Jeannette C. Armstrong

In order to address the specifics of Native people’s writing
and empowerment, I must first present my view on the disem-
powerment of first North American Nations.

Without recounting various historical versions of how it
happened, I would like to refer only to what happened here.

Indigenous peoples in North America were rendered
powerless and subjugated to totalitarian domination by foreign
peoples after, they were welcomed as guests and their numbers
were allowed to grow to the point of domination through aggres-
sion.

Once total subjective control was achieved over my peoples
through various coercive measures and the direct removal of
political, social and religious freedoms accomplished, the coloni-
zation process began.

In North America this has been to systemically enforce
manifest destiny or the so-called "White Man'’s burden" to civilize.
In the 498 years of contact in The Americas, the thrust of this
bloody sword has been to hack out the spirit of all the beautiful
cultures encountered, leaving in its' wake a death toll unrivalled in
recorded history. This is what happened and what continues to
happen.

There is no word other than totalitarianism which ade-
quately describes the methods used to achieve the condition of my
people today. Our people were not given choices. Our children,
for generations, were seized from our communities and homes
and placed in indoctrination camps until our language, our relig-
ions, our customs, our values and our societal structures almost
disappeared. This was the residential school experience.

Arising out of the seige conditions of this nightmare time,
what is commonly referred to as the "social problems" of Native
peoples emerged. Homes and communities, without children had
nothing to work for, or live for. Children returned to communities
and families as adults, without the necessary skills for parenting,
for Native life style or self-sufficiency on their land base, deterio-
rated into despair. With the loss of cohesive cultural relevance
with their own peoples and a distorted view of the non-native
culture from the clergy whoran the residential schools, an almost
total disorientation and loss of identity occurred. The disintegra-
tion of family and community and nation was inevitable, originat-
ing with the individual's internalized pain. Increasing death statis-
tics from suicide, violence, alcohol and drug abuse and other

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