The Indigenous Land

????????“For them, we’re settlers.” ?I heard this and was shocked.?Settlers!?We’re guests here.?It’s their land!?Settlers!??A friend of mine who is a member of my ethnic community said it with a calm smile, before I went unbelieving.?I came to this land after many years of waiting and dreaming.?The processes of selection, approval, and relocation were no easy.?This country wanted to welcome us to reside, work, contribute, and be part of the local community; and here we are.?We were invited, and this was the only way we’re here now.?How could we be seen as settlers??

???????????????I was enrolled in a construction program and had the chance to be part of all-indigenous group.?For six weeks, given the fact I was a visible minority amongst them, they were all kind to me. ?I can only tell about this experience that it felt home, and I was really not excited to leave the group, even for graduation.?Once, I was talking to my classmate C, and I wanted to ask her about how properly should I treat indigenous people.?She said “it’s enough to understand, but you don’t need to over react.”

???????????????I blame myself for not researching the history of this land.?The result was I kept asking, sometimes the wrong people, until it became clearer.?A ruined group of people whom only mistake was that they owned the land before anyone could even know this continent existed; who kept paying for this mistake by every possible mean, until they lost trust in humanity and they couldn’t find anything but poverty, disrespect, and abandon.?Their kids were taken away to residential schools, and their moves were limited that they didn’t have the simple right of walking in the street.?Now, where you go, you’ll likely see a policeman stopping one of them for search.

???????????????A friend of mine, who is a retired professor, once explained to me.?She said “the government says they’re sorry about what they did to indigenous people, but they don’t seem to be.”?She continued “well, they exempted them from taxes, but it’s not only about finances.?It is they disgust them and they don’t respect them and they continue to discriminate against them everywhere, even in a shopping mall.”?Mentioning the community, she said “people blame them for not working, but how can they get a job if they are homeless??How can one prepare for and attend an interview if they have to place to shower and dress well?”?She enlightened me.?They made the devil and now they blame it!

???????????????Months passed and I kept wanting to meet my classmate C, and every other one, just to tell them I’m sorry.?I’m not a settler.?I’m here because this is their land and their country and I would love to be a useful part of this community.?Even if I really didn’t do anything to them, I’m truly ready to apologize as much as they would deem enough.