The Indigenous community in Waterloo region is reacting to the death of Queen Elizabeth II with some calling their relationship with the Crown, complicated and strained by a complex colonial past.
“As much as I admired her, I still think of what could have been done a little bit better in her time,” said Myeengun Henry, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper at the University of Waterloo.
He said the Queen’s death brought on conflicting feelings.
Indigenous people across what is now Canada signed treaties with the Crown. In what is now Ontario, some of those were signed under Wapum belts.
“I carry one with me,” said Henry, pointing to the Royal Proclamation Belt of 1763 as a reminder of the a promise made by the British Crown that remains unfulfilled.
“She sets the foundation for the relationship because here in Canada, we live under treaties that were signed by the Crown.”
Some Indigenous people are condemning her 70-year reign, calling her the figurehead of colonialism that saw pain inflicted through residential schools and land seizures.
“There needs to be an apology by the Crown for the failures and particularly for the destructiveness of colonization on First Nations people,” said Roseanne Archibald, First Nations National Chief.
Archibald said she got the chance to speak to then Prince Charles III when he visited Canada in May.
She said he seemed honest and as if he wanted to be a part of the solution, but fell just short of apologizing for the trauma residential schools caused for survivors.
“I want to acknowledge their suffering and to say how much our hearts go out to them and their families,” he told a crowd in Yellowknife.
As for Henry, he said he is hopeful for the new King.
“I think we can have discussions with him quite frankly about these things and I think that’s something we all want to push forward to denounce the doctrine of discovery.”
