Vancouver Olympics
This is a picture of a door that connects my family room to the kitchen, it was put in by my father during the Olympics, an event that attracted a lot of tourists into the beautiful city of Vancouver. The Vancouver Olympics used many First Nations’ symbols and mythical creatures for mascots. Though my family actively participated in the festivities of the 2010 winter Olympics, we were not aware of the past and ongoing violence against the First Nations. Though the 2010 winter Olympics gave many aboriginal groups the opportunity to showcase their art and culture but the aboriginal culture was still commodified through the numerous souvenirs in every gift shop around the city. Many of the group’s problems were put under the carpet for the
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The Vancouver Olympics appeared “to be rooted in multiculturalism” (Robyn,2009). Multiculturalism is described as an “ethos which values not only the preservation and perpetuation of various cultures but also cross-cultural understanding and harmonious cultural co-existence” (Garcea 1, 2009). This only strengthen the idea that exists in the mind of many people around the world, that Canadians take pride in multiculturalism, which in many cases is true when compared to other countries but has not always been the case. The Vancouver Olympics gave “the four Host First nations” a group that represented the four bands that are the original citizens of the Vancouver area (CBC, 2010), an opportunity to showcase their culture in front of the whole world and was a great platform to teach people more about the culture and festivities. When interviewed, Maddy McCallum reported that the Winter Olympics gave her the “opportunity to showcase her culture to the world… it’s also helping erase some of the painful scars in her people’s history” (CBC, 2010). Though Maddy and many other people got the opportunity to showcase their culture, many people left Vancouver without the knowledge of Canada’s history against the people of the land, rather many people left with the strengthened belief about Canada being the “polite” nation it is commonly known for. The exploitation of the land and the people who initially possessed it still remains a subject that is hidden behind the Canadian flag for many people around the
The Vancouver Olympics appeared “to be rooted in multiculturalism” (Robyn,2009). Multiculturalism is described as an “ethos which values not only the preservation and perpetuation of various cultures but also cross-cultural understanding and harmonious cultural co-existence” (Garcea 1, 2009). This only strengthen the idea that exists in the mind of many people around the world, that Canadians take pride in multiculturalism, which in many cases is true when compared to other countries but has not always been the case. The Vancouver Olympics gave “the four Host First nations” a group that represented the four bands that are the original citizens of the Vancouver area (CBC, 2010), an opportunity to showcase their culture in front of the whole world and was a great platform to teach people more about the culture and festivities. When interviewed, Maddy McCallum reported that the Winter Olympics gave her the “opportunity to showcase her culture to the world… it’s also helping erase some of the painful scars in her people’s history” (CBC, 2010). Though Maddy and many other people got the opportunity to showcase their culture, many people left Vancouver without the knowledge of Canada’s history against the people of the land, rather many people left with the strengthened belief about Canada being the “polite” nation it is commonly known for. The exploitation of the land and the people who initially possessed it still remains a subject that is hidden behind the Canadian flag for many people around the