The successive discoveries of all the remains and unmarked graves of Indigenous children in Canada are simply shocking. However, this may have only revealed the tip of the iceberg in Canada's racism issue.
The Indian Act you mentioned bears witness to the tribulations of the Indigenous groups in Canada over the past centuries.
The 1894 revision of this act made residential school attendance compulsory for Indigenous children between 7 and 16 years of age. Their long hair was cut short and they were prohibited from speaking their native language and practicing their culture.
当地时间2021年7月15日，加拿大前坎卢普斯印第安寄宿学校外的纪念地。图片来源：视觉中国
According to incomplete statistics, from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century, the Canadian government forcibly sent at least 150,000 Indigenous children to the so-called residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada pointed out that the aim of the Canadian government is to deprive the Indigenous people of their land and resources for the benefit of the colonizers and to commit cultural genocide against the Indigenous groups.
The Canadian government should ask itself, when will it end the repression and deprivation of Indigenous peoples? When will it restore justice to the Indigenous peoples and give a responsible account to history and the world?
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