Most infamously this includes the forcible removal of about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children from their homes into residential schools, a form of cultural genocide that still reverberates today in social, health, economic, education and political spheres. On the cusp of the country’s 150th birthday, Canada’s foundation has been sundered by decades of systematic discrimination towards First Peoples. It was time for Canada to become, once again, a “beacon of hope and optimism” – the flag bearer of foundational principles and values that the rest of the world could look up to, she told the audience.īut old foundations often need shoring up. ![]() Nearly 10 years of rule under Stephen Harper’s Conservatives had engendered what the New York Times called a “subtle darkening of Canadian life,” noted Wilson-Raybould, MP for the new federal riding of Vancouver Granville. More than a century of racism is burned into the memories of the many Aboriginal people who were part of the 350-strong audience at the Simon Fraser University lecture hall – a bitterness reflected in the tearful and sometimes angry questions posed to Wilson-Raybould following her talk.Ī 1999 graduate of UBC’s Allard School of Law, Wilson-Raybould came to power during Canada’s 42nd general federal election, held on October 19. As befits the song’s duality, there were also underlying traces of sorrow. Wilson-Raybould is only the third woman to assume the mantle of Canada’s most senior legal office, and the first Aboriginal person. On January 23, three women, led by Musqueam artist-activist Audrey Siegl wielding a scallop-shell rattle, sang the Women’s Warrior Song to herald in Jody Wilson-Raybould’s first official speech as Canada’s new Justice Minister and Attorney General. But the song is also celebratory, sung by First Nations men and women at cultural events. ![]() The Women’s Warrior Song – a powerful Aboriginal chant accompanied by the pounding of traditional hand drums – is often heard at public gatherings in Canada to mourn murdered and missing Aboriginal women.
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