Brian Mulroney’s complicated legacy on Indigenous issues

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No Canadian Prime Minister has an unblemished record on indigenous issues that’s true for Brian Malon but there’s many First Nations Inu and matey who remember him fondly it was so friendly so easygoing made it feel like he was just one of the one of the group one of

The friends around the table to many matey m is revered for officially recognizing the Red River matey and Louis Riel is the founder of Manitoba but just being recognized meant so much to us and we never forgot that but mun’s Legacy for others is defined by his response to the 1990 ghag resistance

Known to many as the Oka crisis a 78-day standoff near Montreal between gyes sag land Defenders and the Quebec government over a golf course expansion on Mohawk territory Canadians need to understand that uh the events of the summer of 1990 were a major Watershed in indigenous settler relations tensions boiled over

With the killing of a Quebec provincial police officer during a morning raid hundreds of Mohawk civilians were injured eventually the Army was called in the project was canceled and the land was purchased by the federal government he sort of used the the Oka crisis as a

Way to flex his his muscle and also I think uh to intimidate indigenous land Defenders to to teach them a lesson that Canada is still a Colonial Country uh and and the colonizers are still in control that’s in contrast to how Mel roone may have been perceived on the

World stage standing up for the oppressed and against apartheid I think a lot of people people around the world thought is this Canada the the peaceful tolerant Multicultural uh country you you can’t um uphold that image internationally um and be sending uh the Army um you know

Into to resolve a dispute that could be dealt with diplomatically after OK M established the Royal Commission on Aboriginal people to improve the lives of indigenous people and Canada’s relationship with them M saw it as a political play to make it look like he was doing something knowing full well

That he given the popularity polls at the time knowing full well that he wouldn’t be in charge when when the Royal commission finally releases its report in 1996 which he wasn’t right that report though signaled that Canada’s relationship with indigenous people needed to change it offered a

Blueprint I think um much of the Truth and Reconciliation commission’s recommendations um are are packaged arap recommendations um so it provides this sort of blueprint uh for moving Canada and Indigenous people together Mone also paved the way for changing Canada’s North he spent years negotiating the terms for the

Creation of nunut with territorial leaders signing it into being one of his last acts as prime minister it is a vision that we had and he gave it to us and uh we are forever grateful for for the actions that he took when he signed the nun land clamps agreement as all

Canadians reflect on Mal’s impact on the country Sean Carlton sees an opportunity to take the full measure of our leaders legacies I think this is exactly the time to complicate the way that we understand someone’s political Legacy and the argument that I’ve been making is that if politicians don’t like that

Then I think we need to realize that you have the opportunity to craft your legacy in the moment Brian M’s Legacy on indigenous issues inspires both pride and resentment among different groups of indigenous Canadians reflecting that as we reflect on him is now part of our shared Journey towards reconciliation

Melissa Ren Global News Winnipeg

Brian Mulroney is proudly remembered in Canada as the leading voice in the fight against Apartheid, and in support of equal rights in South Africa.

But here at home, many Indigenous Canadians view his time as prime minister with mixed emotions.

From Mulroney’s handling of the Oka Crisis, to enshrining the creation of Nunavut and The Royal Commission on Aboriginal People, Mulroney’s legacy on Indigenous Issues is complex.

Melissa Ridgen explains.

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14 COMMENTS

  1. I’m sorry, but the so-called “land defenders” at Oka were heavily armed and killed a police officer. It’s fair enough to say that indigenous property rights were not protected, and that needs to be rectified. But the media needs to stop irresponsibly calling people who break the law and commit acts of violence “land defenders”.

    And Sean Carlton is a liar.

  2. Oh no, the indigenous reconciling and Germanic reconciling.
    It’s all I can think about
    Losers of wars from 1750-1850 and 1905-1947
    Live in our heads rent free and always will
    Prayers to the Germanic people of Germany 1905-1947 and the Indigenous peoples of Canada 1750-1850

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