Mental health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mental health - Essay Example Herein, this essay will discuss who the First Nations people really are, how they got a reputation that has inspired fear and unease, and what should be done to help the people so that they are effective, healthy members of our society – and on some of their own terms – so that children can grow up and have a less difficult time assimilating than their parents have had. Although every source gives a varying number, it seems that there are more than 1.5 million First Nations people living in the Canadian area. There is also much debate about how long they’ve been there, and what their rights actually are. For starters, First Nations people have long-since claimed that their territories are being encroached upon by Canadian development, with no compensation given to them for land that that they believe is rightfully theirs. Over the years, many types of council have been developed to aid them. The Congress of Aboriginal People, Assembly of First Nations (AFN), and Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) are three organizations designed to defend First Nations rights. As well, The Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 also afforded rights to First Nations individuals. Still, in the 1990s, newspapers were rife with information about the lack of assimilation of the First Nations people. It was decided that the First Nations children should attend formal schools, receive standard immunizations, and, in effect, become more like â€Å"regular† Canadian people. Mothers claimed that when they refused, their children were taken away from them and put into foster homes. A lot of First Nations people saw this as retaliation for their refusal to move off of their land, or refusal to give their land away to Canadians for little or no monetary compensation. As recently as May 2008, AFN Chief Phil Fontaine wrote, â€Å"Aboriginal people in Canada are not getting their rights fully recognized† (Fiddler, 2008). Fiddler’s news article discussed the decision made