Close ties between Chinese people and First Nations are a natural fit according to a residential schools advocate in British Columbia.
Bill Chu is the chairman of the Canadians for Reconciliation Society.
Chu recently wrote a public letter calling on the Harper government to do a better job of owning up to its colonial history.
He says Chinese people can relate to the mistreatment of Aboriginal people to some extent as they suffered similar abuses when they first arrived in Canada.
Chu says Chinese people lived under discriminatory legislation until 1967 and it was during this tumultuous period many became friends with First Nations people on Canada’s west coast.
“It’s during that period that we created bonds and in many cases even marriages,” he says. “The kind of supportive actions that have become known – we need to rekindle that friendship.”
He says in 2004 the Chinese community held a meeting with some First Nations groups to start a better dialogue.
Chu says he hopes China and other countries can help First Nations people derive more benefits from the economy in years to come.