Contributions Of Indigenous People In Multiculturalism In Canada

There are more than 1.6 million indigenous people in Canada and now, they have become one of the fastest-growing populations of Canada. Three types of indigenous people can be noticed in this country and those are First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. Indigenous people have some cultural beliefs, languages, and knowledge systems. They are also capable to understand how all natural resources can be managed sustainably. According to several authors such as Reinders (2019), indigenous people made several contributions in this country and they have also made a remarkable contribution during the first and second world wars. Actually, indigenous people can be determined as aboriginal people, autochthonous people, native people, and others who follow a different tradition, culture, and practices from other people. In Canada, most of the indigenous people live in the Western province (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan) and Ontario. These people have made the biggest share of the total population of Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Indigenous people have adapted a unique lifestyle to respect the environment and in the mountains, all indigenous people are trying to conserve water, preserve soil, decrease the chance of disasters and reduce erosion (Kopnina et al., 2018).

This paper will highlight the contributions of indigenous people in multiculturalism. Apart from this, from the above paper, students will better understand the culture and contributions of all indigenous people in Canada. This paper will be developed or organized in a specific way. Firstly, the importance and culture of the indigenous people and secondly, the contributions made by them during the 1^st and 2^nd world wars. Finally, this paper will represent the roles or responsibilities of indigenous people in this country. Several resources will be provided for supporting all arguments and statements.

According to Nelson & Wilson (2017), indigenous people have their own traditions, languages, and cultures influenced by their living relationship with ancestral homelands. Recently, indigenous people can speak four thousand languages and the different indigenous nation has different sacred practices and religious beliefs. There are many indigenous people who participate in "Sun Dance" and other programs but on the other hand, "Coast Salish" people involve in the sacred winter ceremony. The Haudenosaunee people celebrate the "Green corn festival" and some indigenous people also follow “False Face society”.  In Canada, there are almost six hundred and thirty first nation communities that generally present more than fifty languages and fifty nations. In this country, first nation, Inuit, and Metis religions widely vary and also consist of various cultural and social norms to address the supernatural and the sacred. The influences or impacts the Christianity through government policies, missionaries, and settlers have changed the lives of indigenous people. There are many commonalities among the spiritual traditions of indigenous people in Canada including the presence of several creation stories, roles of the supernatural beings, and others. Creation stories help to explain the origin of cosmos and the interrelations among its elements. For the Ojibwe people, Midewiwin can be determined as a spiritual society and one of the important parts of “Anishinaabe” world views. Indigenous people believe that spiritual power can be found in all of the living things, significant places, and natural phenomena. Land, ceremonies, family, and law are the main interconnected components of the indigenous culture (Raynauld, Richez & Boudreau Morris, 2018). As an example, family is closely connected to the lands through the kinship system. These connections come with specific responsibilities and roles which are generally observed through several ceremonies and enshrined in different laws or regulations.

Conclusion

Indigenous culture is significantly important for all Canadians and recognition of a unique culture, tradition, and history of all existing communities is the main step that Canadians may take for respecting indigenous people. Although indigenous people make up five percent of the total population, they also account for almost fifteen percent of the extremely poor in this world because they lack accessibility to basic services and are also facing marginalization and exclusion. But indigenous people help to protect the environment, establish resilience to different natural disasters and fight against climate change. Indigenous people in Canada have formed a complex economic, social, cultural, economic, and political systems before all Europeans who came to North America. With white settlement and colonization, the life of indigenous people has significantly altered. According to Dorries, Hugill & Tomiak (2019), various types of Colonial policies and practices such as pass systems, residential schools, reserves, and others sought to assimilate and control indigenous people). Such policies and practices, while combined with the loss of lands, acts of segregation, declining to necessary food resources, racism or discrimination, and others have several impacts on the wellbeing and health of all indigenous people. The Indigenous study is an essential subject and it is all about ensuring the cultures are equally recognized and broadening human stories. With the help of indigenous study, students can take several initiatives towards developing a more prosperous and safe world for the people. Students can also help to raise awareness of collective and individual traditions surrounding all indigenous people and communities, thereby promoting appreciation of different cultural realities (Campbell, 2021).

