Native populations encounter diverse obstacles that make it hard for them to record desirable social mobilities. The case of the Aboriginal people of Canada explains why unbalanced treatment can worsen the experiences of underprivileged citizens. This personal reflection explains why the introduction of a better education system, a healing and reconciliation process, and evidence-based policies will support Aboriginal people in getting high-quality education and overcoming the challenges associated with residential schools and the Indian reserve system.
The introduction of residential schools was erroneous since it disoriented the cultural attributes of the Aboriginal learners, forced them to receive a poor education, led to reduced employment rates, and triggered numerous social challenges, including substance abuse, ill health, poverty, and prolonged inequality. Similarly, the Indian reserve system created an opportunity to treat First Nations tribes differently and make it impossible for them to receive equal resources and liberties (Chartrand, 2010). These decisions have continued to cast their shadows in modern-day society. The Canadian government should acknowledge these realities by formulating committees and justice commissions that that can understand how such policies and initiatives affected these individuals. Such an exposition should become the initial point for acknowledging the negative effects of residential schools and the Indian reserve system.
With such insights, the government and the relevant stakeholders will be involved to compensate or offer additional resources to these victims of unbalanced treatment. The relevant policymakers would need to go a step further to formulate laws and support their implementation to improve the experiences and life outcomes of more Aboriginal citizens (Twoparents, 2009).
Such a move will make it easier for the beneficiaries to achieve their potential and record meaningful social mobilities.
By focusing on the trends and outcomes associated with residential schools, it becomes quite clear that more aboriginal people have been forced to abandon their ways of life. Within the past decades, the education system has failed to meet their needs. These citizens have been unable to narrate their stories and share their experiences from an informed perspective. Instead, the implementers of residential schools forced members of this threatened community to denounce their cultural practices and values (Chartrand, 2010). This unbalanced treatment is a malpractice that has attracted attention of many activists, anthropologists, and researchers. With such past and present injustices, a new solution would be essential to address their effects and take more people closer to their goals.
Different stakeholders need to collaborate, examine the challenges Aboriginal citizens have gone through in the past, and propose evidence-based solutions to empower them. Chartrand (2010) believes that a place-conscious lens would be essential “to support the development and implementation of Aboriginal education” (p. 144). Such a suggestion will support the implementation of an authentic initiative that resonates with the demands of the greatest number of beneficiaries. Consequently, such individuals will relate with their past experiences and consider new strategies to improve their future experiences. The move will allow them to narrate their histories, make the relevant preservations, and introduce new practices that can take them closer to their goals.
The above discussion has explained why there is a need for different policymakers and leaders to consider the predicaments many Aboriginal people have encountered in the past. This process will support the delivery and implementation of new procedures that can result in sustainable educational reforms. Such measures will address the unbalanced treatment that has been recorded in the past and support the fight against poverty and inequality in the country.
References
Chartrand, R. (2010). Anishinaabe Pedagogy: Deconstructing the Notion of Aboriginal Education by illuminating local Anishinaabe pedagogy. Urban Aboriginal Economic Development Network.
Twoparents. (2009). Aboriginal Education – The Past and the Present [Video]. YouTube. Web.