2013 NT Special Edition II

NEW TRIBE Special Edition II: Rights Write

Breaking the Silence Stereotypes Racism Discrimination Know Your Rights FREE SPECIAL EDITION 2013 AVAILABLE ONLINE www.usay.ca

NEW TRIBE SPECIAL EDITION II Associate Editor Stacey Carefoot

features

Blackfoot Crossing - The history A Night on Patrol with the Red & Blue Word on the Street Shannen Koostachin’s Dream

Art Director Elodie Caron

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food for thought Because I’m an Indian - the racial divide

8 The Effects - a breakdown of the psychology 9 Racism and the Status Card

12 The Role of First Nations in the Canadian Economy 16 Your Rights and how to exercise them 19 Breaking it down - dealing with racism 24 Rise and decolonize 26 Breaking the Stereotypes with Culture 27 Rising above and not letting the haters get you down 30

inspiration Blessing 3 Casey Eaglespeaker’s words of wisdom 14 Behind the Badge with Constable Stump 18 Poetry 38

free time National Aboriginal Day 17 A comic by Kristy North Peigan 22 Hate Crimes Awareness Day 32 Movie Reviews 33 Book Reviews 34 Journaling - a place for your own deep thoughts 36

bits & pieces Greeting 4 Contributors 5 About the Back Cover 39

Shattered glass background image on front cover from tuttovabene.com 2 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

Contributors Kelsey Bird-Quinney, DJ Bruised Head, Cherilynn Cross Child, Desirae Desnomie, Adrian Teneese, Tia Ledesma, Christine McFarlane, Kristy North Peigan A community resource cannot be developed without the support of the community; USAY would like to thank everyone who shared their stories and wisdom in the spirit of healing and helping others.

USAY especially thanks CUAI’s Human Rights Domain, participants of the 2013 Power of Vision Symposium, and the enthusiastic students of Morley Community School for their involvement.

Rights Write has been generously funded by the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s ‘Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund’.

The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of USAY (the publisher). The publisher accepts no liability or responsibility for plagiarism in the works in this magazine, all writing is presumed to be the original work of the writers.

This Special Edition of New Tribe Magazine (NTM) has been developed to engage youth of all cultures and backgrounds in the impacts of racism, discrimination and human rights violations as they relate to Aboriginal communities across our province and our Nation. Rights Write strives to provide a voice for our youth and act as a tool to launch discussions surrounding equality and unity.

NTM is a monthly publication distributed for free throughout the city of Calgary. NTM’s mission is to promote a positive outlook on Aboriginal living in an urban setting by promoting information sharing within the Aboriginal and youth communities.

The Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY) is a not-forprofit charitable organization located in the heart of Calgary. By nurturing self-empowerment and fostering healthy collaboration and communication USAY strives to enrich the lives of all urban Aboriginal youth to ensure healthy future generations. USAY provides free services and programs to Calgary’s Aboriginal youth.

For more information on USAY and NTM please visit www.usay.ca

Executive Director LeeAnne Ireland Program Manager Rachel Paris Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth Unit 600, 615 Macleod Trail SE Calgary, AB T2G 4T8 403.233.8225 This magazine features topics and stories related to discrimination and racism and may evoke memories of past negative experiences. If you feel the need to talk to someone please call the Kids Help Phone line at 1-800-668-6868 or the Distress Centre at 403-266-4951 This magazine may not be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the publisher (USAY).

A Special Blessing New Tribe Special Edition II is honoured to share this special blessing given to our magazine by Elder Doreen Spence.

Photo provided by Doreen Spence

Aho Creator,

offering for prayers for them.

Grandfather, Grandmother Spirits of the four directions and to all those divine Spirits that guide us everyday. I come before you with a humble heart to give you gratitude for the gift of life. To give you gratitude for this opportunity to come and pray in a good way for the people of the New Tribe Magazine. First of all, I give gratitude to the funders for funding this very special project, something that is necessary for our youth and our community. I want to give gratitude for the writers who made it possible, and for all the young people out there within our communities to know that there are people here who are praying for them; for them to know that they have the love, and the guidance and support that they require, and to encourage them to walk the good Red Road; to help them to stay strong and “I come before you with a to be strong leaders humble heart to give you for tomorrow. I gratitude for the gift of life.� give you gratitude for this.

I pray good health for all the people involved with this great project and give gratitude for the Human Rights Commission, and Cam and all those people who made this possible. I want to give gratitude that there is such a project, that is able to reach those people that we don’t necessarily see everyday, but who are out there as readers, and I pray that their hearts will be open, that they will be able to have this information and that it will be of some comfort and support to them.

