Author: kwetoday

Brown bears, black bears and polar bears.

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No, this post isn’t about bears. It isn’t even about the melting ice caps. Although I would like it to be, but not this time.

The other day someone wrote about the “political correctness” of how various ethnic groups would like to be or preferred to be addressed. You can read Jay Menard’s post titled Finding the right steps in the White guy linguistic jig for yourselves.

Then, it had me thinking, “well how do ‘white’ people preferred to be addressed?”

I never really feel right calling someone ‘white.’ It just doesn’t seem…well, right. I mean, there are not a lot of things in life that you never really call “white” in the first place. There’s white rice, white bears, white flour, white fur… All those things “white” are just 5-minute rice, polar bears, bleached flour, and albino. So then, why do some people call “white” people, well…”white?”

I remember one day in high school I was giving a presentation in a class and there was a substitute teacher filling in that day. She was er..um..white, and I used that same term when describing the majority aka other white people. She corrected me that day, “Naomi, you use Caucasian.” What?! I never even heard that word before. I guess I wouldn’t have heard it before having gone to an ironically Catholic elementary school with mostly all native students and then a high school, hanging around with even more natives and all this after having growing up on a Reserve my whole life. I think that’s the only time I used that term because I thought it sounded worse off than “white.” In my opinion, that word is like the n-word for whites. However, little did this substitute teacher know was that the teacher she was filling in for liked to call me “Pocahontas.” Yeah, I didn’t prefer to be called out in class by such a name but hey at least it was better than “wagon burner” or “pie face.” All of which, in my opinion, are equally racist.

And even in public, I had a relative tell me when I was in elementary school to refer to “white” people as “zhagonosh” or “gitchi-mookman.” It’s just the polite thing to do.

Then as I grew older, I never really felt white right calling white people… white. I still don’t. I worry I might offend someone or at least make someone feel uncomfortable because white isn’t really a color. And wait, the bigger issue here is why are we still referring to people as the color of their skin?! Wasn’t it Martin Luther King, Jr. that said the following almost 50 years ago,

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

In essays, I refer to “whites” as “non-Aboriginals” or “non-Natives” or “the majority” but then those terms are pretty much open to anyone else other than Aboriginal or Native or the majority and sometimes I totally miss the point I am trying to make. I guess that’s part of being “academic” and “proper” and “educated.” And even so, no matter how much I try to write about corporations or globalization or colonization, and no matter how hard I try to define them, we all know that it’s just about another white-man-patriarchy I am referring to…I just can’t say it. Or so I was told.

So what do I call those that are different than “me”?

But then again, we should really ask all of ourselves, what is all this fuss about? Proper terms. I mean, the real issue here is why are “we” both you and me, minority, majority, black, white, brown…all so concerned with classifying everything. All this classification and proper/improper terms, to me, just creates the inferior and superior or the uppers and the lowers we have in this world. It creates the colonization of you and me…not just Indigenous peoples.

I guess for some people it is about reclaiming their identity but why do we have to plaster our own identity onto the rest of those like us? I have no problem being referred to as “Indian” or “Native” or “First Nations,” but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is left to go out and refer to everyone else with my background as such. Ask them what they prefer to be referred to as. It won’t hurt anyone. This is really an iffy-subject because some of those may agree and some of those may not, but for me, it’s not about me being a representation of an entire group or nation of people. It is about me being me.

To read another post relating to this subject check out Indians vs Natives vs
Aboriginals vs First Nations.

What is Education?

Aboriginal education, Education One comment

This week is the first week of classes. Full classes that is.

Tuesday night I had my first social psychology class (okay maybe that wasn’t the full 3 hours but it was a nice introduction). My professor for that class asked some very interesting questions and made some equally interesting statements. A few them relating to education. One of the statements/questions was this,

What is education all about? Education is all about grades. Why can’t you just come to class and think?

I gathered what he meant by “think” was that why can’t students just come to class and just be their own. No, they have to sit there, absorb information, listen, retain information, read information, and then try to regurgitate it all at some point in some assignment or test soon or later to get that good grade.

