King George III issued the royal proclamation in 1763 as a document with guidelines for European settlement of aboriginal territories. King George III claimed British territory in North American after a seven-year war between French and Germany. The document gave King George ownership of the North American territory. It states the aboriginal title continues to exist, and all the land is aboriginal until it is relinquished through a treaty. Most indigenous people recognize the document as the first step towards reconciliation by recognizing the existing aboriginal rights. This paper will discuss senator Murray Sinclair's thoughts on the document.
The royal proclamation document aimed to bring reconciliation among the indigenous people after a long war between France and Germany. The document sought to establish treaties among different parties of the indigenous people (Derworiz, 2020) . However, the British colonialist wrote the document without the indigenous people's input; therefore, monopolizing the aboriginal lands. The royal proclamation is enshrined in the Canadian constitution section 25 (Derworiz, 2020) . This section constitutes the rights and freedoms and states that nothing will diminish the indigenous rights as they appear in the royal proclamation document. The document can also be referenced as the Indian bill of rights.
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After king George gained dominion of the entire region, he had to prohibit any private person from buying the indigenous lands. He only preserved the right to purchase the lands for himself and his heir. The proclamation had a process that allowed the indigenous people to sell the land to the British monarch representatives freely. The document made the British crown an agent when transferring the indigenous land to the settlers. The first attempt to enforce the treaty occurred in the great lake region, which is Upper Canada.
According to Senator Murray Sinclair, the document was not meant for the government. It was for the people to equip them with the knowledge and aspiration needed for change in the Canadian country. Despite having the document, the indigenous people still suffer due to a lack of essential needs in their lives. He argues that reconciliation requires mutual respect between the two parties involved without ruling against any party. Individuals cannot understand each other without having respect for each other. Murray argues that the royal proclamation document is one-step towards a peaceful community.
Senator Murray argues that reconciliation is all about forgiving the perpetrators and start loving one another. He states that individuals can refer to reconciliation as the work of the South African truce and reconciliation commission which talks about the importance of forgiveness. Forgiveness is essential when parties are reconciling as it helps to forget the tragedies that befell each group to forge a society that thrives under peace (policy alternatives, 2017) . To heal and become strong again, people need to forget about the past. He argues that the indigenous and non-indigenous must establish a relationship that entails understanding each group's history. Murray states that if people can recall the names of British settlers in northern America, they also need to read about why the indigenous people were fighting.
Murray states the indigenous and non-indigenous relationship should not be based on dominance and imbalance but mutual respect among the parties. Both native groups should embrace living in a peaceful society without looking down upon each other (policy alternatives, 2017) . He argues that the issue both the people and the government should address is racism in the country. Racism hinders progress to reconciliation, as there are a few people who look down on others. The confederation changed everything after taking and kicking out indigenous people from their lands. This led to the impoverishment of the indigenous people. Canada records the highest number of child welfare parental incarceration, which results from kicking out indigenous people from their lands.
Murray argues that indigenous people suffer a lot due to poverty. They face health issues, lack of water supply, and poor housing conditions due to negligence from the government. Their education in their community is of low standards compared to the non-indigenous people (policy alternatives, 2017) . The funds that indigenous schools receive are below the required amount to support education. Such issues affecting the indigenous people have made them have low self-respect amongst themselves. They feel that the federal government and non-indigenous people have abandoned them. The indigenous people need to have a sense of self-pride and identity to respect other communities.
According to Senator Murray, there cannot exist a conversation between the indigenous and non-indigenous, especially when there is no equality. The lack of mutual respect will lead to the young generation of indigenous people feeling disenchanted in seeking equality. Murray states indigenous people continue to suffer racism. According to him, racism is not all about hatred but feelings of supremacy and inferiority. Most people from indigenous are taught to believe that they are inferior to other groups.
Senator Murray argues that confederation is part of the problems of indigenous people since the laws they make are contrary to the royal proclamation treaty that seeks to bring sanity and peace (policy alternatives, 2017) . Indigenous people's problems can also be referred to as the time of Christopher Columbus, who killed millions of indigenous in their native land. The indigenous community has gone through genocides that intend to destroy the national, ethnic, and racial groups. Genocide inflicts physical destruction and leads to the forceful transfer of children to other communities.
References
Policy alternatives. (2017, October 28). Senator Murray Sinclair: The truth is hard. Reconciliation is harder. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxtH_E6FqVo&t=1204s
Derworiz, C. E. (2020, April 18). Federal Departments of Indigenous and Northern Affairs . The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-affairs-and-northern-development-canada#
