The Government Of Quebec Is Spending Over $1,000,000 To Erase This Super Racist Word From Schools
Over the last few months Canada has been trying extra hard to make amends for the racism, discrimination, and horrendous conditions Indigenous peoples have been facing for hundreds of years.
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TL;DR A Quebec history textbook given to students in Grades 9 and 10 in 2016 is now being replaced for containing racist words and modifying Indigenous historical content to diminish it from Quebec's history. The Government of Quebec will be spending $1.6 million to replace the books with updated ones that use appropriate terms and accurately depict the province's history.
Earlier this year a new holiday was announced, honouring the dark history of Canada and the victims of residential schools.
It's definitely a step in the right direction, but, clearly, much work remains to be done.
To further make amends, Quebec has just dropped $1.6 million to replace and modify Indigenous content in history textbooks for students across the province.
If you were thinking it may have been an outdated, older textbook that needed to be updated, you'll be unpleasantly surprised.
The textbook is only two years old.
The racist word under fire for being included in the textbook's vocabulary is "Amerindian." The word roughly implies that Indigenous peoples are "Indians of the Americas." Not only is this a super outdated term, but it's also inaccurate and forged out of racism.
It's expected that the Government of Quebec will be replacing the word with "Autochtones" in French or "Indigenous peoples" in English, as they are the only accepted and respectful terms to use today.
What's even scarier than the fact that the outdated word was still being used, was that the textbooks were given to students in Grade 9 and 10 history classes.
It gets even worse. The textbook, drafted under the Parti Quebecois government, was said to reflect a more "nationalist ideaology" and even went as far as modifying Indigenous historical content in an attempt to diminish their role in Quebec's history.
Thankfully, although a little late, the books are already in the process of being destroyed and replaced.
Hopefully, the revised textbook allows students to learn appropriate terms and offers a bit more recognition to the Indigenous peoples that shaped Quebec's deep and important history.