Interesting enough. I agreed with him. Students are just wired to go to class on time, sit down in lectures, hand in assignments, receive grades. There is no checks in place to see if they actually understand or know why they are doing the work. I think that is a huge problem with education: people don’t know what good it is for especially when you can see other successful people who make it without any post-secondary education at all. In fact, some of the most interesting and most successful people I know only have their grade 12 education. So how do we convince young people, especially young Aboriginal people, the importance of education beyond just going to lectures, handing in homework, and getting good grades.

Well for one, education equals opportunity. I don’t think I would be able to do the things I have done so far in the past 5 years, and since moving London, if I had not gone back to school. Sometimes people ask me why I came London? I seriously had no plan in mind. I just came. In the end, I am glad I made such a move. I had the opportunity to meet new people, people with like-minded attitudes and people with like-minded attitudes help a lot. I also had the opportunity to work in some pretty interesting settings whether it was for volunteer or paid work because I was a student.

The one thing I learned is that people are willing to invest in you, if and only if you are willing to invest in yourself. And any financial officer/banker would say that is true. Most loans are only granted because of a certain amount of assets that reinvested into the loan on your behalf.

Education is investing in yourself.

But why is investing in yourfself important? It is important because it shows that you have control, devotion and most important power over your own self. It allows you to make your own decisions based on your own terms. Yes sometimes not all “self-investment” will be good investing, and this is a perfect example of my past summer employment. I was excited to be going to gain experience in the area of research, and that was research on Aboriginal people. By the time summer was over, I was stressed out, had learned what it meant to work in a “poisoned work environment”, and most importantly learned why it is now more important for young Aboriginal people to obtain higher education, not just because it is the right thing. For young Aboriginals, education is important so that we can have more Aboriginals working to benefit Aboriginal people and not just non-Aboriginals granting opportunities to Aboriginals.

Education, especially for young people and most specifically Aboriginal people, is about investing in your own self and gaining control and power over one’s own self. Education is investing in yourself.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Poetry, Suicide Leave a comment

I previously posted today about a book that I just recently finished. This book really hit home for me because I could relate. In a dark way, I had attempted suicide just like the author. On a lighter side, I used to hope for love. Again, just like the author.

Today, I decided to write a poem. Poems really work for me. I never really paid much attention to them until I realized that I could get how I felt out on paper. Even if nobody understood what I was trying to say or even if nobody read them, it just felt good.

Also I write this poem because of World Suicide Prevention Day that occurred this weekend. I thought about going to this but then I didn’t think it was really all that constructive for me. This being that I still missed my those close to me who died because of suicide. I probably should have went. I maybe could have met some people who were in similar situations but gathered positive support. Anyways, I wrote this poem in also memory of a medicine man whom I met right after my first attempted suicide. He has passed and I sometimes miss him.

I write this poem because of what the medicine man said to me after I visited with him. He told me that people who die by suicide are left in limbo. I had no idea what limbo meant. I was thinking he meant the cool party game and was thinking “What the!?! What is this man saying talking about limbo.” I asked my mom after I met with him what limbo was because, I added, that’s where Adam told me I would have went. She told me it was a dark place here on earth. Neither heaven or hell. I didn’t believe in either heaven or hell to begin with but all of a sudden I knew what this medicine man was talking about and it wasn’t a cool party game anymore.

Here is the poem I wrote today after collecting my thoughts over the course of reading the book by Yvonne Johnson and reflecting on her experiences and my own.

Please note, this is not a cry for help this just a way to express what was given to me: what I thought death was and what I was taught where suicide would put me. I understand that each person has their own opinions and views, this is just a way for me to share what I was taught. To those that I lost to suicide or self-inflicted deaths, I pray that they are not stuck in “limbo” like the medicine man had said. I pray that they are in a better place.

If you feel suicidal or have thoughts of harming yourself or wanting to die, please call your local distress line, suicide prevention lifeline, or kids help phone.

