Paper Example on God's River: Self-Determination Through Poetry, Protest, and the Kelowna Accord

Thesis

Thesis: Self-determination and the use of poetry as a role and form of protest and activism to raise awareness of the current issues.

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History Around “God’s river” by Billy-Ray Belcourt

The Kelowna Accord involves a series of agreements that focus on the enhancement of education, employment, and the improvement of the lifestyles of Aboriginal people; primarily through the implementation of programs and funding by the Canadian government. The treaty involved agreements between the federal of Canada, leaders of all the Aboriginal organizations, and the first ministers of all provinces. The leaders of the five Aboriginal organizations regarded the agreement as progressive since all parties involved in the consultations. In no

A disproportionate populate in Canada was hit by the 2009 H1N1 swine flu, particularly in remote communities. The remote communities were isolated from roads and service centers. Though remote communities had fewer chances of being exposed to the influenza virus, the introduction of the virus could cause a significant impact due to overcrowding and poverty that enhance transmission. The people and leaders of Manitoba were horrified after receiving body bags sent by the health department of Canada to the hardest areas impacted by the swine flu. Also, a significant number of body bags were sent to the remote northern reserves of God’s River First Nation and Wasagamack. The representative of the northern First Nations, Grand Chief David Harper, argued that the government could have sent funding to facilitate medicines, face masks, and hand sanitizers instead of body bags. He compared the Health Canada's action to distributing body bags to soldiers in Afghanistan.

2006-2007 First Nations Child and Family Caring Society

The shipment of body bags indicated that the remote First Nations were left alone. However, the country received an apology from Health Canada for sending dozens of body bags and stated that the nurses were effortlessly offering primary care to individuals infected with the virus. The director of First Nations, Jim Wolfe, justified the act by claiming that the shipments were made because it was hard to reach the isolated communities by road because of the bad weather experienced in winter. However, he admitted that the government overestimated, thereby causing a huge uproar. Due to the controversy on the body bag’s issue, the national minister of health, Leona Aglukkaq, ordered an immediate and detailed investigation of the issue. Billy Ray Belcourt wrote the poem, “God’s river” to raise awareness on the issue of body bags.

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passed in 2007 by the UN highlights the legal rights of the indigenous people to improve their education health and traditions. Therefore, it outlaws discrimination among the aboriginal population and supports their right to ownership and cultural development. The primary aim of the non-legal binding was to encourage Canada and other countries to coordinate effectively with aboriginal people to resolve issues such as decentralization and inclusive democracy. Although the Canadian government supported the declaration, some elements were controversial to the constitution. Particularly, the affirmation required that the federal should secure the consent of the aboriginal population concerning issues of general public policy. Canada officially adopted the declaration in 2016 after a recommendation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. British Colombia as the first state to implement the declaration to push for reconciliation.

“God's river” originates from the response of the swine flu pandemic of 2009 in Canada. The pandemic hit the northern Manitoba hardest compared to other regions in Canada. Belcourt (2009) utilized his poem to improve the awareness of the public concerning the indigenous history that comprised of racism and colonization among indigenous people in Canada. Through his poem “God’s river”, he highlights that along with the shipments of equipment to control the spread of swine flu including face masks and hand sanitizers, the delivery contained dozens of hand sanitizers. He instead highlighted “Help us organize and send medicine”. Belcourt further highlights remind them that Canada is four hundred Afghanistan's-call it colonialism. The issue about body bags was a primary concern since getting funds so that medicine, hand sanitizers, and preventive kits, therefore, receiving body bags was a shocking issue that was improper.

Belcourt uses the poem as a form of protest in bringing awareness to current Indigenous issues. It allows the reader to have a feeling of self-reflection through the poem. Belcourt uses clear writing to emphasize the realities of the Aboriginal population and their challenges during the colonialism for the First Nations and Inuit people. He details the conditions of life during the Manitoba pandemic response by the Canada ministry of health. Although there were considerable efforts to provide sufficient communication to the aboriginal group, the impacts, and intentions of the actions were not clear. Often, the readers of the poem's first reaction are that the indigenous experiences are straightforward. Through “God’s river” Belcourt illustrates how the violence of the 20th century against the indigenous population through social, emotional, and psychological characteristics. The poem allows for self-determination by expressing the truth without using politically ok words. He directly calls on the non-indigenous population to rethink about changing their ways of living in the wake of gratuitous legal violence. Belcourt unearths the nuances and complexities of the understanding of the aboriginal issues, which is politically and socially significant.

The poem uses theorize of visual sovereignty to also make sense of the simultaneous subversion and self-recognition

Protest and Activism Through Poetry and Indigenous Matters

In the poem “God’s river,” Belcourt shows that the aboriginals utilize the polyphony of radical language instead of the monotony of opinion. In the first line, Belcourt describes a body bag as a gun to indicate violence where a considerable number were killed. Moreover, he describes a body bag as a smallpox blanket signifying the culture was never respected. Belcourt writes with passion, challenging other people to confront their outdated ideas of what essentially means to be an indigenous person. He uses sharp and raw language to show social activism.

Belcourt refers to the 209 swine flu pandemic as a “suicide epidemic”. Contemporary factors such as discrimination and racism are uniquely experienced by aboriginal people. Particularly, Belcourt shows that discrimination among the First Nation communities through his tone. Belcourt uses raw words that politicians cannot say since they will go against the conventional belief that the primary thing that holds the aboriginal population in Canada is lack of finances, autonomy, and cultural legitimacy. Comparing the delivery of dozens of body bags is very insensitive. It was unfortunate that the body bags were exclusively linked to the swine flu pandemic in Manitoba. God’s river shows that the supplies were directed towards various stations in Manitoba where they were preparing for an unknown and unforeseen occurrence. It directly sends a message to the world that it is expected that a significant number of the indigenous population in Canada will die. Belcourt positioned his worries as an indigenous person who had been infected with H1N1 and was sent a body bag rather than pharmaceuticals and protective gear. This shows significantly high levels of insensitivity by the government to aboriginal people as well as the lack of preparation for the H1N1 flu.

Belcourt protests that Canada is giving up on the indigenous people, which is very offensive; moreover, the swine flu pandemic preparedness is highly contentious. A primary way of preparing for death is actually inviting it into the community. Sending soldiers to Afghanistan is like preparing for death. Considering the population of aboriginal people and the number of body bags sent to the remote village, it shows that health Canada was anticipating a high number of casualties compared to other regions of the country. Belcourt shows that the government had a bleak picture of what they consider the outcome of the swine flu outbreak in Manitoba. A significant number of problems among the indigenous population stems from the fact that the majority of them are isolated, therefore, they lack critical services from the federal government. The health services in such communities have been neglected, understaffed not adequately funded for several years. God’s river shows that the aboriginal population is not second class citizens regardless of where they live, a significant number of urban Canadians are ignorant of what happens in the north. Belcourt’s “God’s river” is raw and sharp, showing a unique sense of the true meaning of being indigenous and unique.