Comparison: Poet Calls Out Justin Trudeau On Indigenous Rights

Jamshaid Goraya
Ms. Grossi
NBE 3U
Monday, March 20th, 2023
The Fight for Equality Comparison
There are many ways in which the spoken word “Poet Calls out Justin Trudeau on Indigenous Rights” and the video “Wab Kinew 500 years in 2 minutes” differ in their tone. The spoken word “Poet Calls out Justin Trudeau on Indigenous Rights” is about a woman whose ancestral land is about to get flooded. Whereas the video “Wab Kinew 500 years in 2 minutes” is about a person who tells the audience about the history of the Indigenous people and the Queen's promise to the Cree of Bounty and Benevolence. Although “Poet Calls out Justin Trudeau on Indigenous rights” by Helen Knott and Wab Kinew 500 years in 2 minutes by Wab Kinew are different in terms of tone,

In Poet Calls out Justin Trudeau on Indigenous Rights Knott has a sadder tone. In the video she says, “this land has been my people’s home since time and immemorial I don’t come from a place less people I come from spines that were made sturdy while sleeping on spruce boughs” (Knott 1:42-1:53). The tone she is saying this in is sad and somber, get her point across. Another reason Knott would want to deliver her poem in a sad tone is to help people realize how she feels. Furthermore, she also says “this land is my ancestors' living memory” (2:04-2:06). Through Knott’s words in the video, it is evident that Knott is trying to make this

The theme being expressed in the spoken word Poet Calls out Justin Trudeau on Indigenous Rights is the unequal treatment of Indigenous people. In the spoken word, Helen Knott says that “we have 500 years of giving behind us but let me check hold up are you good or can I get anything more” (0:36-0:42). Through the diction of his words, it is evident that Indigenous people are still not being treated fairly. This also implies that the government is still taking things from the Indigenous people without giving them anything in return. In the video Wab Kinew 500 years in 2 minutes, the main theme of the video is also that Indigenous people are not treated fairly. In the video Wab Kinew says that “the Queen's promise to the Cree of bounty and benevolence. You know we aboriginal people thought we were getting a seat at the big table but it turns out we had a reservation at a much smaller table out the back near the garbage can. At the big table they got Canada and all of its bounty. At our table a total lack of benevolence we got the plague, a plague of whiskey” (1:14-1:44). When listening to this the theme is evident. The aboriginal people did not get what they deserved; they got the shorter end of the stick. They were killed by the plague and the ones that survived were