Suicide

My heart bleeds red
My tears run dry
The pain is real
I just want to die
I pray to the Creator
to take me in my own sleep
Right in my own bed
To wake up in heaven
just like my friend
I wonder what people will say
When I wake up dead
My message to them:
Don’t be angry
Don’t wonder why
My pain will be gone
Just like my friend
Then I met Him.
He told me,
I will be gone but
I will be wandering
Right beside my friend
My heart will not bleed but
I won’t have to hide
There will be no heaven
No creator by my side
Each time it rains
My tears will not run dry
Here on earth
Wandering all alone
Right beside my friend
Nobody will see me
And my pain won’t be gone
My pain will live on through
My family and friends
My own pain, my own death,
My suicide.

Again, If you feel suicidal or have thoughts of harming yourself or wanting to die, please call your local distress line, suicide prevention lifeline, or kids help phone.

Stolen Life: The Journey of a Cree woman

Rudy Wiebe, Stolen Life, The Journey of a Cree Woman, Yvonne Johnson Leave a comment

Recently, I just finished a book that was written by Rudy Wiebe and Yvonne Johnson. It is titled “Stolen Life: The Journey of a Cree Woman.” It took me a really long time to read this book, and not because I didn’t have the time. It took me a rather long time to read this book because of the realness of it all and also with the fact that I could relate.

The novel is about the life and the story of Yvonne Johnson, a Cree woman who is serving time for first degree murder. When I say that I can relate, I am not saying that I have served time for first degree murder. It is much more deeper than that, and it also part of a deeper story that I have yet to share–I still am not sure if I am ready to tell the world that part of my life yet.

Yvonne Johnson started serving her time when she was 28 years old. 2014 is her release date. That would mean she had served her 25 years, which is the minimum for first degree murder. She will be 53 years old when she is released.

Her story starts off by telling of her childhood. There are repeated, and very descriptive stories of abuse–all kinds of abuse. If you can think of it, it happened. She was also born with a double cleft palate. Something that was hereditary for her family. Her grandmother had it and then she and later her own child. Johnson tells of stories of memories where she could recall trying to speak but nothing but spit or tears could come because of the double cleft palate. You can imagine what life must have been like for her having to grow up as a Cree, Aboriginal woman and with also a physical deformity in the 70s and 80s–a time not comfortable for anyone other than “whites.”

I don’t think it would be fair for me to write in detail about some of the stories she shared in her book because those are her stories. Not mine. While reading this book, I got sick. I cried. I grew angry. I, in fact, almost didn’t finish it.

I am glad I did make it past the first few hard-telling chapters. By the middle of the book, Yvonne hopes to find love even after have not been loved or knowing what love felt like; she knew that she could be the one to pass it onto her children. She does not give up and she hopes for change for the better for her children’s lives.

There are glimpses of light and hope for Yvonne Johnson, yet throughout her story she has a hard time sharing or finding someone to trust to help her receive the help to overcome and to understand her haunting past which comes to haunt her in dreams, people, events, etc.

This is a moving book. This is a book of realness, a story that is not uncommon to Aboriginal woman. In the end, I am glad that I had the opportunity to read this book as a professor had lent me the book. I believe that everything happens for a reason and for me to read this book, I felt that it brought a sense of openness and sense of ownership especially when it comes to my own story.

The Indian

artwork, Stephen Harper, The Indians Leave a comment

So I decided to start some new paintings. Except this time I am doing things that I have never done for either a long time or something that I am not entirely comfortable with: mixed media/collage.

I found a copy of the Indian Act in my room after cleaning one day and I read over it. I decided to keep it because I figured I could use it. I wasn’t sure what I was going to use the Indian Act for or how but I knew I was going to use it. Yesterday I bought 3 new canvases and I finished the first one, which I call “The Indian.”

Yes, that’s the PM Harper’s face in the left hand corner and the rest of the “Indians” well, those are the guys from the hit group from Ireland called “The Indians.” During the summer I kept seeing all over facebook and twitter that the facebook group for “The Indians” should be banned because it was racist/offensive. I am not sure how that panned out. Anyways, I used part of the “Indian Act” here just the first section of it aka “definitions.”

Then I also added in other definitions. Those other words include:

  • Indian
  • Indigenous
  • Inmate
  • Indict

I choose those other words because of the following: Aboriginals now account for 18.5 per cent of federal inmates, but only 2.7 per cent of the Canadian population.

