One year ago, a piece of land along the Maligne River was blessed.
That land was designated as a cultural area for Aboriginal groups with historic ties to Jasper National Park. It was officially opened July 20.
The creation of such a space was an important step for Parks Canada and for the area’s Aboriginal people. It shows positive movement toward a more accepting and culturally aware Parks Canada.
Such actions are significant for more than just the park, though, they’re also incredibly important for Canada as a whole. As a national park, Jasper is a place that represents the values of our entire country—not just ecological integrity, but cultural integrity, as well.
Parks’ efforts to reconcile with the area’s Aboriginal groups, whether it be through the designation of the cultural area or the formation of the Jasper Aboriginal Forum or the respecting of cultural practises like ribbon trees, is a way for the agency to set the tone and lead the way for the rest of the country.
And as things stand, the country needs the help.
Over the last 18 months, national media has been overrun with stories exposing injustices toward Canada’s First Nations.
In 2012, there was the state of emergency in northern Ontario’s Attawapiskat First Nation, where housing conditions were so abysmal that the health and safety of residents was at risk. Then there was Chief Theresa Spence’s six-week hunger strike to raise awareness for the state of her nation—a hunger strike that dragged on and on, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper hummed and hawed about a meeting.
There was the Idle No More movement that saw Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals stand together against Bill C-45 and abuses to treaty rights.
And most recently, there was news of the horrific abuse of Aboriginal children, who were denied nutrition or deliberately starved in the name of research, during the 1940s and ‘50s.
Without all of these realizations and events, Canada had a sorted history with its Aboriginal peoples, but with them our country is so far tarnished that all the scrubbing in the world couldn’t clean up this mess.
Harper can apologize, as he has—following much pressure from the Assembly of First Nations—but apologies aren’t enough.
What our country needs is action.
For one thing, responsibility needs to be taken for the atrocities that have happened in the past. For another, the government—whether it be an agency like Parks Canada or the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development—needs to work with First Nations to build relationships that will ensure the nations’ future health and success.
In Jasper, just like the rest of the country, there is a history of discrimination—Aboriginals living in and using the area were kicked out in 1907 in order to form the park—but Parks has recognized its error in thinking and has made important first steps toward building meaningful relationships.
And those steps are being recognized and embraced by the area’s Aboriginal groups.
We can only hope that one day, before the country’s reached a point of no return, the federal government will take a page out of JNP’s book and open a meaningful dialogue with the First Nations of our beautiful country.
