FIVE WHITE GIFTS

Five White Lies 

By Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR

Limited Edition 13x19 Print

Signed & Numbered

First Edition 1-50

 FIVE WHITE GIFTS

Five White Lies - flour, sugar, salt, dairy, and lard - were “gifted” to Indigenous peoples.

The government created the reservation system and forcibly relocated Indigenous peoples to smaller plots of less-resourceful and desirable land. This colonial tactic was devised so more land was available to newcomers, and to continue the expansion of the railways across Turtle Island. Indigenous peoples were dispossessed from their ancestral territories and from a wealth of natural resources such as fish & wildlife, plants & medicines, decent soil, as well as gas, oil, and diamonds.

Indigenous peoples were also not allowed to leave the reserves, and were therefore unable to provide for their families, allowed to practice their culture, or to participate in trade or the wealth of resources newcomers continue to enjoy to this day.

In a disingenuous attempt to care for Indigenous peoples, the Canadian Government provided the FIVE WHITE LIES ration boxes, contributing to a higher number of health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. This is a direct result of colonial interference in a natural and sustainable system that acknowledges the right to food sovereignty.