I also give offerings of prayer for those who are struggling.

I pray that you will bless them and help them to stay on the good Red Road, and to walk in a good way, and to be able to complete those tasks; the school that they need; the education that they need and that they may be able to find support and know that their support is in the community and that there are people supporting them. So I give this

Aho, hihi, All My Relations, Doreen Spence Bald Eagle Woman Who Leads Doreen Spence is a leading lady when it comes to indigenous and traditional knowledge. She is an advocate for numerous indigenous groups on a national and international level. She shares her teachings with the community through speaking engagements, participating in ceremonies and by contributing her time and vast experience to numerous boards and committees.

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Greeting from the Honourable D. Blair Mason New Tribe Magazine Special Edition on Human Rights

Greetings, I am delighted to offer my congratulations on behalf of the Alberta Human Rights Commission to the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth for this human rights edition of New Tribe Magazine.

In Alberta, human rights are defined by the fundamental principle that all persons are equal in dignity, rights and responsibilities without regard to race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation.

Aboriginal people have faced various forms of racism and discrimination for generations and continue to experience acts of hate and bias. Violations of these basic human rights must not be tolerated. We must work collectively to promote equality and create solutions to counter prejudice, discrimination and intolerance.

No single individual or group can combat racism and discrimination single-handedly. It takes everyone working together to make an impact and see progress. Whether witnessing or experiencing racism or discrimination, each individual and community must feel empowered to take action and advocate for equality, fairness and rights.

The Commission values its partnerships with the Aboriginal community and looks forward to continued 4 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

collaborations that focus on removing barriers and discrimination and creating a culture of acceptance and inclusion. I have seen firsthand the value of breaking down these barriers and creating opportunities for dialogue and partnering. I believe in the work that is being done within Aboriginal communities and recognize the progress that is being made.

Youth are a critical part of the equation and can make an extraordinary impact. Youth must take a leadership role, as the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth is doing with this edition of New Tribe Magazine.

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. This milestone highlights the accomplishments made in human rights in Alberta, but also reminds us of how much work remains to be done to make our province free of racism and discrimination.

I commend New Tribe Magazine for dedicating this special edition to examining how discrimination, equality and human rights issues are impacting Aboriginal communities in Alberta and highlighting the successes being made and the challenges that remain.

Sincerely, D. Blair Mason Chief of the Commission and Tribunals Alberta Human Rights Commission

Stacey Carefoot @staceycarefoot Loves to write, likes to edit, believes that everyone has a story that needs to be told. Mom to a boy and a princess, wife of a rock star. #Blessed #YUWAKAPE

Adrian Teneese @ad_fran Red Deer resident with his partner living and breathing the average life. Finds enjoyment in walks, exercise and taking the dogs to the park #Jed #Shemp

Christine McFarlane @MishkoNootinKwe Anishinaabe published writer passionate about First Nations issues and all things political.

Desirae Desnomie @DesDesnomie A storyteller who is genuinely interested, always learning and passionate about breaking negative stereotypes. She is a wife, daughter, sister, auntie, and friend and most importantly she is the proud mother and natural role model to her two children.

D.J. BruisedHead @dbruser12 Lethbridge College student, Blackfoot by birth, adopted by Cree, environmentalist, writer, athlete (ice hockey, rugby, tackle football), limitless. Life goal: to empower young women to be strong and never give up. #DreamBig

Follow our writers on Twitter. USAY asked them to Tweet their bios and in true New Tribe fashion they didn’t disappoint us with their creativity.

Cherilynn Cross Child @CherNBlood Oki, niisto Cherilynn Cross Child, 17 years old, class of 2013, starting University of Lethbridge for a major in Anthropology in the fall, activist in the making, writer and powwower.

Kristy North Peigan @KPeigan Student at ACAD, working towards a Bachelor of Design for Illustration. Proud to be a youth from the Piikani first nation, and I will continue to work towards being a successful aboriginal concept artist/ designer.

Kelsey Bird Quinney Bookworm, writer, gym junkie & world explorer.

Dedicated fan of Machine Gun Kelly and completely captivated by The Walking Dead. In Omnnia Paratus

Tia Ledesma @TiaLedezma Student, writer and mother of two beautiful kids from Siksika Nation. Currently lives in Calgary pursuing an education in Youth Justice. Looks forward to the future and adventures to come. #breakingcycles

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Promises of friendship, peace and cooperation made over 130 years ago have driven a wedge between those whose people once knew the land and those who now occupy it.

