South Africa is not alone in the world for racial injustices either historically or as we speak about it. In fact it is well documented that South Africa came to Canada to study our governments treatment of the First Peoples as the original model of aparthied.

As a person of mixed ancestry including a proud person of the Salish people who lives and works in Aboriginal community I witness and endure the effects of individual and system racism every day. While non-natives for the most part prefer to think the abuses are in the past.... 'the sins of their forefathers' the truth is the discrimination and abuses continue today. Aboriginal people in Canada are still 'wards of the Crown' and controlled by the Indian Act which separates the rights and priveleges of native from non native in every aspect of life.

This is true one way or another of all indigenous peoples scattered in homelands around the world who struggle in poverty and fight for equality and fairness still today.

I believe change happens one person at a time and if non-indigenous people or non-people of colour want to make change where they live then they need to be both educated about the darker realities and as much as possible be active in bringing about equality.

People can't pretend we live in a world that appreciates diversity and legislates equality when the truth is no country in the world has yet reached that place. It remains an ideal and only by accepting that people of colour are still discriminated agains can people be moved to make change happen. It is still a dream.