The article was written in 2006 but not much has changed. In fact, there was the “Truth in Sentencing Act” that was thought to believe to further harm and not help rates of Aboriginal people in prison. Also, the Canadian government has been looking at raising the fee to obtain a pardon. I wrote about that here. I also choose those words because there has been many different sections that have been since removed from The Indian Act that criminalized “Indians.” I used the picture of Harper and the “music group” because they are wearing traditional headdresses that are usually only worn by First Nations chiefs. Even though Harper received his from another First Nation chief, the “music group” did not. The 2 wear the traditional headdresses without really knowing what it means to be “Indian.” Not that being in prison is what it means to be Indian but the rate of Aboriginals in prison is not what it should be. The only way to help those rates is to gain a better understanding of why and developing better ways to help those who need it most.

 

Goal Setting

Goal Setting, Goals Leave a comment

Something I found in papers I was going through:

Write down 5 short-term goals–within the next 12 months.

Write down 5 long-term goals–within the next 10 years

Think about things you want to change about yourself, want to achieve, want to attain.

You can achieve anything you set your heart to even if you are the only one that believes that you can do it. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t dream or have goals for a better you!

Indigenous Services @UWO

Indigenous Services, University of Western Ontario Leave a comment

The other day I was asked to write a testimonial for a pamphlet that was being created for my university: The University of Western Ontario but more specifically, for Indigenous Services on campus.

I asked how many words and I knew that it wasn’t going to be very big. So, when I was told 60-70 words I wasn’t surprised. However, I knew that I had to write a post on Indigenous Services on Campus.

I have written about this sort of stuff before like in “I get everything for free!” or “Just because I am First Nations.” This stuff being a First Nations person and the misconception that the tools put in place to help us be successful are there just because we get it for free or in stereotypical thinking, that First Nations people get everything handed to them. We don’t. Tools, programs, etc are put in place for certain groups, not just First Nations people, because they help individuals be successful. Just like First Nations or Indigenous services/centers are put in place at post-secondary institutions are put in place to help FN students be successful.

I can’t say that I have been successful in school because it is entirely independent on my own personal drive and my own personal goals. That is part of it but not all. From elementary school to high school to college to university, there has always been someone on campus to be there to help me whether it be just one individual who came in on certain days or called in for special appointments or an entire centre dedicated to FN students. These centers and the individuals that work there are the places that help students to be successful.

At the Indigenous Services on campus on UWO, there are plenty of things that have helped to be successful in my first year. For instance, the Indigenous counsellors who I have used on more than one occasion. These Indigenous counsellors I am more than thankful for because a regular counsellor may not understand certain issues I am facing or may not be able to provide the help that I am looking for. For example, one day I went in to go talk specifically to the Indigenous counsellor. I didn’t have any classes that day, so I went in there to literally just to talk to that one person. After talking to this counsellor and building that relationship with her, I was able to feel comfortable enough to say that I needed different kind of help. The help that a non-Indigenous counsellor may not understand. I needed some cultural/traditional guidance. I need this type of guidance because I wanted that help. That help reminded me of the place that makes me feel most comfortable, most at ease, and most relaxed and that place is home and with family. A non-Indigenous counsellor would not be able to help me with the cultural/traditional guidance that I need. That day the Indigenous counsellor provided me with some great cultural guidance that I am able to remember to this day that helps me and just like another did they were able to provide me traditional teachings. So how did these visits help me to be successful? Well just like any other person that uses their own beliefs or values to help them get them through a hard time or through the day, these were the things that I knew I needed and that helped me to get through the rest of the day.

I think this is the major difference between the other centers/services that are set up to help students be successful.

There are other centers on campus that are set up to help students to be successful like Learning Skills Services, International and Exchange Student Centre, Writing Support Centre, Psychological Services, Students with Disabilities… all of which can be found on this website: Student Development Centre. These different services within this centre are there because they work for students and help students to be successful. Because even as the website reads,

The Student Development Centre is home to a variety of services specially designed to meet the needs of undergraduate and graduate students on campus. Our staff members are highly trained and experienced professionals who know what campus life is all about

Indigenous Services is there not because “Natives get everything for free” or “Natives get handouts,” it is there because it helps students to be successful…just like all the other services dedicated to different groups of students.

