Sudan

Britain colonized Sudan and ruled it in 1881. In 1899, Britain and Egypt agreed to rule Sudan together. The British institutionalized these racist ideas: the north of Sudan was separated administratively from the south in the 1920s. The north was governed from Cairo in Egypt. The south's administration was based in Nairobi, Kenya. British established a system of "closed districts," which meant it was impossible to travel from north to south. Northern Sudan was made of of people of mostly Arab descent. Southern Sudan was home to people of mostly African origin. The trade relations between the north and the south were cut, destroying the traditional relations between north and south. On Jan. 1, 1956 British chose to separate Sudan from Egypt and reunite it again into one state. The north and south were reunited, and power was given to the Arabs in the north. The north believing Sudan was an Arab country, they began to force Islamic culture and religion and the Arab lifestyle on all the Sudanese people. They did this regardless of their race or religion. Most of the people who were living in the south at this time disliked this idea and resisted conversion. The tension between the north and the south grew rapidly and ignited into a civil war. The south who resisted were denied many of their rights as well. The tensions grew culturally, racially and religiously. The African people of the south are getting denied many of their rights and are getting forced to convert to the Islamic religion. I think the Sudanese leaders should split Sedan into two separate countries. The north is one country, and the south is another country. It would be one of the only solutions to this on going dispute. It would stop the north from trying to force the Islamic religion on the south. If both of these regions had its own government and country it would help stop the civil war and ongoing controversy with religion and culture.

Potlatch

Potlatch is a festival ceremony practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in North America, along Pacific Northwest coast of the United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia. This includes Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw and Coast Salish cultures. The word comes from the Chinook Jargon, meaning, "to give away" or "a gift". It is a vital part of indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest. It went through a history of rigorous ban by both the Canadian and United States' federal governments, and has been the study of many anthropologists. At these gatherings a family or hereditary leader hosts guests in their family's house and hold a feast for their guests. The main purpose of the potlatch is the re-distribution and reciprocity of wealth.

During the event, different events take place, like either singing and dances, sometimes with masks or regalia, such as Chilkat blankets, the barter of wealth through gifts, such as dried foods, sugar, flour, or other material things, and sometimes money. The hosts demonstrate their wealth and prominence through giving away goods. Celebration of births, rites of passages, weddings, funerals, naming, and honoring of the deceased are some of the many forms the potlatch occurs under.

It is important to note the differences and uniqueness among the different cultural groups and nations along the coast. Each nation, tribe, and sometimes clan has its own way of practicing the potlatch so as to present a very diverse presentation and meaning. The potlatch, as an overarching term, is quite general, since some cultures have many words in their language for all different specific types of gatherings. Nonetheless, the main purpose has and still is the redistribution of wealth procured by families.

I don’t think there are really any similarities between Potlatch and Modern Society. Some people have really big wedding and spend a lot of money, that is one of the similarities.

Residential Schools

Off-reservation boarding schools for American Indian children began on November 1, 1878. Many non-Indians either aren’t aware of this shameful piece of American History or know very little about it. Native children in residential schools were taken away from their culture, language. Many boarding schools were established far away from reservations so that students would have no contact with their families and friends. They were forced to wear uniforms. Indian students had no privacy. Indian students were told that Indian people who retained their culture were stupid, dirty, and backwards.

Many boarding schools were established far away from reservations so that students would have no contact with their families and friends. Parents were discouraged from visiting and, in most cases; students were not allowed to go home during the summer. Indian boarding school students wore military uniforms and were forced to March. They were given many rules and no choices. To disobey meant swift and harsh punishment. Students were forbidden to speak their language. They were forbidden to practice their religion and were forced to memorize Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer. Their days were filled with so many tasks that they had little time to think.

Boarding school students were expected to spy on one another and were pitted against each other by administrators and teachers. Students were taught that the Indian way of life was savage and inferior to the white way. They were taught that they were being civilized or "raised up" to a better way of life.

Indian students were told that Indian people who retained their culture were stupid, dirty, and backwards. Those who most quickly assimilated were called "good Indians." Those who didn’t were called "bad" Indians. The main part of their education focused on learning manual skills such as cooking and cleaning for girls and milking cows and carpentry for boys. Students were shamed and humiliated for showing homesickness for their families. When they finally did go home, as to be expected, many boarding school students had a difficult time fitting in.

It is very disappointing that these young children where taken from their homes and put in a school and treated the way they where. Canada and the United States have come so far since then. I think Canada and the United States will never be able to repay them for the things they did. Canada is real trying to make it a lot better though because we are trying to be multicultural. The boarding schools where locater far away from there homes. The students had no privacy at all. They were not aloud to learn about their cultures and their languages.

Lubicon

The Government wants to take away the Lubicon land to drill for oil. The govrnment wants to lease the land to oil companies. The government isn't going to supply them with any money that they get from the oil on their land. The government isn't thinking about the lives of the Lubicon people he is just thinking about the money that is to be made on their land. The problem is that the Lubicon people are not benifiting to this event. They are being kicked of their land. Nothing has been done to try and fix the problem.
To solve this problem the government could drill for his oil without kicking the Lubicon people off their land and give half the proceeds the them also. They could also relocate the Lubicon people to a new area.

"National Sorry Day"

The first national sorry day was held on May 26 1998. The cause for this day was because the government was attempting to take the Aboriginal and Torres Strait children away from their families. This day is celebrated every year on May 26 to remember the removals and the effects it has made. This day is also celebrated to recognize the mistakes that the people made to the indigenous people and so that they recovering process could begin.
Because of the National Sorry Days awareness for the aboriginal people has grown throughout the country and the rest of the world. This has started a list of rights for them and started the process of equal status in the world.

Bank Crisis

The last months of 2008 witnessed what is being called the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Around the world stock markets have fallen, large financial institutions have collapsed or been bought out, and governments in even the wealthiest nations have had to come up with rescue packages to bail out their financial systems.

Much of the American economy is built on credit with firms borrowing money from other firms and the general consumer borrowing money for homes and cars. Many people were taking advantage of the housing boom in the US when it ended, leaving both investors and mortgage companies in trouble. Many banks were taking on huge risks increasing their exposure to problems.

The problem was so large, banks even with large capital reserves ran out, so they had to turn to governments for bail out. New capital was put into banks to, in effect, allow them to lose more money without going bust. That still wasn’t enough and confidence was not restored.

On the one hand many people are concerned that those responsible for the financial problems are the ones being bailed out, while on the other hand, a global financial meltdown will affect the livelihoods of almost everyone in an increasingly inter-connected world.

When people did eventually start to see problems, confidence fell quickly. Lending slowed, in some cases ceased for a while and even now, there is a crisis of confidence. Some investment banks were sitting on the riskiest loans that other investors did not want. Assets were plummeting in value so lenders wanted to take their money back. But some investment banks had little in deposits; no secure retail funding, so some collapsed quickly and dramatically.