Quote Originally Posted by Fragony
Then what are you doing in Canada?
Cutting trees.

But to answer the truer meaning of your question, I admit without hesitation that I am on stolen land acquired by violence and scheming. But there are different circumstances at play here.

First is my admission that I am on stolen land. That in itself is something. Also, the land here was stolen when half the population still thought the Earth was flat, monsters roamed the seas, and people peed in any empty corner of the room. Not in an educated, post atomic age when uncivilized colonial behaviour was recognized as such.

Second, I respect and support the rights of native peoples to sue the bejesus out of the federal government and win land claims settlements, the right of native peoples to have their own legal system (as long as it does not violate the human rights provisions of the Canadian Constitution), and the rights of natives to sue both provincial and federal governments, as well as the church, and demand public apologies and monetary damages for the systematic abuse of native children that occurred in Canada.

Third, I teach my kids what I just wrote out here so that they will know the reality of the past and their obligations in the future.

Fourth, I have published articles stating all of the above and signed my name to them.

The situation here is far from perfect. But the Canadian justice system has awarded native peoples legal rights over massive tracts of land and awarded monetary damages and assistance settlements that run well into the billions of dollars (my tax money). We also recognize the native population as the true people of the land and that status is taught in school, is recognized by law, and is even sung in our national anthem.

We still have a long way to go to create a truly equitable system, but we are trying. And here in the 21st century, we sure as shoot don`t build concentration camps and imprison hundreds of thousands of people and subject them to arbitrary arrest, torture and imprisonment, all as part of a lie to hide the shame of our past.