out of the child. 100+ years of residential schools, abuse, sexual abuse, etc. weren’t accidental. Again, all by design. The oppression continues today even if efforts are being made to improve things now. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to hundreds of years of state-sponsored or supported genocide.

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axioner t1_j59kiyb wrote

Not plural. There was ONE residential school open past the 60s... and again, it was run by the church. Funded by the government, but operated by the church. All the abuse is on the part of the church. Yes, the government turned a blind eye to it and is culpable for that reason. But they werent sitting there telling the priests "Hey, your molestation numbers are a little lacking this quarter. Better pump up those numbers or you arent getting paid this month!"

Tell me exactly how indigenous are being oppressed by the government today? I assume you meant "cultural genocide" by your last sentence, since claiming that what happened with the indigenous was actual genocide would be a pretty dumb thing to assert. Those two things aren't interchangeable.

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axioner t1_j59l69e wrote

You know, I think its hilarious that the article talks about how the current generation of indigenous are being taught English as primary language instead of their ancestral language... as if thats a bad thing. Imagine if the indigenous kids only learnt their local language as primary? Then the article would be condemning Caanada for isolating these indigenous kids because they can't speak the national language and get work off the reserve. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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