Dear Canadians:
Let me preface this with, I grew up white, but I am very much Indigenous.
And from my heart to yours, you need to hear this.
I was raised just like you. I grew up in a white world, with a white education, surrounded by people who believed Canada was a land of peace, fairness, and opportunity. I learned the same history you did—the one that told us Indigenous people "agreed" to share this land, that the government "took care" of them, and that Canada was "better" than other countries because we didn't have the same level of racism or violence.
And for a long time, I believed it. Because when you grow up disconnected from your roots, when your culture is hidden from you, when your family is taught to survive by blending in, it becomes easy to accept the version of history that makes life simpler. It’s easier to believe Canada is a country of good intentions than to confront the reality of what was stolen to build it.
But then, I learned the truth.
I learned that I have Indigenous blood. That my ancestors signed treaties not out of goodwill but out of survival. That the land I walk on was never given away—it was taken. That my family, like so many others, lost their language, their culture, their identity because Canada made sure of it. That the Indian Act, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and countless other policies weren’t "mistakes"—they were intentional.
And as I woke up to this reality, I saw something I never noticed before: Canada's identity crisis. The way people cling to the idea of what this country is supposed to be, instead of facing what it actually is. The way so many of you don't know your own Constitution, your own treaties, your own responsibilities to the land you claim as home. The way you turn your frustration, your anger, your guilt into resentment toward minority groups instead of toward the system that keeps all of us struggling.
I see the way some of you hate your ancestors for signing those treaties because you think they "sold you out." I see how you refuse to acknowledge the ongoing damage of the Indian Act because you don’t want to admit that Canada still controls Indigenous lives. I see how you say, "That was the past, get over it," as if the past isn’t still shaping everything around us.
So I’m saying this to you now—get over it.
Not in the way you say it to us. Not in the way that dismisses, silences, or erases. But in the way that actually matters.
Get over your denial. Get over your defensiveness. Get over the idea that facing the truth of this country is an attack on you. Because the moment you do, you’ll start to understand what really needs to change. You’ll stop blaming immigrants, refugees, Indigenous people, and other marginalized groups for the problems created by a system designed to benefit the few while keeping the rest of us divided.
You’ll finally start to see Canada—not as the country you wish it was, but as the country it actually is. And maybe then, we can start the work of making it better.
🦅🪶❤️🖤💛🤍
🫰🥰🫖
🎨 Art Credit: Jennifer Adomeit
**For more on Jennifer Adomeit and her artwork, visit www.jenadomeit.com
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