My Reflection on Canada Day: An Immigrant’s Perspective
Author: Yang Wang
English Translator: Jovial Si
July 2021
July 1st of 2021 marks the 154th anniversary of Canada. However, it was not celebrated with the joy and pride that were characteristic of this day in the past. The whole nation was disgraced by the heart-wrenching findings of the remains of more than 1,000 Indigenous children in unmarked graves across the country since May.
This land had been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years until it was taken by European settlers. Then from 1831 to 1996, Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their parents to attend government-sponsored residential schools, run by Catholic Churches, for the purpose of cultural assimilation. In the schools’ textbooks, Indigenous peoples were called “savages”. Many of the children were sexually abused or mistreated, and many died either at school or while escaping from school. Each and every little white bone in the unmarked graves at former residential sites marks the dark history not-so-distant from now, and the cultural arrogance and barbarity of the European settlers who committed it. Continue reading “My Reflection on Canada Day: An Immigrant’s Perspective / 2021年加拿大日随感”