GG apologizes for calling Indigenous people immigrants

[Duds]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/governor-general-apologizes-indigenous-immigrants-1.4167348

 

"In a ceremony honouring leadership on Indigenous issues at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. David Johnston has apologized for calling Indigenous people immigrants to Canada.

Johnston was referring to his comment during an interview with CBC Radio's The House Saturday. "We're a country based on immigration, going right back to our, quote, Indigenous people, unquote, who were immigrants as well, 10, 12, 14,000 years ago," he said."

 

 

I'm turning to the wisdom of CDC on this one. Is the underlying thought here that Indigenous people have been in North America since the beginning of humankind? Because if not, it means they immigrated here from another place which by definition makes them immigrants:

 

im·mi·grant

ˈiməɡrənt/

noun

1. a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

   synonyms:

   newcomer, settler, migrant, emigrant; More

   • BIOLOGY

     an animal or plant living or growing in a region to which it has migrated.

 

What was the issue with the Governor General making reference to this? It feels to me like an excess of political correctness.

[Guest]

What it is, is people are overcompensating for everything, even if they are not a part of that. I see White people afraid of a comment hurting a Black man's feelings. An NHL fan afraid a comment is hurting an NHL player. Christians thinking that every Muslim in the world cares that someone thinks that they are all bad. 

 

This overcompensation needs to stop. People who did nothing wrong are being subjected to this politically correctness. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that it's ok to be spouting off racial slurs or to be ok with racism, but people shouldn't be overcompensating.

[Jägermeister]

Yeah I don't get this, nothing he said was wrong.  They were immigrants, they were just the first ones.

It was obviously just a pandering apology to appease some overly sensitive people.

[HerrDrFunk]

He didn't say anything untrue but when you're speaking on a time scale like that, pretty much every country is a country of immigrants. So I don't think he needed to apologize but it's a weird thing to say.

 

 

[JM_]

Its easy to brush this off when you're on the happy end of colonialism. It wasn't the worst thing ever said but it wasn't great either. 

[mj vic]

migration and immigration are two different animals

[Slegr]

They would teach every kid in school that Indigenous people migrated to North America. I'm not saying that may be true. But consider the following:

• Indigenous beliefs (including spiritual) are on the basis that Indigenous people across North America (otherwise known as Turtle Island) started on their land. All of their creation stories have similarities, and none of them are about travelling from other parts of the world;
• Despite what was believed for years about the crossings from Siberia to Alaska over ice ages, genetic evidence is still lacking, and they're finding new fossils locally that go further and further back in time in North America.
• I've heard it said that government(s) were quick to support the land bridge theories because it makes all 'settlers' and their ancestors feel less guilty about invading land that was previously occupied.

Just some thoughts to hopefully open some new perspectives. Do any of us know for sure, without a doubt? If not, then why act certain about something that offends another culture's worldviews? Is it, in fact, to make you feel better about your own place on the traditional territory on which you stand?

[Wonder__Bread]

Just another day in the PC world we live in. If it offends people though, as a politician, apologizing is the right move if you plan on having a long career so I don't blame him. I'm willing to bet though that it was non-indigenous people who were offended by his comments. I feel like that's always how it goes.  

[ice orca]

Just the government's arrogance towards native people since day one on the country. Their mindset hasn't changed as you can still see ignorance in comments like this or that dumb Senate bitch a few months ago.

[Nuxfanabroad]

AAhhhhh ahhhh AAAh!

We come from the land of the ice & snow

From the midnight sun

Where the hot springs flow!

[elvis15]

1 hour ago, mj vic said:

migration and immigration are two different animals

Bingo

[Duds]

1 hour ago, mj vic said:

migration and immigration are two different animals

Definition of immigrate

immigrated

; 

immigrating

1. intransitive verb

2. :  to enter and usually become established; especially  :  to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

 

That's Meriam Websters take on the word, which seems a better description than "migrate" since it's a permanent move and not seasonal. I don't think the difference between migrate and immigrate is the issue here.

