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A sordid fact we will have to live with as Indigenous peoples
DEAR EDITOR,
Issues relating to Indigenous persons being discriminated against have caused some discomfort and embarrassment of recent.
My estimation however, is that most of these cases are hopefully isolated ones and are being blown out of context and out of proportion. I am subject to correction.
But I speak from experience. Those who exhibit crassness, insularity, arrogance, are in the minority, and are those who need help to understand us, the Indigenous peoples of this country. And only they can give the source or reason for their behaviour.
Editor, even as more and more Indigenous persons are being given the opportunity to be trained in the areas of Sport, Medicine, Law, Education, Engineering, etc., does it mean our ‘other’ brothers and sisters are not recognizing this? Of course!
But we have all been socialized in one way or the other, like it or not; conditioned to behave towards others in one way or the other. Sociology tells us no matter where one goes on this planet, people will regard another with either open or veiled contempt, especially if the subject person is from a minority grouping. That is a sordid fact that we will have to live with as Indigenous peoples.
As a grown Indigenous man, however, I have my own way of dealing with instances of veiled contempt, at college, university, workplaces, and, oh, how life can be brutal indeed, I can tell you. But what of a very young person?
What bothers me is when people belonging to a majority grouping use that fact to justify injustices perpetrated against a minority grouping. Or to feel that they have as their right to discriminate.
We, the Nation, shall never see the end of this vice, implicit or explicit, by engaging in burying our heads like the proverbial ostrich. We need to recognize the importance of reaching out to the uninformed, misinformed minds through helpful activities and functions; healthy conversations, dialogues, awards, etc.
Needless to say, the relevant ministries should set the stage.
For example, after 52 years of Independence, how many of the Indigenous leaders have been honoured? Is this not contributing to the state of affairs?
Come on! Even if discrimination is not as pervasive as it used to be, we need to take notice, don’t we? It does not augur well for us as a nation to sit back, be complacent, and pretend that all is well. May God bless us all as a nation.
Yours faithfully
Joseph C. Atkinson
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