Keep your statues, there are yours not ours.

As an Indigenous writer I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and opinions on Sir John A Macdonald in the pastweek or so on the many letters that have been written, but from a Native viewpoint we do have a different interpretation on Macdonald. One writer stated that “He’s our history, leave him alone” when he should be saying SirJohn A is his history as a descendant of Colonialism in this country.Residential schools and starving of the plains tribes to bring them under the reservation system may be something that he may regal in for his history and he history of all who regal Macdonald, and he may in fact be proud of these statues around the country. However all they do is remind the Native people ofthe horrors that were forced upon the Indigenous population of Canada to makeit the country we live in today.

         For myself and my Indigenous friends Sir John A does not represent our history as we know it. Our history predates 1492. Our history now does include a person and government that took away the children of all the Native nations, starved and abused them and forced our ancestors to trade theirland for food, blankets and alcohol. 

   Please keep your statues, for when we the Indigenous people of this land cast our eyes upon them we can also remember, but our memories do not hold the same meaning as yours. All we want is for people to know what happened. Many of your writers always mention that “we cannot erase history.” I totally agree we cannot, because if we could the Indigenous people would definitely want to erase residential schools, disease,starvation and the introduction of alcohol. That is what Canadian history brought our ancestors.  

            History means different things to different people. The statues and street names are reminders of what colonialism brought the Indigenous peoples of Canada. If taken down or erased the Native people ofCanada have no reference point to look upon to start the conversation of reconciliation. The rest of the country needs to read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report and understand it and to realize this document is what the Indigenous history was and is about after contactand what it could be in the future. 

           Please remember that statues and street names are yours, not ours.What they mean to you have not the same meaning to us. I can live with that,can you?

Rick Revelle