The past I offered to burn

The fifth chapter of Thomas King’s novel The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, “Forget About It,” offers an unsettling (and incomplete) inventory of the various instances of aggression, oppression, and disrespect directed at Indigenous peoples by the governments of Canada and the United States as well as broader society in recent history.

King reflects on a history marked by countless offenses, which, despite being dressed in the rhetoric of progress and modernity, continue to perpetuate colonial attitudes and systemic discrimination. The chapter is framed around two broad time periods: pre-1985 and post-1985, and the instances he lists are loosely grouped into three overarching categories: political, economic, and social. These categories serve as a framework for discussing the different ways that systemic discrimination has been embedded in policies and practices that have deeply affected, and continue to affect today, Indigenous communities in North America.

Political offenses, often the most immediate and recognisable form of aggression against Indigenous peoples, are rooted in the historical and ongoing colonial relationships between Indigenous communities and settler governments. King references key moments in history, such as the establishment of residential schools, where Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and subjected to physical and psychological abuse. These schools aimed to erase Indigenous cultures, languages, and ways of life, enforcing a policy of cultural assimilation under the guise of ‘civilising’ Indigenous populations.

Students were prohibited from speaking their own languages, wearing their own clothing, or following their own cultural practices, compelled instead to conform to the social norms of broader (white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant) society. The schools were ripe with disease, malnutrition, and abuse, and mass graves are still being discovered today. Upon returning to their families, many students felt irrevocably removed from their communities, having internalised the schools’ rhetoric of Indigenous peoples’ civilisational inferiority.

At the same time, governments perpetuated policies that granted them supreme authority over Indigenous lands, peoples, and resources, often with little or no regard for the autonomy of those who have lived on these lands for millennia. For instance, the infamous Meech Lake Accord attempted to redefine the Canadian constitution in ways that completely excluded Indigenous peoples. King remarks, “Canada was the confluence of three founding peoples, Aboriginal, English, and French, but the Accord acknowledged only the English and French streams.”

This deliberate erasure of Indigenous presence in critical national discourse shows how systemic political decisions both excluded Indigenous voices and disregarded their sovereignty. This pattern is evident not only in the history of colonial policies but also in modern governance, where Indigenous communities are often excluded from key political decisions that directly affect their lands and way of life.

Economic offenses, another form of systemic discrimination, are perhaps less discussed but equally significant in perpetuating inequities. One example King highlights is the controversy surrounding Indigenous casinos and gaming centres. While he acknowledges that gambling, as a fiscal base for Indigenous communities, may be problematic, he also recognises that after centuries of economic marginalisation, professional gaming has become a practical way for some tribes to support themselves. King writes: “I’m not particularly happy about gambling as a fiscal base for Native people.

That kind of money generally brings out the worst in folks, Native as well as non-Native. But after several centuries of economic oppression, and given the lack of alternatives, professional gaming, for many tribes, holds the most potential for the least effort”. While gaming revenues provide much-needed funds to support Indigenous communities, they come with challenges and limitations – some obvious, some less so.

These casinos, often portrayed in the media as symbols of Indigenous prosperity, are paradoxically surrounded by political and economic barriers. In the United States, Indigenous tribes are forced to negotiate with state governments to gain permission to open and operate their casinos, and, in return, they are subjected to heavy taxes and fines. For instance, the governor of California once demanded that a casino donate $1.5 billion to the state’s economic recovery, an amount that represented a staggering 35% of the casino’s total profits for the year. These practices ensure that Indigenous people remain in a subordinate economic position, dependent on external entities for approval and subjected to economic exploitation.

Social offenses, the third category of systemic discrimination, are perhaps the most insidious because they operate on a level that perpetuates harmful stereotypes and social ostracism of Indigenous peoples. One of the most disturbing examples King provides is a racist flyer that was distributed by a real estate agent near his home in Alberta, warning local residents that a Treaty Seven family had moved into the neighbourhood. The flyer, which was yellow and startlingly explicit, stated that this Indigenous family’s presence was a cause for concern, akin to the notices that would be shared to inform the community of a sex offender or criminal moving into the area.

The flyer was not only an act of social exclusion but also a blatant reminder of how systemic racism operated in everyday life, perpetuating the idea that Indigenous people are inherently ‘other,’ dangerous, and undesirable. This kind of social discrimination reinforces long-standing prejudices that justify the marginalisation of Indigenous people in mainstream society. It’s also evidence that the aggressions Indigenous peoples face are not just confined to policy decisions but extend into everyday life, particularly in communities where discriminatory attitudes continue to thrive.

King concludes by pointing out that aggression and oppression are not just characteristics of these communities’ pasts, but also an ongoing state of affairs that continues to shape the lives of Indigenous peoples. The same patterns of political exclusion, economic exploitation, and social marginalisation are still evident today, particularly in a climate of increasing conservatism and, in the United States, an alarming turn towards dictatorial reign. Although he was writing over a decade ago, King may as well have been writing today when he remarked: “The history I offered to forget, the past I offered to burn, turns out to be our present. It may well be our future”.

Despite the passage of time and official apologies issued by governing leaders, the systemic discrimination faced by Indigenous peoples remains deeply embedded in North American society. Even in the face of legal reforms and public acknowledgment of these injustices, the continued existence of such discriminatory practices suggests that the struggle for true justice and equity is far from over.