Dominant cultures share common threads. They forcibly and systematically destroy cultures and peoples who are different. They do this by killing and torturing, separating children from families, forcing indoctrination on the young, and by the rape and murder of women and girls. They do it with swift first strikes and then gradually through police tactics, court injustice, social crimes and environmental destruction. The governments of these dominant cultures carry on the atrocities for generations. Education and religion are used to maintain the status quo and to create an illusion that “all is as it should be.”
Since WWII we have termed this cultural and human destruction as genocide. In 1948, the Untied Nations created the legal definition of what was then coined the “crime of crimes”.
Ideas take time to take hold. This week dominant culture took a blow with the release of Canada’s National Inquiry into the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. Exhaustive studies and final conclusions prepared by professional Indigenous women were presented to the Canadian government.
Within the findings is the declaration that the Canadian government by omission and commission engaged in the genocide of Indigenous people.
As one survivor put it, “You can’t un-hear the truth.”
Here are a few words from the final damning report: “These violations amount to nothing less than the deliberate, often covert campaign of genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA [two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual] people.”
Humankind must find a way to end the perpetuation of violence on Indigenous peoples. Dominant cultures everywhere must grapple with the racist and sexist attitudes that are upheld throughout their systems and policies. The United States has developed an institutionalized apathy that needs to be challenged.
Kudos to all who are fighting this inhuman disease however you are called to do so.
For more on the report and its findings and to give credit for the photo used visit Eagle Feather News.
On Soundcloud. Thanks to WDRT for airing “Consider This.”