Howard Adams (Métis)
1921-2001
Revolutionary Métis Marxist scholar and professor Howard Adams grew up in a Métis community in Saskatchewan. He was a leader in the struggle for Indigenous rights, self-determination, and socialism.
Excerpt from Prison of Grass
“An effective method
of distorting the social
relationships between white
and native people is through
the myth that Indians need to
be protected. By persuading
whites to believe this illusion,
colonizing governments
are able to get away with
suppressive and abusive control
of natives. Such protection
only serves to imprison Indians
and Metis more severely. In
Canada, schemes of protection
are enforced by the RCMP,
the treaties, the reserves, and
the Indian Act. The economic
dependence connected with
these schemes fosters distorted
social relationships and life
styles. A century ago it was
rations; today, it is welfare,
which prevents occupational
independence and allows the
government to control native
people as wards and “children”.
Rather than developing
independence and confidence,
the protection scheme creates
a false sense of security
and encourages attitudes of
supplication.”
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