More a milestone than a celebration
It’s Canada Day Eve — the 150th, no less! The sesquicentennial doesn’t seem to have stirred a lot of enthusiasm so far. It certainly doesn’t feel like anything resembling how the Centennial of Confederation was celebrated 50 years ago.
Maybe we’re not really ready. Preparations for celebrations like this are usually led by governments, and things have been in flux. The people who were thrown out of power going on two years ago may not have been capable of organizing a real celebration, and the new order hasn’t been able to turn things around in time.
There is also a widespread feeling that perhaps we shouldn’t be celebrating, given the record of how the Canadian government has dealt with the indigenous peoples of this land.
Such views are certainly justified. The full truth about what happened is terrible in the true sense of the word. It is hard to imagine even a partial reconciliation.
It is important, however, to move forward. An exclusive emphasis on the wrongs of the past can limit prospects as much as ignoring or denying what happened. A shift in perspective might brighten the gloom and open the door to possibilities. For one thing, let’s get rid of the idea that this is a kind of “birthday.” The land has been here for millions of years; her peoples for thousands. The fateful encounter between the people of Turtle Island and European explorers, soldiers, traders, and settlers has been going on for more than half a millennium.
The Canadian story is part of a much larger story. One of the things that distinguish us is that, unlike the revolutionary republic to south, we never made a radical break with the past. Canada has no definitive beginning. Canada remains.
Here in these lands, against all odds, British North America continues. France in America remains. People from all over the world can come here and continue their lives in peace. And here, despite all the deprivations, the First Peoples of Canada remain, and will remain as long as there is a Canada.
What began 150 years ago tomorrow was settler rule within a newly forged union among colonial settlements. And we have to come to terms with the fact that Confederation and settler dominion A Mari usque ad Mare — from sea to sea — were, in many respects, detrimental to the First Peoples of the land.
The words of Chief Dan George’s lament for Confederation are as valid today as when they were spoken 50 years ago tomorrow:
“When I fought to protect my land and my home, I was called a savage. When I neither understood nor welcomed his way of life, I was called lazy. When I tried to rule my people, I was stripped of my authority.”
In this respect, those much-discussed words and deeds of John A. Macdonald in his role as architect of the Indian Act of 1876, or Hector-Louis Langevin as architect of the residential school system, are wholly relevant.
It is also important, however, to take the long view here as well. In their day, attitudes like those of Macdonald and Langevin were almost universal among settlers in all parts of the Dominion. The fact that they ring so falsely and condemnably today is an indication of how far we’ve come.
It’s not a birthday, but it is an anniversaire — a milestone in time — and we can wish one another “many happy returns.”
Canada and all its constituent elements remain, but we don’t remain static. In terms of organizing our affairs, civic, social, economic and above all cultural, we’ve only just begun. Martin de Groot writes about local arts and culture each Saturday. You can reach him by email at mdg131@gmail.com.