Ramneek Padda History Essay CHC2D1-01 Homeroom: 10D Lau, S.
Aboriginal Disputes with the Government
No matter how much one contributes to society, sometimes their actions remain unappreciated. An example of an extreme case is regarding this is with the Aboriginals of Canada. Ever since the Europeans arrived in the 1500's, Aboriginals did not receive the opportunity to live peacefully. In fact, before the Europeans settled in Canada, the Aboriginals were a self-sufficient society with close to no conflicts arising (Reed, 27).The arrival of Europeans to what is now Canada solely deemed to have a negative effect on Aboriginal society. They seized control over most land, disrupted the Aboriginal political system and desperately attempted to strip Aboriginals of their cultural identity.
The control of Aboriginals by the Canadian government created inequality in land rights. The Ipperwash Crisis in 1995, a confrontation of land rights, is an example of the government's unfair possession of land.
Aboriginal family near Prince Albert, SK, 1919
Aboriginal cricketers alongside the Melbourne Cric...
The Aboriginal PeopleDuring this crisis twelve families who occupied land at the Canadian Forces base were forced to move off of it and had their homes destroyed. The crisis resulted in the death of an unarmed man, Dudley George. The police also beat another unarmed man named Cecil George unconscious and shot his cousin, Nick Catrrel, in the back (Cruxton, 484). According to Jean Chrétien, an Indian Affairs Minister, the band of Aboriginals had a "legitimate grievance," (Cruxton, 486). The government thought of returning the land to the Aboriginals, however, when they figured out the cleanup cost from extensive weapon testing would be up to 30 million, they took no further action ( Cruxton, 487). This unnecessary control of land by the government only caused sorrow and countless issues for the Aboriginal society. From the 1940's to the 1960's towns and suburbs were rapidly growing which caused the...