HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair - Ottawa Citizen - 08/29/2017 - Ottawa Citizen - 08/29/20178/30/2017 Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair
Spend time honouring
Indigenous heroes rather than
debating Macdonald: Sinclair
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OTTAWA — Tearing down tributes to historical figures would be
"counterproductive” to reconciliation efforts between Indigenous
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8/30/2017 Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair
and non -Indigenous people, says the former chairman of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission.
Sen. Murray Sinclair, who spent six years documenting the long-
standing impacts of Canada's residential school system, says the
debate over whether to remove Sir John A. Macdonald's name
from Ontario elementary schools takes up time that could be
better spent exploring how to honour and elevate Indigenous
heroes.
"It is not about taking off names off buildings, it is about whether
we can find a way to put Indigenous names on buildings," Sinclair
said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"The problem I have with the overall approach to tearing down
statues and buildings is that is counterproductive to ...
reconciliation because it almost smacks of revenge or smacks of
acts of anger, but in reality, what we are trying to do, is we are
trying to create more balance in the relationship."
Sinclair's remarks come after the Elementary Teachers' Federation
of Ontario passed a controversial motion calling for the removal of
Macdonald's name from schools.
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8/30/2017 Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair
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The motion recognizes that Macdonald has been celebrated based
on an incomplete version of Canadian history, the union said,
noting he played a key role in developing systems that
"perpetuated genocide against Indigenous people."
"It is probably a fight, had I been asked, I would have said to avoid
it," Sinclair said, adding his approach would be to include
"shameful information" on a plaque along with prominent
information.
Macdonald clearly played a significant role in the establishment of
Canada but the establishment of the country also played a
significant role in the destruction of Indigenous culture and
societies, he said.
"He clearly attempted to eliminate Indigenous culture by removing
children from their families and placing them with people of
another race ... for the purpose of wiping out the race of people
known as Indian," Sinclair said.
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8/30/2017 Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair
Macdonald also created circumstances that fuelled hardship for
Indigenous people to the point where their potential to survive was
challenged, Sinclair said.
"Both of which are right within the definition of genocide within the
convention on genocide," he said, referring to the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime Genocide adopted by
the UN General Assembly in 1948.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "unequivocally"
there are no plans to remove Macdonald's name from buildings or
sites that are in the purview of the federal government.
"Reconciliation is not just about the relationship between
government and Indigenous peoples," Trudeau said while standing
outside the Governor General's residence after a cabinet shuffle.
"Non -indigenous Canadians have an essential role to play in how
we shape a better and more responsible future for everyone who
shares this land and these conversations are extremely important
to have to reflect on our past and to build the right future forward
together."
In June, Trudeau decided to remove the name of Hector -Louis
Langevin, a father of Confederation and architect of the residential
school system, from the Ottawa building that houses the Prime
Minister's Office.
"He bears a significant responsibility when it comes to the issue of
residential schools and he deserves, in my view, very little credit,"
Sinclair said.
—Follow @kkirkup on Twitter
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8/30/2017 Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair
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