By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Canadian history textbooks tell a story of how fur traders built the country, but not about how it was on the backs of Indigenous people trapping and skinning the animals, an Iqaluit elder told Nunavut News. That’s just one example of what Ainiak Korgak reflects on every National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A one-sided story has been taught to Canadians from the point of view of the Hudson’s Bay Company traders, who Korgak said were dishonest with the Indigenous people from whom they purchased furs. Indigenous stories weren’t taught in schools for generations, he said, because Indigenous people weren’t treated as equals. “We were not recognized in this country as citizens, legal citizens, because we couldn’t vote. My parents… <\/p>\n
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Canadian history textbooks tell a story of how fur traders built the country, but not about how it was on the backs of Indigenous people trapping and skinning the animals, an Iqaluit elder told Nunavut News. That’s just one example of what Ainiak Korgak reflects on every National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A one-sided story has been taught to Canadians from the point of view of the Hudson’s Bay Company traders, who Korgak said were dishonest with the Indigenous people from whom they purchased furs. Indigenous stories weren’t taught in schools for generations, he said, because Indigenous people weren’t treated as equals. “We were not recognized in this country as citizens, legal citizens, because we couldn’t vote. My parents... <\/p>\n