My 6 year old son doesn’t want to celebrate Canada Day.
Not because I convinced him. Not because of social media. Not because of public opinion. He doesn’t want to celebrate because he’s learned about the history of colonial violence against this land and the people who originally lived on it. He knows that our ancestors came here and destroyed the great forest. That they pushed the indigenous peoples to the edges of the land and broke their promises to them. That they stole their children and made them live at schools that weren’t schools at all. That our ancestors took everything they could and left the original people with almost nothing. And he doesn’t want to celebrate that. He doesn’t want to call this land Canada at all. It was originally called Turtle Island and it was “really rude” of our ancestors to not call it its proper name
He’s not upset about any of this. Not distressed or filled with guilt. He’s 6 and we’ve sheltered him from the news and many of the details. But he has learned the history of 1491 and absorbed it like a sponge as 6 year olds do.
He is not upset. He is drawing turtles and making signs that say Turtle Island. He put one in the window so that if any indigenous people see it they will know we know the history and stand with them and “that will let them not feel alone”.
And that’s the point of #cancelcanadaday for me. Until celebration of Canada Day doesn’t hurt people, I will not celebrate it. No one on #turtleisland should have to feel alone or ignored. No one should have to grieve alone. No one should have their history erased and replaced. At the very least, it’s obviously “really rude”.
