Multiculturalism is a debated topic in Canada and around the world. Will Kymlicka is a Canadian scholar who has written about various issues in multiculturalism. However, other scholars have determined that there are multiple constraints in Kymlicka’s theories. Major debates occurred around the notion of the value of culture and government protection, the distinction between different minority groups, if a culture is unique to a nation and the notion of equal participation of minorities in a liberal state.
Value of Culture and Government Protection
A few authors disagree with Will Kymlicka’s view that minority’s cultures are valuable and the state should protect them in order to ensure equality. Kymlicka states that the relationship between
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Young questions Kymlicka’s view of a nation, finding it too rigid because not all countries share a distinct language and culture. She uses Israel as an example. Moreover, Piper identifies that in a culture structure it is difficult to separate the attributes of culture. For example, how different are the Welsh and English or Zulu and Xhosa cultural structures. Piper finds it is difficult to map from societal cultures to nations and vice versa. For example, America and Canada could be considered the same ‘nations’ because of the similar cultures. The authors identify that cultures and their nations are not clearly defined. To put the definitions into the Canadian context Richard Spaulding in “Peoples as national minorities: A review of Will Kymlicka’s arguments for aboriginal rights from a self-determination perspective” and Kymlica both discuss Aboriginals who have guaranteed national minority rights like the Quebecois but do not have the same equal rights due to various groups within the Aboriginals who are unique in culture. A.S.M Anwarullah Bhuiyan in “A Critical Response to Will Kymlicka’s View of Multiculturalism” mentions that national minorities deserve fair treatment by the state, but the Indigenous have lost their societal culture due to an unjust societal system. As a result of the critiques findings, a culture is not a synonym with a nation. It is difficult to identify unique cultures and to determine if each unique culture should receive special rights. In Canada, the Aboriginals have unique rights but the smaller groups identify they have unique cultural characteristics the harder it is to give rights to the defined
Though one could argue the Métis, an intriguing melting pot of two worlds, did not have a strong political system, they were certainly a unique ethnic and cultural entity. The Métis, historically, were a group of diverse ancestry; they were the result of the Native’s way of life from the old world and the European culture from the new, blended together. For example, not only did they incorporate elements from the French culture such as arranging crops in seigneurial patterns, but they also had an annual bison hunt, which was a tradition passed down from the Natives of British North America. Furthermore, as well as Algonkian, the language spoken by some Native tribes, the Métis inherited the French language. Combining the two, they created a
The indigenous population in the geographical location of western Canada had their land officially taken over in 1869. (Daschuk 79) From then on, even with multiple treaties signed, the aboriginal people in this area and on the plains were ravaged with disease, fighting, famine and theft of land from the Canadian government. In this paper, I will first present a summary of James Daschuk’s two chapters outlining the issues stated above, and then an internal critique of the chapters, and, finally, an external critique of the chapters, comparing and contrasting it to Sidney Harring’s ““There Seemed to Be No Recognized Law”: Canadian Law and the Prairie First Nations’. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight and analysis on the aboriginal issues raised by Daschuk.
Simpson’s book tells the story of the Mohawks and their story of survivance amid the radical transformation brought about by settler colonialism. Her book discusses their struggle, fighting to keep their right to sovereignty as a Nation, separate from the US and Canada. Simpson illustrates the lives of the Mohawks in their reservation, and shows that they are more than the ironworkers that have come to be the stereotype for the Mohawk people. She argues that the Mohawks’ ongoing struggle proves that Settler Colonialism continues to exist, and continues to fail to eliminate and assimilate Indigenous people. Simpson begins by addressing the “question of membership,” that is, the criteria for political membership and formal recognition within
This paper will give an overview of the act and how it impacted the Indigenous community into becoming
However it is not simply the numbers that make them a minority. The real similarity is in the treatment and lack of preservation of both cultures. Kymlicka argues that culture is a primary good, meaning the government has an obligation to protect and value all different cultures. The dilemma here is that the majority cultures will always remain on top. For example, here in the United States, also all public school are taught in English, and the problem of someone not speaking English never even occurred to me.
