Saturday, December 31, 2016

Good Bye 2016

Usually I recap my year, but not his year.   I am not looking back.  Nope.

2017 I am ready for whatever you bring.  I am not making any New Years resolutions this year.  It is a blank page, which I will feel as I go.   I am wide open to experience everything for the first time. The new dawn ahead is like fresh snow without footprints, still I will step through it staying in the present moment because I know enough to know that there can be ice underneath it. I will be ready for any surprises.  2017 I welcome you with an open mind and  I hold no personal expectations. After all I don't want to set any limits on what you have in store for me.   Let's see what you've got.... :)

UPDATE:  Possibly the best New Year's Resolution blog post

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Who are Your People?

Grey Owl in 1936. One of the world’s first environmentalists, author and lecturer.  It was revealed after his death that he was not Aboriginal at all but an Englishman named Archie Bellaney who had dyed his hair black and darkened his skin

The past several days social platforms and mainstream media have fueled the conversation regarding the Indigenous heritage of a well-known author, Joseph Boyden.  I really don’t know if he has Indigenous blood or not.  All you have to do is Google Joseph Boyden to read the varying opinions that have been written and discussed regarding Boyden’s claim to an Indigenous heritage. 


I particularly enjoyed reading the blog of former lawyer and active mystery writer, PeggyBlair. Specifically when she writes;For those rushing to Boyden’s defence, I would suggest they exercise a bit of care. We have to listen to what Indigenous people are saying.  As settlers, we hold enormous power. We have a responsibility to be cautious before we accord prominence to someone to speak about Indigenous issues. As tweeter Tom Fortington said, it’s too much to put the entire burden of accountability on First Nations.”


Most of my readers know that I am Densuline. I come from the shores of Lake Athabasca.  I am a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation since birth.  My parents were Isidore and Therese Deranger. I am very proud of my identity.

The question of one's identity can be complex and many dimensional. The issue of identity begins as a personal matter. In a recent conversation with a non-Indigenous friend, he laments, why do some people want to be something other than what they were at birth? That is a good question.

Identifying as Indigenous does not automatically mean you’re entitled to rights as an Indigenous person. Finding an Indigenous ancestor in your family tree can give a person the right to claim some form of Indigenous identity, but the issue of identity ceases to be purely personal when something tangible is at stake, like Aboriginal or treaty rights or the right to claim a prize intended for Indigenous writers, for example. Perhaps the criteria should be more clear for these prizes.  Furthermore, people applying for these should be asked for proof of their Indigenous heritage. 

Others became Indians through the loophole of the Indian Act. The law corrected this loophole in 1985 to bring the Indian Act in line with gender equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Many Indigenous women had their Indian status rights restored.  However, in my opinion it didn’t go far enough to correct the injustice of also conferring statutory Indian status rights under the Indian Act on non-Indigenous women who married a status Indian. Many of these women continue to reap the benefits of this loophole long after that relationship dissolved. A purely personal sense of identity morphs into a matter for public concern.

The concern arises when Indigenous identity is an opportunity to claim benefits that rightly belong to Indigenous peoples.  There is justification for these special benefits, which stem from colonization and marginalization of Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years. We have paid a great price to be afforded these benefits.  They belong to our Nations and communities collectively, not to every individual who happens to have an Indigenous ancestor.

No doubt, some of these people take on Indigenous identity and wear it proudly like their Sunday best; eventually they may come to believe a fabricated story of where they come from and will vehemently defend their story. Holding someone accountable to who their “real” people are does not mean we don’t appreciate and like them as a person. That is not the problem with this scenario. Joseph Boyden is not the first person to claim Indigenous identity and he won’t be the last. 

And, yes it bothers me. 

I guess I should feel some sort of gratitude towards people who claim to be Indigenous. After all they are saying, we love your culture so much so that we have embodied it and have appropriated it as our own.  People, you simply can’t just do that and you should stop it! If you are one of these people come clean and embrace your own culture and identity.  At the very least tell us who your people are.    

Still others simply just want to belong. Either way it is terribly wrong.  You can show your adoration for our rich Indigenous culture without pretending to be one of us.  We will accept you as who you really are.  Really.  We’re cool like that and I know this is something you love about us.  :)

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Let Magic Happen!


Magic happens for children at Christmas.  After all it is all about them, right? We do what we can to help them escape into a happiness bubble at least for a brief time.  Children deserve this, not to mention that it gives us adults great pleasure to see them happy on Christmas day.  The making of Christmas memories will sustain them well into their adult life.  I know, some of my warmest memories are of my childhood Christmases.   Walking under the light of the stars to midnight mass.  I loved those late light meals and opening gifts on Christmas Eve.  Thank you to my late mom and dad for those special memories. 
That said, let’s not go overboard.  Let’s teach children that Christmas is just another day and those things we do - buying gifts, receiving gifts and enjoying a sit down dinner with family and friends - should happen more often than just at Christmas. Let’s teach them that it is about giving and not only about receiving.  Let’s teach them that it is about relationships with others and making others feel special.
I appreciate the sense of community that comes with Christmas.  Like for example, the  merriment, Christmas tunes and visiting with friends and family.  It is about the lights, so many lights, and all those glittering decorations.  If you live in Edmonton, then you must take a stroll down Candy Cane Lane. The most spectacular Christmas lights won't disappoint.  

It is a celebration that spans all of December.
However, I am very cognizant of how this season also places unbearable pressure on people who are estranged from family and for those people who live in abject poverty.  Christmas season for them can be very challenging indeed.  They are under enormous societal pressure.
 
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could pass on that generosity and sense of celebration we feel to those who are less fortunate?  I don’t mean only donating to charity but helping someone you know personally who needs it.  Pay them a visit, buy them coffee, give a hug, but most of all let them know that their life is worth it.  It is the small gestures that could make a difference to someone. 
Embrace the spirit of Christmas and pass it on…   

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Merry Christmas!   

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