We now take a closer look at the third stage, displacement and assimilation. Our focus shifts from an historical overview to an examination of certain government actions and the consequences of the balance of power shifting decisively to non-Aboriginal people. These actions were based, as we will see, on assumptions that were false.
Aboriginal people see evidence of profound injustice in many aspects of government policy.
We selected these four areas for scrutiny because Aboriginal people have said they were among the most unjust policies imposed on them and that those injustices, while rooted in history, have effects that continue to this day. They were not the only policies that demonstrated false assumptions and abuse of power. We believe it is crucial for Canadians to understand what happened during this extended period of our history not in some abstract or theoretical way, but in terms of how average Canadians would feel and react had they been treated in a similar way. Canadians will then recognize the inequities perpetrated in their name and agreed to by electorates throughout the decades. The punishing effects linger today in consciousness and the daily lives of Aboriginal people.