Reviving Article Three

After World War II the United Nations attempted to pass a ban on “Cultural Genocide” at a convention in 1948. The UN was defining genocide and apparently Canada had something to say.

Yesterday the National Post uncovered records showing correspondence between Secretary of State for External Affairs in Ottawa to the Canadian delegation at the Palais Des Nations in Geneva. The Canadian delegation was instructed to say cultural genocide wasn’t true genocide. The USA and other European Nations joined the chorus in agreement. The Soviets were in opposition.

“You should support or initiate any move for the deletion of Article three on ‘Cultural’ Genocide. If this move is not successful, you should vote against Article three and if necessary, against the Convention. The Convention as a whole less Article three, is acceptable, although legislation will naturally be required to implement the Convention,” the letter reads.

This “smoking gun” letter was found by Edward Sadowski in an access to information request for Canada’s historical records of the genocide deliberations. Sadowski works at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario doing research and archival work for the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre. Some of the evidence he has uncovered was used in the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions’ 388 page report although Sadowski was shocked to see that this particular letter was not.

William Lyon Mackenzie King was foreign minister at the time and he was the one who sent the command to vote against the term cultural genocide. Canada must have been terrified by the term “Cultural Genocide” because the delegation was instructed to take action against the entire U.N. convention if no one was cooperating! Why?

Canada must have known in 1948 that it had committed cultural genocide against the legal titleholders of this land, the indigenous people. The Canadians were already committed to the meticulous process of cultural genocide by passing legislation to erase the Indian people and manipulate the education system to completely remove all memory of their ancient reign.

The entire history of Canada is a history of cultural genocide. If you look at “An Act providing for the organization of the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, and for the management of Indian and Ordnance Lands” one of the first laws passed by baby Canada, you’ll see the 6th point is about controlling Indians and Indian lands.

This was the precursor to the 1869 act entitled “An Act for the gradual enfranchisement of the Indians, better management of Indian affairs, and to extend the provisions of the Act 31st Victoria, Chapter 42”, or as some call it, the “Enfranchisement Act”. In retrospect it could be called the “Cultural Genocide Act” because it was the beginning of a terrible and traumatizing era for indigenous peoples.

MacLean’s Magazine surveyed scholars in 1997 and they voted Mackenzie King as the greatest amongst all Prime Ministers. If Canadian leaders kill the Indians they are established. Steal their land and they are praised. But if one should rearrange history and keep the populace convinced of Canadian innocence they are immortalized and adored as gods.

It was MacKenzie King who blocked Cayuga Chief Levi ‘Deskaheh’ General from re-entering Canada after Levi exposed Canada’s thefts of land and Six Nations Trust Funds on the world stage in the 1920’s. Although Deskaheh was deathly ill at the time, King arbitrarily revoked the Jay Treaty which guarantees Natives free border passage without restriction, not allowing him to return to Six Nations.

It makes you wonder what will happen to TRC Chairman, the Right Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair after embarrassing Canada on the world stage as well.

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