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MP that is the question that I ask for both Native Americans and Native Canadians (whom we call Indigenous or First Nations),

Over the past couple of weeks in my American Literature class, we have been reading and analyzing some wonderful Native American literature. We have read selections from Sarah Winnemucca's Life Among the Piutes and from Zitkala Ša's [i]Impressions of An Indian Childhood , From The School Days, The Soft-Hearted Sioux and Why I Am a Pagan. Both of these women write their striking stories from personal experience; of the many hardships they had to endure with their forced acclimatization with "the white man", and their struggle to find a balance with their identities. My heart broke when they spoke of being ripped or tempted away from their families, taken to the West so they could be "educated", and "civilized".

I'm sure, that pretty much everyone has at some moment in their life felt like they didn't belong. Now imagine feeling that way all the time, and everywhere you went, until you were uncomfortable with even yourself. These children left their families, but found that they would never fit in perfectly with the "white man", and when they went home, they found they no longer fit with them either, and so felt equally alienated. Alien is such a strange word to call a person, when we are all human beings, yet Americans call people who illegally travel to other countries, "Illegal Aliens". So what differentiates an "Illegal Alien" from a legal one? These Native American children are forced into an identity of being an alien, of being an "Other", and taught that who they are and what they believe is wrong. It is no surprise then, that many of them are having identity issues. Furthermore it is no surprise, that even now, these children and their children's children, who have been left in the fringes of society, are trying to hold onto the beauty and peace of what they once were, while struggling to survive in this fast changing world.

MP as you pointed out, the living conditions on reservations all over North America are deplorable. Even those that would be deemed acceptable by "First World" standards, are still slowly wringing out the unique identities of Native Americans. Unemployment, poverty, alcoholism, and mental health issues are the result of a loss of purpose and a loss of identity. Today on CNN News it said that there has been a recent string of suicides on a reservation in Manitoba, from young children! And there are now thousands of Native women who have "gone missing", while others are being abused, all without much media attention.

My hope is that with our new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is an advocate for Native rights, will take Canada into the right direction, and give the first people of Canada, the Canadian dream they deserve! What steps would be necessary you ask? I believe you and I are taking a small step each in discussing this. More media attention would capture the hearts of both Americans and Canadians, especially human interest stories, a Humans of New York style of journalism. I think this would also in a way help those who feel alone and that they don't belong, connect with others. It is time to hear their words, be inspired by their songs, and learn from them, how we can help. We are the ones that need to be educated!