Aboriginals in Canada and Mexico essays

Aboriginals in Canada and Mexico essays For many years, Aboriginal people in Canada and Mexico have fought for political sovereignty and self-government. While Canada and Mexico are two different countries with two different cultures and histories, the Aboriginal peoples fight in both countries is strikingly similar. Both groups of people have been fighting a war against assimilation and the utter destruction of their culture. While some groups have lost parts of their culture to absorption, these Aboriginals strive to preserve or regain any parts of their heritage that they can. They have been overwhelmed by European colonies and societies and have come under their rule. Aboriginal people in Canada and Mexico are expected to live under Canadian or Mexican government when they are a different people than those who attempt to preside over them. These Aboriginal people have to come to believe that the respective governments should grant autonomy and that they should be able to be their own separate entity within the already established borders of Canada and Mexico. Learning about Canadas history lends some background on how the native peoples there became repressed. Surprisingly enough, European settlers and explorers first treated the Natives of North America as a sovereign nation, completely equal in law. Relations between Europeans and Natives varied from friendly trades to hostile battles, yet the Natives were never defeated or surrendered in any way. Conversely, many Indian groups did end up signing treaties with Europeans that would continue to haunt them for generations to come. Once the Natives came under settler rule, the Europeans planned that eventually find a place for Aboriginals in the social contract (8). Still, this posed a problem for both groups because European settlers could not see the Aboriginal people as fit for inclusion in their society. Instead Indians were seen as a primitive civilization with no rights to citizenship. So...