CHIEF DAN GEORGE: ACTOR & ACTIVIST

ACTIVITY FOUR – 50 Years Later – Directed Discussion

Instructions

Read the following two articles:
“Reflections in 2017 on the 1967 Centennial Speech of Chief Dan, 2017.” Bob Joseph, Indigenous Corporate Training.
“Has anything changed? Revisiting Chief Dan George’s iconic ‘Lament for Confederation’.” Janet Rogers, Opinion, CBC 2017.

Additional Resources:
‘Lament for Confederation’.
Background information about the ‘Lament for Confederation’ in Activity Three.

Discuss the perspectives presented in the articles using these questions:

  1. Have things changed for Indigenous people in Canada since Chief Dan George performed his ‘Lament for Confederation’ in 1967? Areas to consider include land rights, voting rights, education, health care, culture, and lifestyle.
  2. Do you think that Chief Dan George would receive a similar response to a reading of his ‘Lament for Confederation’ today? Do you think the ‘Lament’ is relevant in 21st century Canada?
  3. Have Chief Dan George’s goals for Indigenous people been realized? To what degree?
  4. Are there events happening in Canada or B.C. today that reveal changes in the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people?

Magazine Cover: MacLean’s Magazine, July 1971.

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