Reconciliation?

On the subject of colonizer/ settler responsibility and the broad emotional spectrum that is white guilt.

It honestly feels like we should just return Saskatchewan westwards. I know for a fact that we will not be doing so, but it is still nice to dream of a world where indigenous peoples can only get shortchanged for half of the land they originally owned.

Where would all of the white people go? I hear the voices in my head ask; Well, probably to the massive tracts of lands eastward. I mean, seriously, the god damn maritime provinces are struggling for people; this would probably help them out immensely. Or (and I don’t know why they would allow this) whatever form of governance that exists, especially in whatever transitionary period is present, could allow Canadians to inhabit that land if they become dual citizens - immigrants that have come to a new country, if you will - of this indigenous country (Or countries) and Canada.

After all of this time, who could blame them for wanting to send some colonial medicine right back at us in the form of mass displacement.

Saskatchewan eastward would make this new nation exceptionally well situated on the world stage - tourism, a coastal border, farming, not to mention potash and uranium mines. I briefly mentioned a transitional period, which would probably take the form of a twenty-odd year period where the appropriate people are placed, trained and elected. The inappropriate people are either deported or made citizens.

Honestly, those same voices might be thinking, “It’s easy for you to give away land you don’t live on.”

True, but it’s also pretty easy for me to say this. “They can take back everything for all I care.”

However, since no colonizer would agree to that, and if we could deign to give them at least one slice of the pie, the pie they baked, I think Saskatchewan eastward is quite a good or at least comfortable place for them to re-establish themselves.

If there was some sort of fair god in this world, then wouldn’t we be nothing but petulant children at this point? Our society is founded on a series of backhanded seizures and lies, undermining a governmental system that we’ve largely chosen to ignore in our day-to-day lives. We essentially snatched this land away and, “Nuh-uh its mine” ‘d our way to one hundred and fifty years. If we were a child, we’d be forced to say sorry and give it back. But we’re a country, and somehow that makes it different.

My family comes from undeniably white, western, European descent, with deep religious ties to Catholicism and Christianity. Without fail, I tick every box to embody the oppressive force that has accosted and smothered the indigenous peoples of this continent.

Even this meagre amount of support, just an outward acknowledgement that I’ve heard and give empathy to this cause, fills me with an incredible sense of Irony.

Growing up, you hear only about the good things in Canadian history; Our country was a sanctuary for runaway slaves. We beat the Germans at Vimy Ridge, Frederick Banting invented insulin - and growing up, I honestly felt quite proud to be a Canadian citizen. I remember a conversation I had with my dad as a child, where I asked him why we had any obligation to the indigenous peoples.

He said someone had to take responsibility for our ancestors' actions, no matter how long it had been.