Is History Biased?

History is something we don't usually care about, especially to those in middle school who detest such a subject. However, to those who study it, it's quite an engaging topic. Yet, it seems, history could mean, well, "his story." We may be getting only one single viewpoint in the context of our studies, that of the victor. Let me explain.

In recent years, critical historians have risen in importance. These people have taken an approach called problematization which essentially finds new ways to criticize views. From this critical thought, we get new viewpoints on certain events.

Now, history is defined as simply a record of what happened in the past. The key word here is "record." Someone had to record it, and therefore, it will be in his or her viewpoint and opinion. This can, of course, be shaped by the context of events. Usually, the recorder is on the victor's side, and henceforth, that is the dominant history. For example, in communist China, the events of 1949 are strongly emphasized.

And sometimes, it isn't necessarily true either. Some individuals opt to cover up their views or make blatant lies, making history even less credible.

The issue of untold history happened here in Canada. The residential schools problem from the last century remained unknown until recent years, and not until an inquiry into the residential school system was conducted this year were their true horrors revealed. Among some of the casualties included families being broken apart, serialization, abuse and thousands of deaths. The worst part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings is that the main goal of the schools was to "kill the Indian in the child." And yes, they're appaling for a democracy.

Now, ethnocide is a serious concern for many. The residential schools were an excellent example of this. But colonialism always wins over the others, since Canada has a predominately Euro-Caucasian population, and only a teensy-weensy part of the circle graph are Canada's Aboriginals.

Fortunately, as in the case of the recent native issues, the traditional discourse of scholars has led to new views on history. Many will investigate the untold stories of the Holocaust, or seek to discover the cultures that many native people are trying to reconnect with.

Essentially, critical history is the history of those who have not been exposed in the wake of the dominant voice.

Many of the events that happened in the past still take a serious toll on people today. Aboriginal youth suicide rates are unusually high in Canada. In Quebec, there's an anti-British separatist organization who takes advantage of the formal Canadian head of state, the British monarch, as proof of a need to move on with separation from the rest of this country. If so, if we want a better future for everyone, we need to understand our past and try to avoid our mistakes, rather than let the "glorious past" cloud up our mind.

So the next time you open up a history textbook, please keep this in mind: they might be all LIES, LIES, LIES!