American Culture And Its Impact On Aboriginal Culture

On June 11th, 2008 former Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the Aboriginals saying â€Å"today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and has no place in our country† (CBC news). The Aboriginals, waiting for this moment to occur in Canadian history responded with sorry is not enough. Assimilation is defined as absorbing a culture or adapting to a nation. The wrong in what happened in the historical past was assimilation was attempted in very wrongful unforgiving way, actions indeed do speak louder than words. The real question could be why was assimilation such a key goal? Did it play a part into why Aboriginals culture slowly is eroding? Some may say that the lack of Aboriginal Culture in our days, today was caused by a reason that had nothing to do with the Government of that time. With the White Paper being rejected, it lead to Canadians thinking that Aboriginals denied a â€Å"great offer†. But none of the canadia ns came to realize how unfair the terms the Aboriginals received were. The Indian Act was a way the government used to be successful in assimilation in a lot more secretive manner. Whereas the Residential Schools practically were screaming out â€Å"assimilation†, their goal was made a lot more clear after the Residential Schools came out. This essay will argue that Indian Act, Residential Schools, and the White Paper was an assault to their culture and an erosion of their values/practice . The Indian Act of 1876 was aShow MoreRelatedThe Negative Implications Of Cultural Appropriation1718 Words   |  7 Pagesdominant westernized cultures. The cultural appropriation of minority cultures in order to construct the Grand Narratives of dominant cultures has a negative effect on those who are apart of the oppressed minorities. 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