8th Fire: Indigenous in the City Analysis: One Step Forward, One Step B

8th Fire: Indigenous in the City, is part of a documentary series that describes the challenges that aboriginal people face when moving to the large cities from reservations. The documentary begins by describing the stereotypes that English Canadians as well as other visible minority groups perceive aboriginal people to be. They show how damaging the stereotypes are to the First Nations, especially in the area of education. The documentary concludes by offering a few some solutions of how to change and improve the relationship between the aboriginal community and the rest of Canada. The two main aspects of the film that I will focus my analysis on is the education system from past to present and the negative impacts it has had on the First Nation’s people as well as aboriginal stereotyping. These two themes were the most prominent topics brought up throughout the film, and while one topic was well argued and framed, the other I will argue was more damaging than educationa l. I should mention that due to my ethnicity being of aboriginal decent, Mà ©tis in particular, I was extremely critical of the film because though these issues need to be addressed publicly, if they are presented in the wrong light, it can cause more negative implications than positives. Though the film mentioned the impact that residential schools had and still has on the aboriginal people, I felt that this issue needed to be stressed further because the legacy of the schools is still extremely prominent in aboriginal communities today. The film refers to the fact that residential schools harmed the aboriginal people because they were not able to learn their culture, which has resulted in the formation of internalized oppression within in the group. â€Å"The... ...t Kids Docs Radio TV. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. . Fleras, Augie. â€Å"Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.† Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print. King, Thomas. â€Å"Let Me Entertain You. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. 61-89. Print. Ruth, Seà ¡n. â€Å"Theories of Internalized Oppression.† Leadership and Liberation: A Psychological Approach. London: Routledge, 2006. 155-173. Print. Schissel, Bernard, and Terry Wotherspoon. â€Å"The Legacy of Residential Schools.† Inequality in Canada: A Reader on the Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class. 2nd ed. Ed. Valerie Zawilski. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2010. 102-121. Print.