Broken hearts will not be enough to quell the brokenness of FNMI (First Nations, Metis, and Inuit) People of this land. Especially since more than 1300 graves and counting of children have been found on the lands of Canada's Indian Residential Schools. While expressions of repentance, remorse, and regret are a good starting place, it simply is not enough.
The racist and discriminatory laws of this land need to be overturned. At least some of the stolen land needs to be returned along with the money that came from clearing, farming, working, and selling it. The money needs to be given to FNMI agencies that work to ensure clean drinking water, affordable and nutritious food, as well as the availability of other programs and services that will help set things right.
It can no longer be denied that the FNMI People of this land suffered real and severe atrocities at the hands of colonists, and real and severe losses as a result of those atrocities. Yet colonists and others who benefit from the atrocities committed against FNMI People often live in conditions that are exemplary of wealth and prosperity. To set things right, settler communities and all others who live, work, and otherwise benefit from stolen land need to make restitution.
It is not enough to make mere token offerings towards FNMI people. The loss our people experienced was real, then so should be the sacrifice of those who have benefitted from the marginalization of FNMI people also be real. The racist political and economic structures of this land need to be eradicated. OUR PEOPLE NEED clean drinking water, safe housing, and access to affordable and nutritious food.
We also need access to culturally appropriate and spiritually safe education and places of worship in addition to preventive services to keep our children out of the hands of child welfare. We further need to provide FNMI People with culturally appropriate and spiritually safe education and support in the form of programs and services aimed at healing and preventative measures, and the list goes on and on and on and on...
WE DEMAND EQUALITY! EVERY CHILD MATTERS! EVERY PERSON MATTERS! EVERY CULTURE MATTERS! WE ARE ALL MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, THE CREATOR! WE ALL MATTER!
Until the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit People of this Land have equal representation in the political, economic, spiritual, and educational structures of this land...
Until our people are no longer going missing or being murdered in numbers that are much higher than the mainstream population...
Until our people are no longer committing suicide in numbers that are much higher than the mainstream population...
Until our people are no longer overrepresented in Child Welfare, Correctional Services, Homelessness, Addiction, Unsafe Pregnancies, Sexual Exploitation...
and the list goes on and on and on and on and on...
...only then, will the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit People of this Land have achieved equality with our non-Indigenous brothers and sisters.
Many of the people of this nation called Canada live in first-world luxury while the majority of FNMI people on many of our reserves, settlements, communities, as well as those that are living in urban settings, live in conditions that are much akin to third or fourth world conditions. Meanwhile, those who are supposed to love their neighbour as they love themselves, and who should not be benefitting from the proceeds of injustice, simply offer words of sympathy and minor tokens of regret while they live in beautiful homes, eat healthy food, and have clean drinking water. Their dwellings are clean and free of mold and vermin, while the homes of many FNMI people are not.
This is not because we do not desire to live in clean homes, it is because our people are forced to live in overcrowded conditions with inadequate means to keep our homes in good repair. We need to be creating conditions in which all people in Canada can thrive physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. There is no excuse for such a wide divide between the rich and poor in a country that rates as one of the best places to live on the planet. There is no excuse for the socio-economic disparity that exists in wealthy nations such as Canada.
Jesus said, “it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." If we put this in perspective, according to the 2018 Global Wealth Report, all it takes to be in the top fifty percent of the world’s wealthiest people is just $4,210 US in assets. Think about it this way, I drive a compact SUV that is nothing special but gets me from point A to point B without any issues. The worth of my vehicle is estimated to be approximately $10,000 US, which puts me in the top fifty percent of the world’s wealthiest people without even taking any other assets or belongings into consideration. By these standards, I should be selling everything I have and giving it to the poor.
Today, I ask each person that reads this blog to pray that Creator will reveal to them what they can personally do to right the wrongs committed against FNMI People, and that they will have the heart to act upon those personal revelations. While some will be called to give money, others will be called to donate time, energy, and expertise. Let's all do our part to make Canada a better place to live for everyone.
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