"Do not leave a secure location. Use caution allowing others into your residence." That is the chilling warning that residents of a small community in central Canada received on Sunday, after a spree of knife attacks that left 10 dead and 15 injured.

The community affected, the James Smith Cree Nation, is home to 2,000 of the roughly 1.7 million indigenousEthnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA. people in Canada. No motive has yet been discovered for the attack, but some suggest the true culprit is the social collapse endured by Canada's First NationsApproximately, one million Canadians are indigenous people descended from the societies living in North America before the arrival of European settlers..

Drug and alcohol use has become rife in these communities. Three-fifths of newborn babies have to be treated for complications caused by their mothers' addiction.

Many think this is a direct result of centuries of neglect and abuse at the hands of the Canadian government.

Europeans began settling Canada in the 16th Century. In the 18th Century, after a series of wars, Britain took sole control of the territory.

Having consolidated their power, the British began attacking indigenous cultures. A series of laws tried to force the largely nomadic and decentralised indigenous tribes to adopt Christianity, European-style agriculture and a British education, in the belief that this would make them easier to control.

In the mid-19th Century, Canadian settlers began agitating for greater independence, which the British government granted. From then on, the new Canadian government was responsible for relations with its indigenous communities.

In 1876, having failed to force them to settle and farm the land, Canada created several "Indian reserves"¹ on which the behaviour of indigenous communities was strictly controlled. All intoxicants were banned, access to hunting and fishing areas reduced, and movement restricted.

The new government also expanded westwards. As it did so, it cut the food supplies of indigenous communities so it could starve them into submission and take their land.

Some of the worst abuses of indigenous rights took place in schools. From 1847 to 1996, indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to boarding schools, known as "residential schools"², across the country.

These schools had little funding and supervision. Many children died of disease in the unhygienic conditions. Others were subjected to terrible abuse. Last year, a mass grave containing the remains of 215 children was found on the site of one of these schools. Those who survived have often been unable ever to find their families again.

That is why many believe Canada has violated the United Nations Genocide ConventionAn international treaty criminalising genocide. . In 2019, a report argued that forced assimilation, the starving of indigenous communities, abduction and abuse of children all constitute attempts to exterminate the First Nations.

This is the reason why tragedies like this take place, they say. The First Nations in Canada are so overwhelmed by despair and trauma that they turn to mind-altering substancesA substance that causes a person to lose control, such as alcohol or drugs. for comfort.

Yes: Even Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has accepted that Canada committed genocide. It made a deliberate effort to destroy the First Nations, and many abuses are still going on today.

No: The crimes Canada committed against the First Nations are appalling. However, we should reserve the term "genocide" for systematic murder. Colonial repression across centuries is not the same as crimes such as the Holocaust.

Or... Whether or not we define Canada's actions as a genocide is less important than ensuring that the government offers reparations to the people affected. There is no doubt: the trauma of these actions is still felt today.

Indigenous - Ethnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA.

First Nations - Approximately, one million Canadians are indigenous people descended from the societies living in North America before the arrival of European settlers.

United Nations Genocide Convention - An international treaty criminalising genocide.

Mind-altering substances - A substance that causes a person to lose control, such as alcohol or drugs.