Loss Prevention

IDA, Loss Prevention, Sault Ste Marie, Station Mall Leave a comment

I wonder if this still happens: There is an IDA store in Sault Ste Marie and I remember that every time I went in there, I would be followed. I know that sounds crazy to say but it’s true.

I would go into this store to sometimes buy beauty supplies or feminine products, whatever. Things that I needed. I even worked in the mall. Reitman’s at the time. So, even when working at Reitman’s I was aware of Loss Prevention techniques. At Reitman’s we had a code word if we thought there was someone in the store who might be considering to shoplift. The code word was “Sam” and if we thought someone might be shoplifting we would tell the rest of the team “Sam is here” or “Sam is coming by soon.” I am sure you get the point. Even considering if someone might be stealing is kind of hard to do because you have to be careful not to offend anyone or the store might be facing a human rights complaint….at least that’s what we were told in loss prevention training. We were told to look for certain types of behaviours or dress. We were told to watch for things like if someone wears a big heavy jacket on a hot day or during a season not generally made for big heavy jackets; or if someone takes a lot of clothing into the change room that are a range of different sizes (and if that happens, we were told to just keep track of the number of clothing pieces being brought in). We were told not to “follow” customers but rather just keep an eye on them or approach them and ask them if they need help looking for anything or to offer to keep the clothing pieces at the counter.

Every time I went into the IDA in Station Mall, I was followed. When it first happened and I first noticed, I was with my family. The store had their employees follow our entire family. My mom noticed and she had us leave the store. We were doing a little experiment. One by one we would go in with her and she would watch the employees. The employees still followed us. My mom noticed that no other customer was being followed. We also happened to be the only Native family in the store at the time. Maybe there was a connection? Being Native in the store?

Anyways, when I did have to go in there by myself, I noticed that I would be followed as well. I was never asked if I needed help or if I needed assistance. In fact, I turned to the employee that was “organizing” the shelf behind me and asked her if she needed any help and then asked why she was following me? She played dumb, left me alone and then sent another employee to follow me. Every time I went to this IDA in the Station Mall in Sault Ste Marie this would happen.

The last time I went to that store I was 20 years old and buying make up. This time the owner was following me. When I got to the counter, I asked to speak to the owner. The same guy who had been following me around the store walked up to me and said “I am the owner.” I asked him why he was following me and why he had employees follow me every time I came in. I told him I worked in the mall as well. He just said that he randomly assigns employees to follow random customers. I told him that if that was random, why did it happen to me all the time? I also told him that he should have better loss prevention techniques or at least ones that didn’t seem so racist or discriminating because I only see that Native customers are the ones being followed. He got offended and angry and yelled at me that I don’t know what I am talking about. I told him in a calm manner, “I do know what I am talking about because I am the one being followed and I see that no non-Native customers are ever followed and that even my Native friends and family members experience the same thing.”

I wonder if this still happens: IDA store in Station Mall employees and owner “following” Native customers.

Counseling

Counseling, counselors Leave a comment

I remember I had a counselor once say to me, “Counselors are like a great pair of jeans.” And I couldn’t agree more with her but only one who had a great pair of jeans would understand what that meant.

Jeans for me are hard to find but then again I also have a 36 inch inseam. Last time I went swimming with my sister and my nephew, I stood at the shallow end. The 3 feet deep end. I walked over there giggling to myself and turned around and said to my sister, “Look, my legs are a meters long.” A meter is also equivalent to 3 feet or 3.28 feet.

Ever since I was younger (see teen years), I hated clothes shopping. I was long and skinny and most clothes just didn’t fit. I can’t recall “Tall Clothes” stores having been up in northern Ontario then either. So, I hated buying jeans even more. Length of jeans usually stopped at the 34 mark. Rarely, I could find a 36 or a 34 that fit like a 36 length. I had few jeans. I couldn’t even sneak my legs into my sisters’ jeans. They were all short. When I did find a “great pair of jeans,” I loved them. I wore the crap out of them. I usually had 2 to 3 jeans in my closet. One of those jeans were usually my favourite. They just fit well. They didn’t make my butt any flatter than it should be or didn’t make me feel like I was prepared for a flood, and I wore the crap out of them.