Essay Outline The human race that inhabited the lands earlier than anyone else, Aboriginals in Canada had conquered many obstacles which got them to what they are today. In the past, Canadian Aboriginals have dealt with many gruesome issues that primarily involved the Canadians opposing them or treating them like ‘‘wards.’’ The Indian Act is a written law which controls the Indian’s lives and it is often amended several times to make Indian lives either peaceful or cruel but especially, cruel. Aboriginals found the Indian Act a massive problem in their lives due to it completely controlling them and how they lived on their reserve.
There have been numerous events in history that have contributed to the development of Canada as a nation. Perhaps the event that had the greatest impact was World War II. The conflict left a definite mark on the country by shifting Canada away from the Great Depression, isolationism and discrimination. Rather, Canada became prosperous, active in foreign affairs and more multicultural. The economy prospered with jobs opening up overseas and in munitions factories.
The race-conflict approach and multiculturalism parties are trying
I think that to truly allow cultural vitality in indigenous communities, these populations must be allowed to practice their ways freely, without impact from the non-Indigenous people. When I was in school, I was taught that Aboriginal people were now receiving equal rights in society, however I now see that this isn’t true. Equal rights involves more than rights on paper, it involves being allowed to fully express
According to Anzovino and Boutilier (2014), “the legislative definition of Aboriginal peoples includes all persons of “Indian” blood who were known to belong to a specific band, living on specific land, with their descendants [and] all persons intermarried with any such “Indians” who resided among them” as well as all children and persons adopted in infancy (p. 90). These persons are immensely proud of their good character, race, beliefs, values and morals. However, they are receiving abuse and a lack of promised assistance from the government. How can Canada act so neglectful and inattentive to those that live north of the suburban area? Are we not all equal and deserve the same rights, especially basic living conditions in order to survive?
The improvement of the rights of the Canadian Immigrants Canada, as one of the biggest immigration countries, welcomes people from all over the the world and forms a representative multicultural atmosphere in today’s society. Over these few decays, the country has always been consummating the laws to provide immigrants equal rights and freedoms, and better treatments they could receive. However, Canadian immigration laws were not unprejudiced and it eventually caused a “legal discrimination” before 1976. The legal rights of the immigrant groups have improved significantly because of the demands of developing the country, the influences of the wars, and the globalization of the world. Since 1880s, more immigrants and foreigners came to Canada because of the railway construction project.
Losing one’s cultural knowledge, and therefore the reality of their culture, allows others to have control over their collective and individual consciousness as well as their destiny. In this case, it is clear that the United States government has had the dominant relationship over the Native
In the essay, “Federalism, Nationalism, and Reason”, Pierre Trudeau addresses the history and origins of self-determination and nationalism and its central role in federal statehood, he then discusses the interactions of federalism and nationalism in a Canadian context. Trudeau posits major arguments that will be assessed in this review. First, he postures that that the federal state is driven by self-determination and nationalism, which ultimately makes it unstable due to its foundation in emotionalism rather than reason. Second, Trudeau outlines the historical factors that resulted in the separatist narrative in Quebec and claims that Canadian nationalism cannot combat Quebec’s regional nationalism. Trudeau begins the essay with a historical
By doing this, colonial Canadians assumed that aboriginal cultural and spiritual beliefs were invalid in relation to European beliefs (244). The problem with ridding the First Nations Peoples of their languages, as Williston points out is to “deprive them of the sense of place that has defined them for thousands of years” (245). The private schooling system was an attack on First Nations identities, and their identity is rooted in “a respect for nature and its processes” (245).
The basis of these problems is a loss of identity and a sense of knowing that their values are oppressed, and their rights are ignored. Likewise, non-indigenous Canadians have become increasingly aware of the unfairness of the richness of indigenous and aboriginal cultures that are taking place.