I have mixed feelings and serious reservations (no pun intended) on running 1812 stories. For friends outside of Chatham-Kent, this weekend marks perhaps the biggest local event of the year, a celebration that marks the 200th anniversary of death of Tecumseh. If you do not know of Tecumseh, stop reading here. Here is why I have such reservations: 1. By many accounts Tecumseh hated all white people. Most people would argue he had sufficient reason to, his father and brother were both killed by white people and his grievences would not end there. However, hating all people of any race is racism. I cannot bring myself to celebrate a possible racist, no matter the justification. To be fair there are also accounts of Tecumseh protecting white people, as is the case with any war or war legend, the truth is the first victim. However it is very easy to believe he wished no white people came to his homeland and it is even easier to believe a lot of native people feel that way today. 2. The battle of Moraviantown was a loss for the British, an embarassment to them. They betrayed an ally in Tecumseh, let him die at the hands of the Americans. Celebrating that runs counter to what I can celebrate, even if he was a racist. 3. Governments coddle native heroes, in my mind, to placate native anger today. If I was a young native man today, I would be very bitter about the treatment of my ancestors, the ignoring of treaties, the home schooled rapes, the thrusting of european religion down their throat and the ongoing ignorance of native issues. By paying tribute to men like Tecumseh or Louis Real, we give a backhanded sense of respect to the native people who deserve better. It is simply cheaper to "honour" their memory than it is to follow through with their dreams and give the native people the sovereignty they desire. 4. The battle of Moraviantown, as much as it is a local legend and critical to the identity of the region, is hardly as pivotal to the war of 1812 as say the burning down of the White House was following the attack on Fort York. While no-one locally pretends that the local history is the be-all, end-all events of the war of 1812, it could be taken that way if you do not open a history book and learn what other battles defined that war. 5. Some people in Canada in recent years have placed a lot of stock in the war of 1812 as a defining moment when Canada became a country. This flies in the face of the BNA act of 1867 or even the constitution in 1982. The latter had virtually no celebrations last year, barely a blurb was made of it. Wheras the US use their constitutional signing as the moment their nation was born, we trivialize our own constitution as irrelevent political gamesmanship by Pierre Trudeau. Nevermind that our local MPP and MP were no-where to be seen on the opening day of this celebration. They did not care to be there apparently. Real business matters presumably. The Mayor showed up, to his credit, but this was an international war and our federal representative was not there. Does a celebration of this type bridge the gap between natives and non-natives in Canada? Or does it act to divide them? By rehashing memories of betrayal, hatred and death.... I see nothing in doing so that brings people together. They sit at the same ceremony, yet they hear a different message. The media play along like it is a good thing. Is it? If so where and why? I like history. It is interesting and important to realize who we came from, what makes the society we live in. Re-enacting wars however is in bad taste. Will Americans one day re-enact 911? Pearl Harbour? In Hiroshima they lie down and play dead to remember those who fell via an atomic bomb. The images are spead around the world and act as a reminder of how terrible it was. Today in Chatham-Kent the re-enactment is largely a local event, a tourist attraction. ie: it is a means of making money, bringing people to CK and that is what it really is done for. It is an exploitation of what is a very grisly event. It sugar coats the hate and betrayal at the time and in some still exists today. It divides people more than it unites them. It makes governments appear sensitive while native people are shunted aside and forgotten the next day. Celebrate that? How? Why? To simply further the agenda of a government that wants me to help them feel good that they turn their backs to the native people everybit as much as they did to Tecumseh 200 years ago? Hard sale folks. The kids had a good time. One day perhaps they will realize it comes with a price of turning a blind eye to the injustice faced by native people until today. I am sure Tecumseh would be so proud of that. Oh I will run some stories on it. None of this will get any airtime except here. But dammit, I do so with serious reservations. I also must mention that the historians employed to educate people about the war are employees of the same governments that ignore the treaties signed with native peoples, built the home-schooling system and remain indifferent to land claims. This war had no Canadian involvement, it happened 55 years before Canada existed. It was a British war and in Britain it gets no airplay. Someone had to say it. For tourist operators it was a smashing success. Surely that is the best way to honour Tecumseh. I am sure he would be very honoured to know that local restaurants and motels made a buck. A life well lived then and everyone feels good. Pardon me if I gag.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 23:57:34 +0000
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