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I don't know how I should start this off. As I learned throughout my life and through history, people who were at someplace first, then they have rights to own this place or at least live peacefully in it. There shouldn't be someone coming and getting those people out of a place they are used to and try to change their way of life. But I don't know why is this happening to us native-Canadians, as the name suggests we are native to this land, but I don't know why these newcomers are trying to destroy our lives. In the beginning I was sent away to a residential school away from my parents, a school where we learned that our culture was evil and where we were brain-washed, and many of my friends did change and become like other Europeans. Also during my years at school I learned, that since I am a native, people have the right to make fun of me and hate me for no reason.

As I grew older I learned the many ways they were trying to destroy our culture like for example forbidding the potlatch, which is a very a significant practice in our culture. Also we had to live on reserves set by the government and we have no right to own our land. We tried to change the situation here, me personally and a couple of my friends �fought in the world war, hoping this would help us by bringing all the Canadians together against one cause, but our contribution didn't do much to improve our circumstances we still weren't classified as "persons" under the law.

The point that I am trying to state is that we are humans, and because of the Europeans newcomers, we went through a lot of hardships in our land. At least we deserve some land claims, and we deserve to practice our culture freely, we tried to resolve this peacefully, but I guess we're still not recognizes, and we are going to have to go to court to settle this which may take lots of years. So to all of the Europeans reading this, please try to understand the fact that we were here first and we have rights to own and live like all you people out there, and I am sure that we can live together peacefully.

Thank you- John V- December/02/1928

In my prospective, Asians immigranting to Canada is the most successful thing an Asian can do. It is very hard for an Asian to legally immigrate to Canada. They would usually be illigally stored in cargo ships. In Asia, there is no freedom. The reason why Asians sail half way across the world to come to Canada is that there is freedom. Chinese people would ask ordinary farmers from the east to live in the west. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, what the Asians didn't know was that, once they got to Canada, they had to do hard labour. They got paid to come to Canada, and then to do dangerous jobs. If they didn't do these jobs, they would get beaten. They would get beaten because they are brought so far, which costs money, and then they decide not to work for them.

I guess it's just a lure. Something which seems so good, turns out to be the worst. They had to build for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Because they were small and skinny, the Chinese were accepted to plant dynamite in holes that needed to be blown out. This was the most dangerous job in Canadian History. It would be so easy for people to get caught and then get severly injured; usually death. When more Asians arrived in Canada, the job of the Canadian Pacific Railway would mostly be done by the Asians. The Asians would get paid so little, and they would have to do a large job; a large and dangerous job.

Before the 1900's, all Asians now knew about Canada; the land of freedom; the western world. There would be so many Asian Immigrants at one time, that the prime minister had to stop all immigrations from Asia. This day of when he stopped it just happened to be on July 1st; Canada Day. Some Asians still remember how angry their ancestors were. In 1939, Asians were then allowed to hand in immigration forms. Sometimes, I wonder why Asians (specifically Chinese) would want to come to Canada. Maybe now they are treated a little better, but during the 1920's

Asians were treated as if they were slaves; slaves being paid with money. Maybe there was a little freedom; a little power, but to me, having no freedom versus being treated with slum, I wouldn't care about the freedom. I guess it's a little hard for me to say something like that. My parents worked hard for the better of me.