We wonder if the current outcome is anything close to what the individuals who signed Treaty 7 at Blackfoot Crossing that September day had in mind…

Blackfoot Crossing is a place where Alberta’s badlands can almost reach out and touch the foothills, but not quite.

Where the Bow River has carved out a majestic valley filled with tall grasses, hearty poplar trees and an abundance of magnificent wildflowers. Above all of this, wispy clouds dance in the sky.

the future of his people. He knew the only other option was war so he chose peace thinking that war with the settlers would mean detriment to his people.

As summer was quickly turning to fall the nations started to gather. The first to arrive were the Blackfoot and Stoney, being old rivals they camped across the river from each other. Joining them were the Blood and Peigan, all there to negotiate a treaty with the federal government.

Located sixty miles east of Calgary,

The sounds of the Siksika, Piikani (Peigan) and Kainaiwa (Blood), Tsuu T’ina (Sarcee), the Stoney (Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley/Goodstoney) echoed through the valley. Of course there was dancing, drumming and singing.

Blackfoot Crossing is named for the shallow spot in the Bow River where travellers could easily cross. This area holds important historical significance for Alberta and Canada. Originally a migration, trade and warfare route, Blackfoot Crossing became the place where Treaty 7 was signed.

The negotiations were to begin three days earlier than they actually did. The group of government representatives and First Nations leaders held off for a few days, waiting for the arrival of Chief Red Crow, Chief of the Bloods who was said to be on a seasonal hunting excursion.

At first, the Treaty was to be signed in Fort McLeod however Chief Crowfoot indicated it must be signed at Blackfoot Crossing and since very few people argued with Crowfoot, arrangements were made for the gathering to take place at Blackfoot Crossing in September 1877.

At the time there were a tremendous amount of buffalo being killed and although this main resource was still available Crowfoot, a man of incredible foresight could see that they would soon disappear. Crowfoot had travelled to Ottawa prior to the gathering at Blackfoot Crossing and was confident that the Treaty was the right thing for 6 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

to be good people, also into the minds of all men, women and children of future generations. The advice given to me and my people has proven good. If the police had not come to this country where would we all be now? Bad men and whiskey were killing us so fast that very few of us would have been alive today. The Mounted Police have protected us as the feathers of the bird protect it from the frosts of winter.

I wish all my people good and trust that all our hearts will increase in goodness from this time forward. I am satisfied. I will sign the Treaty.” And so he did, with an X. And so it was that Treaty 7 became the final treaty in a series of agreements concluded between the Canadian government and the First Nations people of the Northwest during the

1870s. More than twenty years would pass before another one was signed.

To the government the signing of Treaty 7 was of high importance.

They wanted British Columbia to join confederation and in order to secure British Columbia, a transcontinental railway was promised. This line would After a few discussions and fellowship encourage large-scale immigration and Crowfoot, Chief of Chiefs began to settlement of the west. The line would speak. With a chiseled face and poetic also traverse sacred lands, hunting tongue he said: and camping grounds of First Nations people. In 1763 through the Royal “While I speak, be kind and patient. I Proclamation the Aboriginal people had have to speak for my people who are been officially recognized as the rightful numerous and who rely upon me to occupiers of their hunting grounds until follow the course which the future will the lands were ceded (surrendered) to tend to their good. The plains are large a government authority. One hundred and wide. We are the children of the and fourteen years later at Blackfoot plains. It is our home and the buffalo Crossing the surrender took place. has been our food, always. I hope you will look upon the Blackfoot, Bloods, To the First Nation’s people present at Piegans and Sarcees as your children Treaty 7, hopes were that signing would now and that you will be considerate ensure the survival of their people. and charitable to them. They all expect They believed that because the buffalo me to speak for them, and I trust the were disappearing and the whisky trade Great Spirit will put into their breasts was negatively impacting their lives

Perched high above and along the side of the Bow River sits the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park. The park consists of a state-of-the-art interpretive centre surrounded by sacred land and important landmarks including Chief Crowfoot’s last campsite and his grave. The interpretive centre is open to the public, those visiting should plan to spend the entire day, as there is so much to see and learn.

For more information about the historical park, go to www.blackfootcrossing.ca

Story and photos by Stacey Carefoot a positive and peaceful relationship with the Canadian government would promote cultural and spiritual survival of their distinct nation. Today Elders argue that the text of Treaty 7 did not hold the spirit or intent of the treaty making process.

Filled with Victorian legalese with much of the meaning lost in translation, the Treaty basically made provisions for one square mile for each Indian family, plus a limited supply of cattle, some farm equipment (one plow for each band) and a small amount of treaty and ammunition money. The treaty also made limited commitments on the part of the Queen to provide education for children and in some cases, medical services.

