Genocide

[sabotabby]

 The final report of the Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls came out last week. It's 1200 pages and you can read it here (note: I have not). Among its conclusions and recommendations, it refers to the ongoing disinterest-to-outright-complicity of Canadians and the Canadian state in the deaths and disappearances of at least 1200 women and girls since 1980 constitutes an ongoing genocide.

This, to me, is a no-brainer. The relationship between the settler state and Indigenous peoples in general can really only be described as genocidal, to the point where Canada pushed quite heavily to redefine genocide at the UN in 1948 so that it couldn't be held accountable for trying to wipe out the vibrant cultures of Turtle Island.

For some reason, though, both Trudeau and the ambulatory bag of raw sewage threatening to ooze into Parliament after the next election have a really difficult time saying the G-word. So much for nation-to-nation and Haida tattoos in the former case; in the latter it's not exactly surprising that Yellow Vest ally Andrew Scheer is a goddamned racist. I'm nowhere near as active and involved in decolonization and Indigenous solidarity as I should be—as we all should be—but. Just. Gross. 

History will judge us for this. History is already judging us for this. There was a very low bar and we as a country couldn't even stumble over it.

Comments

[wlach]

A textbook example of tone policing. It's disgusting, though there is a sense in which talking about that (rather than, you know, actually engaging with the content of the report) just perpetuates the injustice.

It was basically a given that the incredibly non-self-aware media and political class were going to respond this way. I think the best response, is to just read the report, take in what it has to say and bring that up with others. I suspect there's a great deal to be learned from it.

[sabotabby]

I just think it shows the distance between what I'd consider the most basic level of human decency and what is acceptable in mainstream politics. At its heart, the political class still does not view Indigenous peoples as fully human.

[dewline]

Noting that Trudeau has an easier time acknowledging the conclusion by that name than Scheer does. How much easier is a thing we can certainly argue about.

As for the rest of it, thanks for the linkage to the report text. I'd best get it downloaded so that I have no excuse to not read it.

[sabotabby]

Trudeau can be embarrassed. Scheer cannot.

I am personally quite terrible at reading reports. I'll try.

[minoanmiss]

I hear you.

[sabotabby]

We live under a kakistocracy.

[radiantfracture]

Alicia Elliot has done some quality tweeting about the genocide denial.

I'm thinking of trying to incorporate this report, somehow, in my Indigenous Literatures course -- I want to do a unit on the national documents Indigenous literature gets written under/against/around/in spite of -- the Indian Act, the "Adopt Indian and Metis Children" ads, the White Paper, the Truth and Reconciliation Report, this report -- and about ways writers and artists have coped with the effects of these documents -- like beading over the Indian Act (https://themedicineproject.com/nadia-myre.html).

(catching up at the end of a long week -- or beginning, depending on how you count)

[sabotabby]

That would be fascinating.

The "tweet me the worst takes" was Alicia Elliot, wasn't it?

[flowerfuck]

I have read a lot of creative names for shit pollies but " the ambulatory bag of raw sewage threatening to ooze into Parliament after the next election" has to win some kind of award.

[sabotabby]

I do try. :) My current writing project is along the political satire lines and I must constantly think up new creative descriptions for the horrible people in it.