Throughout several centuries, Native Americans have been deprived of a sense of normalcy. Ever since the European settlers inflicted a genocide upon the natives, their livelihoods had been altered for the rest of history. The major effects of colonialism are ever lasting and unfortunately affect the quality of life of natives today. 

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The lives of Native Americans have been consistently dictated by the Canadian government throughout history and are continually controlled even in today's age. Beginning from when European settlers arrived, to the dictation and colonization caused by residential schools. The government continues to unjustly control the lives of Native Americans in a plethora of ways to this day. To begin,  Native American land is currently owned and managed by the federal government. Due to the fact Native Americans are not in ownership of the land or their homes on reservations, this means they cannot mortgage their assets for loans like others. Additionally, reservations have several complexities that hinder economic growth. Many Natives are locked in poverty due to the systemic makeup of our society. 

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The purpose of native reserves is to provide a freeing and open community for natives to practice their cultures, customs, and more. The ideology that they gain freedom by living on government property is an illusion to distract from the deep rooted discrimination occurring. The Native Reserves hardly provide a comfortable space to carry out their livelihoods much less enjoyably practice their culture. The quality of life on Native reserves is less than ideal for anyone to live on. Canada has plentiful amounts of resources, yet, Indigenous communities in Canada still lack clean water. Despite countless empty promises from the government to improve water treatment plants, dozens of Natives are denied clean water. Aside from a general health and hygiene crisis Native Americans face, there have been housing shortages, infrastructural issues, and more. 

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The Indigenous community is systemically set up to be withheld in poverty. This is due to the societal prejudice and deep rooted racism caused by past historical events. Native Americans are presented with seemingly good opportunities, housing situations, and more as a way to make up for past faults; despite this, they are inevitably being setback due to their freedoms being dictated and controlled by our government. 

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Indigenous peoples are continually disadvantaged due to deep rooted colonialism and the dictatorship of our government. This needs to be changed, Native Americans deserve no less than what is promised and deserved.

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Image Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/colonialism