Then and Now

This kind of relates to what Vinnie mentioned about the opening ceremony at the Olympics...

So I found it interesting how Raibmon discusses the model schools the BIA and DIA set up as their way of "civilizing" the Aboriginal people. The children brought to these schools were then put on exhibit for other people to watch them work at different skills they had learned at their various residential schools. The main idea behind these schools and exhibits in Canada was so that Canada could increase their immigration rates and prosperity. They aimed at making people believe that they had civilized these savages who no longer posed a threat to white culture. If they could prove that these savages were civilized then they could announce that Canada as a whole was civilized so more people would migrate and settle in the Canadian frontiers. When she starts talking about how "Canadian officials strove to represent their country as progressive and having domesticated the land and 50,000 Aboriginal people" (42), I thought that was the completely opposite message being portrayed at the Olympics. Canadians were once trying to make people believe that the Aboriginal people lost their "authenticity" and were therefore no longer a threat to white culture, ensuring visitors that Canada was a rising, progressive, society. They were trying to hide the true culture of their land. However, now, Canada is celebrating the Aboriginal culture, displaying their different dances, dress, etc, as a way to entice people to visit. I just found it interesting how it was completely flipped around.