[riffraff]

I'm sorry.

[khay]

1 minute ago, Duds said:

Definition of immigrate

immigrated

; 

immigrating

1. intransitive verb

2. :  to enter and usually become established; especially  :  to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

 

That's Meriam Websters take on the word, which seems a better description than "migrate" since it's a permanent move and not seasonal. I don't think the difference between migrate and immigrate is the issue here.

I'd say the indigenous people are not immigrants based on this definition. The indigenous people certainly did not come into a country. They moved to an empty land when a concept of country probably did not exist. The word migration seems more like the correct word for the indigenous people since it means: "to move from one region or habitat to another..."

 

For me, immigrants are people that have moved from one country, where they have an established home to another country to settle down as their new home. Like the Asians or the Europeans before the Asians that have moved to Canada after the dominion has been established. Based on this definition, I don't view the very first settlers as immigrants. Similarly, I don't think of the indigenous as immigrants. Just my two cents. 

 

[Nuxfanabroad]

Impermanence baby.

 

We're all just passin' thru.

[VanGnome]

To be an immigrant, one must first move to a new country. 10,000 years ago, the concept of a "country" or "city", "town" or hell even "village" were not established concepts in the thoughts and minds of people then. Everyone was migratory, people followed where the food was, and were the very definition of migratory.

What makes the indigenous people indigenous is that they were the first to come here, stay and establish culture and society. So absolutely the GG was speaking out of his ass when calling the indigenous people immigrants. Even when they were here they did not consider it "their country". It wasn't a country, it was the land who provided them nourishment, and those of every other tribe or "band" across the breadth of the continent.

It was not until the monarchy decided that they had not yet conquered enough domain, and subsequently coming here that shortly after it became a "country". For the GG to even consider the indigenous people in the same breath as immigrants is insulting, considering they were here LONG before the establishment of the rules dictating when to consider someone an immigrant.

Something, something Chicken and Egg.

[Violator]

White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant too?

 

Most cultures didn't have a set point of land they claimed even most indigenous cultures still moved with food sources like the way birds migrate.

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

4 hours ago, Stamkos said:

What it is, is people are overcompensating for everything, even if they are not a part of that. I see White people afraid of a comment hurting a Black man's feelings. An NHL fan afraid a comment is hurting an NHL player. Christians thinking that every Muslim in the world cares that someone thinks that they are all bad. 

 

This overcompensation needs to stop. People who did nothing wrong are being subjected to this politically correctness. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that it's ok to be spouting off racial slurs or to be ok with racism, but people shouldn't be overcompensating.

He apologized.  He said sorry.  He said something very odd and considering his role and position, insensitive.  How did he overcompensate?

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Bob.Loblaw said:

He apologized.  He said sorry.  He said something very odd and considering his role and position, insensitive.  How did he overcompensate?

People overcompensated for this mans comments

[Seifer86]

9 hours ago, VanGnome said:

To be an immigrant, one must first move to a new country. 10,000 years ago, the concept of a "country" or "city", "town" or hell even "village" were not established concepts in the thoughts and minds of people then. Everyone was migratory, people followed where the food was, and were the very definition of migratory.

What makes the indigenous people indigenous is that they were the first to come here, stay and establish culture and society. So absolutely the GG was speaking out of his ass when calling the indigenous people immigrants. Even when they were here they did not consider it "their country". It wasn't a country, it was the land who provided them nourishment, and those of every other tribe or "band" across the breadth of the continent.

It was not until the monarchy decided that they had not yet conquered enough domain, and subsequently coming here that shortly after it became a "country". For the GG to even consider the indigenous people in the same breath as immigrants is insulting, considering they were here LONG before the establishment of the rules dictating when to consider someone an immigrant.

Something, something Chicken and Egg.

A bit of a contradiction there. If there are different tribes and bands then the concept of a closed culture with "boundaries" is not a foreign one. But I see where you're coming from.