So when my counselor said to me that day, “Counselors are like a great pair of jeans,” I knew exactly what she was talking about. This counselor was also telling me that day in a month she would be gone. I thought…well, I didn’t know what to think. By this time, I was 18 years old and had seen countless counselors, psychologists, and about the only pediatric psychiatrist in Sault Ste Marie. I started seeing these professionals when I was 13 years old. For 5 years, I had never had a chance to develop a connection long enough to feel like any of this work was helping. It was frustrating. Plus, I felt like I couldn’t trust any of them. For one psychologist, I was forced to see him because the hospital told me they would call CAS if I didn’t see him and I would be taken away. The hospital also told me they would call CAS if I didn’t take the anti-depressant usually prescribed for adults only (that same pill now has a warning on the label advising those young adults who take may experience higher incidences of suicidal ideation and they should tell their doctors if that happens), CAS would also be called and I would be taken away. At 15 years, I sat in silence in a psychologist’s office once a week and took a pill every day that wasn’t supposed to be prescribed to someone my age.

Then when I was finally entering university, I felt that I couldn’t do this on my own anymore. This being trying to be healthy. I met a counselor who was doing her placement there. I really liked her because she just straight up told me like it was. She didn’t allow me not have options when I felt like I had none. However, I knew with her being a student, that she wouldn’t be there for long so I just was honest about everything that happened in my life. I wasn’t scared to share anything. I felt safe. The only thing I had to lose out on was a chance to actual receive the help that I needed.

Some people think that those who go to a counselor are weak or that there is something seriously wrong with them or that they have a low self esteem or zero confidence or that they are emotionally disturbed. There is nothing wrong with going to see a counselor. In fact, a lot of people go to see one. It’s not that they can’t handle their own problems. I think it’s more that people need an educated, neutral third-party to give input or provide assistance in helping with their issues because maybe friends are too judgmental or family members give unwarranted suggestions. I have been guilty of both.

Today, I am seeing a counselor once a week. Not because I can’t handle my problems but because I need help in understanding why certain things happened to me as a child or a teen or why I made certain decisions. Things are going great. I am gaining a better understanding and a better hold on certain areas of my life.

I see this counselor, after the initial counselor at the university, because she is a good fit. She is my new favourite pair of jeans.

Race, Religion, Politics Part 2

corporate social responsibility, So you've hired an Indian Leave a comment

I am always told that the things that you shouldn’t talk about while out on a date are race, religion, and politics. I think the same goes for employment. Except this post isn’t going to be about race, religion, and politics and why you shouldn’t talk about it at work.

So I began writing a series of posts the first one was called So You’ve Hired an Indian. Now what? Part 1.

I talk about my opinion on non-Aboriginal settings versus Aboriginal settings and the themes present in the background of one and how those are not particularly present in the other. Self-determination. Awareness. Mutual respect. Perhaps these are similar themes in all types of organizations and businesses but the major difference is that these 3 themes focus on Aboriginal issues/relations.

I also talk about organizations or departments within an organization that focuses on these themes and what not to expect. However, I am sure that those that work in those departments are well aware of what not to expect, what to expect, and how to approach both. Usually job descriptions in those organizations/departments include a little phrase that indicates person filling those positions must

“Have knowledge of First Nations, Metis, Inuit relations”

OR

“Have knowledge of First Nations, Metis, Inuit issues”

OR

“Preference given to those with experience of working with First Nations people/communities”

It’s almost like First Nations issues/relations are separate in their own world when one reads that. However, there are some positions specifically set aside for hiring of Aboriginal people. That my fellow reader is called “Corporate Social Responsibility” or CSR for short–hiring someone or creating a department that deals with specifically creating more opportunities for an already marginalized group, like First Nations people. Some people think the world of CSR. I think it’s Okay. Why do I think CSR is only “Okay?” Well, I believe that it creates this sort of “glass ceiling” for certain groups of people. Not just Aboriginal people. It puts certain groups in a box and that organization views all people from that group in a certain light or in that box only. Some people may argue against me and say that CSR creates opportunities. I agree, CSR does create opportunities but I believe that people part of a certain group should go above and beyond those specific opportunities. Don’t just reach for the middle ground. Of course CSR happens in other ways, not all entirely bad. For example, scholarships created for certain groups or training/interning opportunities for certain groups.

