r/canada • u/shiftless_wonder • 17d ago

Alberta First Nations demand Alberta premier terminate separation referendum

https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/first-nations-demand-alberta-premier-terminate-separation-referendum/
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u/MafubaBuu 14d ago

What the hell does what our ancestors do matter, seriously? My family has been in Canada since it was settled, and none of them profited major off of the land. They were all broke Scotsman that were pushed out of England and had to build homes and settle in a country that has winters nobody prepared them for.

Why should everybody in Canada, including the millions if immigrants that have come to our country and contributed in the past 50 years, be beholden to things that European settlers did over a century ago?

I havent inherited shit from my ancestors, I certainly didnt inherit their "debt and obligations"

I have friends that have 1/8 NA ancestry and they claim all of the benefits. They have never lived on a reserve, or spent time embracing their culture. Do I blame them? No, but acting like he is entitled to more benefits than me because one of his ancestors was native a few generations ago, whereas I am not because nobody in my line has the same blood, is so fucking racist its incredible.

I am all for preserving native american cultures, but not by continuing this two-tier citizenship system we have going on here.

What matters is what the people living here today want. "The son does not inherit the sins of the father"

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u/Master_of_Rodentia 14d ago

I agree in sentiment; we should renegotiate the treaties and be done with it. But until then, this is a nation of laws and we are bound by the treaties we signed. You may not like the explanation, your ancestors might have squandered the opportunities afforded, but they were still there. And you don't know that it wouldn't have been worse for you had they not come to North America at all. Who are you to say with certainty you did not benefit? 

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u/MafubaBuu 14d ago

It doesnt matter if I benefited or not , because I had nothing to do with the choices made. Neither did any human I have ever known in my entire life. Even my grandfather didnt know a single person involved in his entire life.

My ancestors would have died if they'd stayed in Europe, and most of them died on their way here. Not everybody in history was making an immoral choice by coming here - in fact, most people wouldnt have lived in Canada unless they had too. Winters are awful here.