In the 1^st world war, indigenous soldiers, ordinary civilians, and nurses of Canada made major contributions, and more than four thousand soldiers from the first nation had fought during the first world war. Apart from this, Metis and Inuit soldiers had also participated and made many contributions during the first world war (Lackenbauer, 2018). More than fifty indigenous soldiers had been decorated for their braveries. There are many indigenous people who served as reconnaissance scouts or snippers. The most important and hazardous role in the military. Others served to support various units in CEF including forestry units, tunneling companies, and railway troops. One of the famous and popular snipers of the Canadian military force, Henry Louis Norwest held a sniping record of one hundred and fifteen fatal shots. The indigenous people had also made many contributions in the second world war. Indigenous soldiers volunteered and served in the air force, navy, and army of this country. In the year 1939, Canada announced war and also began making military movements for this war. It was estimated that almost twenty-seven thousand Aboriginal people were killed and injured during the second world war (Romani, Mahadevan & Primecz, 2018). All of the indigenous soldiers in Canada had been treated as equals, accepted without prejudice.  

Conclusion

The traditional agricultural practices of the indigenous people in Canada are resilient and also effective for the environment. Throughout several decades, indigenous and aboriginal people have made different agricultural techniques and these have been adapted to the extreme environmental conditions such as extreme cold in northern Canada and others (Reid, Cormack & Paine, 2019). These techniques help to prevent soil erosion and restore natural resources and forests. The indigenous people mitigate all negative impacts of climate change by protecting all-natural resources like rivers forests and others. The most important thing is; indigenous territories have captured 80% of biodiversity in this world. Preserving biodiversity can be defined as an important factor for nutrition and food security. The animal species and different types of plants can be noticed in forests, lakes, and rivers and indigenous people preserve these places to uphold the biodiversity of animals and plants in nature. So, the activities of indigenous people in Canada can be determined as the best solutions for all climate problems or issues. It can also be stated that making an effective solution for nutrition and food security without seeking any kind of help from the indigenous people is next to impossible.

 References

Campbell, C. (2021). Educational equity in Canada: the case of Ontario’s strategies and actions to advance excellence and equity for students. School Leadership & Management, 41(4-5), 409-428.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13632434.2019.1709165

Dorries, H., Hugill, D., & Tomiak, J. (2019). Racial capitalism and the production of settler colonial cities. Geoforum. https://www.academia.edu/download/60401545/1-s2.0-S001671851930226X-main20190826-27778-1ez48be.pdf

Kopnina, H., Washington, H., Gray, J., & Taylor, B. (2018). The ‘future of conservation’debate: Defending ecocentrism and the Nature Needs Half movement. Biological Conservation, 217, 140-148. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Helen-Kopnina/post/Are-we-ecocentric-or-anthropocentric/attachment/5ac60e014cde260d15d6f567/AS%3A612023381549056%401522929153032/download/Kopnina+et+al+Future+of+Conservation+Bio+Cons+2017.pdf

Lackenbauer, P. W. (2018). “Indigenous Communities are at the Heart of Canada’s North”: Media Misperceptions of the Canadian Rangers, Indigenous Service, and Arctic Security. Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, 19(2). https://jmss.org/article/download/62819/46851

Nelson, S. E., & Wilson, K. (2017). The mental health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: A critical review of research. Social Science & Medicine, 176, 93-112.https://drc.usask.ca/projects/legal_aid/file/resource407-2ce80424.pdf

Raynauld, V., Richez, E., & Boudreau Morris, K. (2018). Canada is# IdleNoMore: exploring dynamics of Indigenous political and civic protest in the Twitterverse. Information, Communication & Society, 21(4), 626-642. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1301522

Reid, P., Cormack, D., & Paine, S. J. (2019). Colonial histories, racism and health—The experience of M?ori and Indigenous peoples. Public Health, 172, 119-124.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2019.03.027

Reinders, K. (2019). A rights-based approach to Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination and self-government in Canada. SURG Journal, 11.https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/surg/article/download/4389/4989/

Romani, L., Mahadevan, J., & Primecz, H. (2018). Critical cross-cultural management: Outline and emerging contributions. International Studies of Management & Organization, 48(4), 403-418. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00208825.2018.1504473