October 2023 Report

It’s getting much colder since the beginning of October. The characteristic of the weather in this area is the opposite of Japan’s. It’s dry in summer, and it’s wet in winter. Somehow, people in Canada don’t use umbrellas. Some people wear rain jackets, but most people just walk around in normal clothes. I still wanted to walk around with an umbrella, so I borrowed one from my host family. Recently, I found out that Japanese umbrellas are high quality compared to the ones in Canada.

These days, I’ve been thinking about one issue all the time. It’s the way my friends talk about indigenous people and LGBTQ people.

Canada has a holiday called National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which started in 2021. My teacher taught me that this holiday is to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system run by the church. It is originally and colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day. It was named after a specific incident that occurred at a residential school in Canada. Phyllis Webstad, a survivor of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School, shared her story of having her new orange shirt taken away from her on her first day of school. The orange shirt has become a symbol of the experiences and impacts of the residential school system. OrangeShirt Day is to honour the survivors and remember the children who were taken from their families and communities. It serves as a day of remembrance, reflection, and commitment to reconciliation. It is well-documented that thousands of indigenous children died while attending these schools due to various factors, including neglect, disease, abuse and harsh living conditions. They were not buried properly and found around the school recently. The most surprising thing for me was that the last residential school closed as late as 1996. My impression of Canada was that they respect human rights, so I was really surprised that it was so late.

As a nation, they are trying to fix the relationship with indigenous people by showing respect for their culture. However, it doesn’t seem all Canadian people like that idea when I’m talking with my friends and my host family.

For example, the school I go to, Cowichan Secondary School will be renamed Quw’utsun Secondary School. It sounds more like the language indigenous people used to talk. It reminded me of the name change of Kyiv in Japan when Russia started invasion. Japan changed the way we refer to the capital of Ukraine from “Kiev” to “Kyiv” as a way to show support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. “Kiev” is the older, anglicized version, while “Kyiv” is the transliteration of the city’s name in Ukrainian. The new school building is under construction. The principal introduced its design to students on Orange Shirt Day. The design has parts that resemble indigenous art and architecture. They look like the ones I saw at a museum in the northernmost island and prefecture, Hokkaido Japan. The Ainu are considered the indigenous people of Japan. They primarily reside in Hokkaido. The Ainu have faced challenges in preserving their traditions and rights, but efforts are being made to recognize and celebrate their unique heritage. The main painting objects in the hallway are salmon and birds. Moreover, the building will have a room for elderly indigenous people. The room will be equipped with a shower room and a kitchen with a fridge.

That day, when I was talking with my friends in class, one girl said, “I’m not going to call my school ‘Quw’utsun’! Cow high will always be Cow high!!” The teacher didn’t scold her at all, and she was just trying to calm herself down. At dinner time, my host brother who goes to the same school as me was saying, “That’s a stupid design, and I’m not going to call ‘Quw’utsun’, and it’s so weird to see elderly people living in my school.”

The current school building doesn’t have much design of indigenous culture, but rainbow flags and other things for LGBTQ are seen everywhere such as a rainbow hallway between two buildings. They were painted by Rainbow Club. Some stickers show respect for transgender and non-binary. My host brother and sister always say, “It doesn’t have to make everything rainbow. The rainbow is not cool. It’s just weird.” “It doesn’t make sense that everything is painted rainbow.” They get calmed down by their mother every time.

From my perspective, I think indigenous people are different. They look like Asian people, but their clothes don’t look very clean, and their hair looks kind of creepy. Some of them come to class, others don’t, but they are somewhere in school. Sometimes I see some of them hanging around playing music loudly and talking to strangers. I can’t say they’re friendly. When it comes to LGBTQ people, they’re totally fine.

I’m witnessing one step in the relationship between Canada and indigenous peoples. I’m not sure if this is the right way for both of them. Canadian kids and indigenous kids barely talk to each other, and teachers seem to avoid this matter. Indigenous children didn’t go to school back in time, which makes it questionable if it is necessary or happy for them to come to school. Of course, I know what the pioneers did to them was wrong. However, the efforts of the Canadian government and the reaction to it from people are not syncing. It seems like some adults are rushing and leaving the kids. The gap between the two won’t be made up by keeping this system. And I don’t think that gap will be fixed when they get older. I often hear the words “They’re so weird.” Most students don’t have good thoughts about indigenous people. I don’t see the goal over the truth and reconciliation. No one should get hurt anymore, and it’s time to move on. We all know that. Despite that, I don’t think it’s an ideal situation for teenagers. It’s scary that indigenous kids are just hanging around school doing nothing. Being together in the same place is not the only way to get along. There should be other ways to respect both indigenous and pioneer kids. Japan has a bad history with indigenous people too. North America has a bad history of indigenous Indian people. It is difficult to find a way to live together after the apology. Just like children of a criminal are not criminals, people who are in Canada right now didn’t mean to hurt indigenous people when they were born. I’ve been thinking about this all the time these days.