h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

And yes I *know* it wasn't winter...but plenty of flash backs were shown of earlier in the trip further north. Not cold compared to winter of course I know that. But I'm feeling very winter averse at present and longing for spring, and a bit of proper warmth.

I'm a bit woosy in general at present.

Winter has finally truly arrived here -- 20cm of snow over the weekend. But, it's come so late, it likely won't last long.


BTW, CBC has started shipping 8th Fire school packages, so, I would think the wait for home DVDs shouldn't be much longer.

Excellent.

I thought that couple spending weeks trying to attract a male moose with that dummy female, complete with spray on sex scent and blowing 'moose horns' were hilarious.

And the ritual he did in the tent for hours with First Nation men..getting hotter and hotter, enabling them to share previous hurt and upset in their lives with each other...was brilliant. So civilised.

"enabling them to share previous hurt and upset in their lives with each other"


That's what this is for, too: http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=3

Just watched Randi Rosso speaking..hard to take but she was so good at conveying such an amount of hurt in her family through several generations...and didn't flinch from also talking about pain to do with stuff done within the community...but of course reasons were that all the people were 'abused' by the system already.

I loved her expression, 'two spirited' for being gay.

I could also relate because of some experiences in my own life and what it can do to your psyche.

This TRC is a brilliant thing.

I'll try to watch more later. It's gruelling...

Of course, there have been disatisfactions, conflicts, etc.: http://apihtawikosisan.com/?p=1374


One thing I've heard mentioned is the fact that there are very few white people testifying -- a lot of truth, but not much reconciliation. One thing recommended in the interim report was that aboriginal history, particularly the residential schools history, should be taught in the schools to all students. I sent a message to the Premier here asking why Alberta doesn't include it in the curriculum, unlike a number of provinces which already do teach that history. I don't expect a response: she's getting ready for an election.

They just broke for lunch.

A Reverend just spoke and he was ruthless in his honesty about what his church had done..He insisted the First Nation history *must* be taught in schools...as otherwise there can't be true reconciliation..he was highly critical of the patronising and childish way they are still treated...and said there was still a very strong undercurrent of a form of racism in Canada.

He also said the Indian Act wasn't working and a new one needed...and it was essential they had their own governance.

You could see First nations people in the background...in the audience..and they nodded a lot at what he was saying.

I thought he was excellent....McCollum or McCuen or something, defo Mac something.

I'm interested that both white people and first nation people still regularly use the word 'Indian'.

I don't know how long lunch is...but I'll be back...it's riveting...and you get such a sense of the people from the way they behave with each other...and quiet respect.

Oh well no chance of me getting unduly starry eyed and putting them on pedestals.

The same guy has been rambling on for about an hour with all kinds of research he's done...very little mention of those schools except to say he frightened one of those people off with an ax when they came to his home...but really there is so ramble and talk of the Lord coming back and having a special mission for first nation people.

The women in the background looking increasingly bored and restless. I find it a bit disrespectful...others won't have time to talk.

A big contrast to that woman earlier who dealt so bravely to talk at all with all that had happened personally to her family..and the effect it had had on her life.

Searingly honest.

That tent thing isn't really the same as this. That was a very personal intimate space...hidden...where men could share.

This is public...has to be of course.

This has been going on for a couple of years now, of course. The Commission will be travelling the country for another couple of years.


It's long overdue.

There is concern/suspicion, however, that the government will let the funding run out before the Commission is finished its mandate.

I just listened to some more and its beyond anything. Also the way some were enticed and snatched away...

Thanks for drawing my attention. I have to say I feel very strongly drawn to the women and their honesty. The men I saw found it harder to talk about the stuff that had happened to them...and start talking a lot about lawyers etc...and all the complications. Fair enough of course. Also more overtly Christian spirituality from the men talking. But it's interesting. Probably a lot is them taking into themselves the traditional white cultural thing of men being more disconnected from that. That's why I think structures like that tent ceremony are so good.

I had no idea how much power the Anglican Church had in Canada to do with the First Nations. The state should never have allowed them so much power...and the last woman wasn't that old. It's truly shocking.

And the utter holocaust of that cultural rape...like I saw in Australia as well.

Goodnight/good afternoon.

" and the last woman wasn't that old."

The last of the schools was closes in 1996.


Last summer I read a biography of one of the early Anglican missionaries to Lytton, B.C. and at about the same time I read a recent Governor General's Award winning play by a young (Indian) playwright from Lytton. in the Missionary's biography the local residential school was described in glowing terms as a boon to the Indians. In the play it was mentioned that as soon as the First Nation got control of the land with the school building on it, they tore it down, basically with their bare hands.


These stories need to be told in the schools. As is repeatedly said, this isn't just aboriginal history -- this is Canadian history.

Something that came up in 8th Fire is the preconceptions that non-aboriginals have of Indians ("they're all lazy drunks"). I've thought about that a lot over the years and just now I sat down to make a list of the First Nations people I've been aware of over the years from childhood on up (not including historical ones like Joseph Brant, Tecumseh, Pontiac, Big Bear, Poundmaker, Crowfoot, etc.) Here are some of them:

Waneek Horn-Miller: http://www.waneekhornmiller.com/
Douglas Cardinal: http://www.djcarchitect.com/
Robbie Robertson: http://www.robbie-robertson.com/
Alex Decoteau: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Decoteau
Lewis Cardinal: http://www.lewiscardinal.com/
Lorne Cardinal (Lewis's brother): http://www.lornecardinal.ca/
Elijah Harper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Harper
Kevin Loring: http://talonbooks.com/authors/kevin-loring
Alex Janvier: http://www.alexjanvier.com/
Bill Reid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Reid
Daphne Odjig: http://www.daphneodjig.com/
Norval Morrisseau: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norval_Morrisseau
Eva Aariak: http://www.premier.gov.nu.ca/apps/authoring/dspPage.aspx?page=splash
Buffy Sainte Marie: http://www.creative-native.com/
Tom Jackson: http://tomjackson.ca/
Thomas King: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_King_%28novelist%29
Joseph Boyden: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Boyden
Ralph Steinhauer: http://www.assembly.ab.ca/lao/library/lt-gov/steinhau.htm
Herb Belcourt: http://firstnationsdrum.com/2010/07/herb-belcourt-chosen-for-order-of-canada/
Wab Kinew: http://aboriginalpeopleschoice.com/artists/wab-kinew/ (he's the presenter of 8th Fire, BTW)


These are the sorts of people I was brought up with as examples of "Indians", although I don't remember thinking of them primarily as Indians rather than as architects, artists, athletes, journalists, musicians, actors, writers, politicians, business people, fathers, mothers, children, the groom at my friend's wedding
. . .

I really have a hard time understanding why the stereotype persists unless the people that hold onto it *want* it to be true, and I don't know why anyone would want such a thing to be true.

You might be interested in listening to this (if it's available outside Canada) about Louis Riel: http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/episode/2012/02/20/keeping-it-riel/