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In 1979, Pink Floyd released their concept album, The Wall, which tells the story of a young man named Pink who, throughout his life, has become alienated and isolated from the world around him. "The Wall" refers to the figurative barrier that has been built up between Pink and his loved ones, society in general, and even his own identity. Due to this extreme alienation, Pink transforms into a new character, Hammer, towards the end of the album.....
The intention of this blog is to view the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada through the eyes of Pink. According to a report released by the RCMP in 2013, over one-thousand indigenous women have been confirmed murdered since 1980, and hundreds remain missing - this is a homicide rate five times that of all other women in Canada. Many of these cases remain unsolved, and only recently in September 2016 did the Canadian government launch a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in response to pressure from Indigenous families, communities and organizations, as well as calls to action from international organizations.
To understand why so many of these women have ended up murdered or missing, and why nothing has been done about it, we must first look at the root causes of violence against Indigenous women: beginning with the impact of colonization and how this has perpetuated the isolation and alienation of all Indigenous peoples.
The Institution: Residential Schools
The establishment of Canadian residential schools in 1880 was one of the many bricks in the wall that would eventually alienate Indigenous people from their own families, culture, and belief systems. These institutions were established across the country by European settlers with the intention of "assimilating" Indigenous children into European society, which the settlers viewed as the pinnacle of human achievement. The aim was to eliminate all aspects of Indigenous culture - upon arriving students had their long hair cut short and were forced to wear uniforms. They were forbidden to speak their language or practice their customs and traditions. They received a very minimal education, which focused primarily on practical skills for the boys and domestic skills for the girls, and were forced to work part-time to maintain the upkeep of the schools. On top of all this, the students were frequently physically, emotionally, and sexually abused.
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The reality of the residential schools is incredibly reminiscent of Pink's own encounter with educational oppression described by the song "Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2". The lyrics "we don't need no education, we don't need no thought control...teachers leave them kids alone" really speaks to the experience of Indigenous children in these residential schools. The entire aim of these schools was to essentially conform all Indigenous children to the European way, to strip them of their identity and leave them faceless. This was achieved by "thought control" in the sense that the children were forced to abandon their cultures, traditions, and languages in place of what the settlers believed was correct. The children were sent through the meat grinder under careful inspection of their teacher, to come out all the same. Ironically, the double negative of "we don't need no" in the lyrics of this song eludes to the fact that education genuinely is important, but only if it acts to expand upon the mind of the child without simultaneously oppressing them.
The Separation of Children from their Families: Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop
In the late 1950's and continuing into the 1980's, hundreds of Indigenous children were scooped from their homes, families, and communities with the objective of adopting them into European, middle class families across the country. Much like the separation of families by residential schools, this was done with the intention to alienate these children from their own identity, culture, and beliefs and assimilate them into a European society. Although many of these children have reunited with some of their family members as adults, nothing can make up for the lost years and the isolation and alienation produced by this separation. Because this occurred incredibly early on in the child's development, they were often left with serious and lasting negative impacts;
To help the assimilation process along, the children are separated from their parents and other family support systems, only allowed to visit for a couple weeks each year. This not only isolates them from their families, but further alienates them from their own identity. This separation of families occurs incredibly early on in development and can have a serious, lasting negative impact on the child; much like the impact that the death of Pink's father left on him. For Indigenous children in residential schools, the separation is twice as harmful as they are losing both of their parental figures and role models.
60s scoop?
Living on Reserves - The Wall?
Intergenerational Trauma
The Trials
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