Editing Cultural imperialism (section)

=== North American colonisation ===
Keeping in line with the trends of international imperialistic endeavours, the expansion of Canadian and American territory in the 19th century saw cultural imperialism employed as a means of control over [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|indigenous]] populations. This, when used in conjunction of more traditional forms of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the United States, saw devastating, lasting effects on indigenous communities.

In 2017 Canada celebrated its 150-year anniversary of the confederating of three British colonies. As Catherine Murton Stoehr points out in ''Origins'', a publication organised by the history departments of [[Ohio State University]] and [[Miami University]], the occasion came with remembrance of Canada's treatment of First Nations people.

{{blockquote|A mere 9 years after the 1867 signing of confederation Canada passed "The Indian Act", a separate and not equal form of government especially for First Nations. The Indian Act remains in place today, confining and constraining Indigenous jurisdiction in every area of life, in direct contravention of the nation's founding treaties with indigenous nations.}}

Numerous policies focused on indigenous persons came into effect shortly thereafter. Most notable is the use of residential schools across Canada as a means to remove indigenous persons from their culture and instill in them the beliefs and values of the majorised colonial hegemony. The policies of these schools, as described by [[Ward Churchill]] in his book ''[[Kill the Indian, Save the Man]]'', were to forcefully assimilate students who were often removed with force from their families. These schools forbid students from using their native languages and participating in their own cultural practices. Residential schools were largely run by [[Christianity|Christian]] churches, operating in conjunction with Christian missions with minimal government oversight. The book, ''Stolen Lives: The Indigenous peoples of Canada and the Indian Residentials Schools'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facinghistory.org/stolen-lives-indigenous-peoples-canada-and-indian-residential-schools|title=Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools|website=Facing History and Ourselves|date=23 June 2017 |access-date=2020-03-03}}</ref> describes this form of operation: "The government provided little leadership, and the clergy in charge were left to decide what to teach and how to teach it. Their priority was to impart the teachings of their church or order—not to provide a good education that could help students in their post-graduation lives." In a ''[[New York Times]]'' op-ed, Gabrielle Scrimshaw describes her grandparents being forced to send her mother to one of these schools or risk imprisonment. After hiding her mother on "school pick up day" so as to avoid sending their daughter to institutions whose abuse was well known at the time (mid-20th century). Scrimshaw's mother was left with limited options for further education she says and is today illiterate as a result. Scrimshaw explains, "Seven generations of my ancestors went through these schools. Each new family member enrolled meant a compounding of abuse and a steady loss of identity, culture and hope. My mother was the last generation. the experience left her broken, and like so many, she turned to substances to numb these pains."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Scrimshaw|first=Gabrielle|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/opinion/canadas-hidden-history-my-mother-and-me.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/opinion/canadas-hidden-history-my-mother-and-me.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|title=Opinion {{!}} Canada's Hidden History, My Mother and Me|date=2017-06-30|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-03|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> A report, republished by [[CBC News]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-by-the-numbers-1.3096185|title=Residential School Students Had Same Odds of Dying as Soldiers in WW II|last=Schwartz|first=Daniel|website=CBC News|access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref> estimates nearly 6,000 children died in the care of these schools.

The colonisation of native peoples in North America remains active today despite the closing of the majority of residential schools. This form of cultural imperialism continues in the use of Native Americans as [[mascot]]s for schools and athletic teams. Jason Edward Black, a professor and chair in the Department of Communication Studies at the [[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]], describes how the use of Native Americans as mascots furthers the colonial attitudes of the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Black|first=Jason Edward|s2cid=162211313|date=2002|title=The "Mascotting" of Native America: Construction, Commodity, and Assimilation|journal=American Indian Quarterly|volume=26|issue=4|pages=605–622|issn=0095-182X|jstor=4128504|doi=10.1353/aiq.2004.0003}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Indigenous groups, along with cultural studies scholars, view the Native mascots as hegemonic devices–commodification tools–that advance a contemporary manifest destiny by marketing Native culture as Euromerican identity.}}

In ''Deciphering Pocahontas'',<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/15295030109367122 |title = Deciphering Pocahontas: Unpackaging the commodification of a native American woman|year = 2001|last1 = Ono|first1 = Kent A.|last2 = Buescher|first2 = Derek T.|s2cid = 143685050|journal = Critical Studies in Media Communication|volume = 18|pages = 23–43}}</ref> Kent Ono and Derek Buescher wrote: "Euro-American culture has made a habit of appropriating, and redefining what is 'distinctive' and constitutive of Native Americans."