So where does culture, traditional knowledge, and experiences all fit in with this?

Well, one, if you do hire someone based on the above points mentioned (knowledge of FN issues/relations, etc) don’t expect them to have ALL the knowledge in the world. Sure, they should have a good understanding and eager to educate their own self on FN issues but they shouldn’t be the only one that works for the organization with all that knowledge. Other people who work with that person or within the department should have at least some basic knowledge of FN issues/relations. And no, just because you work with First Nations people and say you create partnerships with them, does not mean that the organization should begin to think that they are giving the world to First Nations people/communities. That creates this sort of patriarchal partnership rather than an equal partnership with mutual respect.

Two, if you are given “traditional knowledge” from a First Nations person or community, it isn’t yours as an organization to keep and to benefit off of. What is traditional knowledge? I was once sent this link that was put together by the Chiefs of Ontario. In it, it nicely summed up what was happening to traditional knowledge. The report reads,

Traditional Knowledge is a way of life for the Anishinabek People and is handed down to us from our ancestors. Our knowledge is being misused, abused and misunderstood. Science does not respect traditional knowledge. —Traditional Knowledge Primer

At the last youth gathering I met, another youth told the individuals, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, who attended his workshop,

“You don’t have to share anymore knowledge with anyone else than that this is sacred. You don’t have to tell them what it does or how to use it.”

I define “Traditional Knowledge” as the knowledge that a person who belongs to a specific group has on their own culture and traditions and the meaning and interpretation of certain/specific symbols. In layman terms, the crucifix/Jesus Christ is important to Catholics because it symbolizes that Christ died for their sins and to remind them of that. When it comes to First Nations people, historically and presently, some organizations/corporations have used traditional knowledge passed down to them and used that knowledge to their benefit–in other words, to undermine the traditional and cultural ways of First Nations people. Historically, the Canadian government used the cultural practice of “fasting” as legitimate means to forcibly remove Aboriginal children from their own homes and into residential schools. We all know how that turned out, or maybe we all don’t but those that do… you know.

Anyways, I thought when that youth had said what he said in his workshop to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal listeners, I thought that was pretty powerful for him to say that and didn’t really understand until it happened at a previous place of employment. I designed a logo for a team and I explained the logo. Then two days later, without my knowledge, the story of the logo was put into the powerpoint to be presented to the First Nations communities. I didn’t have to explain the logo to the rest of the people on the team but I did. That traditional knowledge I shared with them was literally taken without permission and then kept on file for them to use to their own benefit in future use.

Third and last, as an organization who deals with First Nations individuals and communities may specifically hire a First Nations person for their experiences or their knowledge of certain issues that other First Nations people/communities may face. Then, those individuals will most likely tell you their experiences as a First Nations person. From my experience in working with non-Aboriginal people, when I share my experiences or when people ask me questions about my experiences as a First Nations person, there is always that one person who blurts out, “Oh but it’s the same like everyone/everywhere else.” No, those experiences are not the same.

You can read about my experience in one workplace where an employee asked me “What it was like to live on a Reserve.” but before I could reply to her question another non-Aboriginal employee chimed in, “Oh but it’s like living anywhere else.” My hometown is just like your hometown.

To say that those experiences are the same to whatever or whomever else is to marginalize that First Nations person’s experience. And even worse, sometimes the organization totally dismisses these experiences and just re-iterates why I do not like CSR: sometimes it does not accomplish what it is meant to accomplish. Just because an organization thinks it is doing something good for a First Nations person or for First Nations people/communities, does not mean that it is all good. Sure, an organization/department can have good intentions but again, if the organization and department does not truly understand First Nations issues and just hires the First Nations person to take care of it, then what is really going to be accomplished? Nothing…other than the organization/department has just hired an Indian, and they are stuck asking their own self,

Now, what?