White settlers and Canada Day: A refusal
The thought of giving up Canada Day celebrations was initially difficult for me. I was very attached to Canada Day, without really knowing why. It wasn't until my kids steadfastly refused to acknowledge "colonizers day" a few years back that I decided to sit down and really think it through. Why was I so committed to recognizing Canada Day? The first piece of unpacking I did with respect to this question was an interrogation of who it is that Canada Day benefits. There's some backstory that's important, mostly because I think it sets the stage for what happens during Canada Day in myriad communities across the country. Canada Day was a huge deal in the the tiny farm community where I grew up. There were parades, where every human within a twenty mile radius showed up to swelter in the heat and watch various types of farm equipment drive by. In parallel, there was also the legendary Sports Day. Sports Day was always held ...