It is likely that the array of personalities and cultures present at the signing of Treaty 7 led to misunderstandings, bad translations and false promises.

Some would argue that it was not even possible for an understandable

agreement to be made considering the fact that the Blackfoot people have no word for treaty in their language they referred to the occasion as istisist aohkotspi meaning the time when we made a sacred alliance.

Almost everything about t he signing of Treaty 7 and other treaties leading up to it remain steeped in controversy.

Did Crowfoot and the others know exactly what they were agreeing to?

Did the missionaries and the Queen’s representatives knowingly mislead the First Nation’s leaders? Did they believe that they had no other choice?

All questions that may forever remain unanswered.

The complete Treaty 7 text and information on other treaties can be found on the website of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada www.aandc-aadnc.gc.ca

An excerpt from the text of Treaty 7 shows a small example of the Victorian Legalese used to write the treaty and others.

And whereas the said Commissioners have proceeded to negotiate a Treaty with the said Indians; and the same has been finally agreed upon and concluded as follows, that is to say: the Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan, Sarcee, Stony and other Indians inhabiting the district hereinafter more fully described and defined, do hereby cede, release, surrender, and yield up to the Government of Canada for Her Majesty the Queen and her successors for ever, all their rights, titles, and privileges whatsoever to the lands included within the following limits…

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The road to success is long and winding, and never easy. Sometimes, for First Nations people, the road requires double the work and extra thick skin. Abby Morning Bull can relate.

Morning Bull has faced racial discrimination as a young First Nations’ woman pursuing a university degree from the University of Lethbridge.

Morning Bull has multiple stories of discrimination she has faced in southern Alberta, too many to record. She begins her interview with a story from her younger days.

“I remember being a kid, we were in Pincher Creek and I was with my dad. We were

her reserve, and her clients kept asking her, “Why do they [non-natives] call us names?

Why do they want to hurt us?”

Morning Bull didn’t have the answers. She asked her mother, who had a university background, and her mother simply replied, “You want to know why? Go to university, learn why.” This is one of the main reasons Morning Bull attends post-secondary, to learn of the injustices, and how to fight those injustices. It was in university she could properly name why being an exception to her people and being called ‘Pocahontas’ bothered her. It was discrimination.

At the University of Lethbridge she met

her.

No Runner is proud of the fact that despite all she faced, she never gave up. She believes that education in the primary school systems would be the most effective way to eliminate racism. “Racial discrimination is learned,” she says. Morning Bull echoes her by saying, “Indigenizing primary education would definitely change the discrimination for the positive.”

Education systems have a tendency to sweep dark the Canadian history of the treatment of First Nations under the rug, which means many non-natives don’t learn of treaties, residential schools, the Indian Act,

Because I’m an Indian: Racial Discrimination in Southern Alberta Writer D.J. BruisedHead finds inspiration in two empowering and motivational young women. She shares their stories of turning struggles into success. walking down the street, and there was this group of guys behind us. My dad told me, ‘If those guys do anything, I want you to run into the bar and get your uncles, tell them your dad needs help.’

“I remember looking over my shoulder and seeing the group of guys. They were older than me, and that was the first time I remember being scared. I remember asking my dad why they would do that, why they would want to beat him up.

“He said, ‘well, because I’m an Indian.’”

Morning Bull grew up hearing racial slurs at school, on the streets, in the ice rinks while her brothers were playing hockey. Squaw, dirty Indian, savage the list goes on.

Sometimes, these words were spoken to her face; other times, they were spoken of her fellow First Nations people while being followed by the statement, “except you, Abby.”

Being the exception bothered Morning Bull, but she didn’t know why. She was a smart student, in the 30-1 academic classes in high school, which she believes was a big reason she was made the exception.

After high school, she joined the volunteer program Katimavik. She was frightened of what she’d encounter; after growing up in Southern Alberta, it was hard to imagine a world that did not give off vibes of hate from many strangers. What she found was definitely different. Some of her program-mates had never met a First Nations’ person before.

They asked is they could call her ‘Pocahontas’, which bothered her, and she didn’t know why she was bothered.

After Katimavik, Morning Bull worked as a youth care worker for suicide prevention on 8 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

Joel No Runner, a fellow Blackfoot woman, like Morning Bull, striving for a world of understanding. Joel No Runner is striving to achieve her own goal of a Fine Arts degree at the University of Lethbridge. As a young Blackfoot woman, her story of living in two worlds is echoed in her photography, painting and other artwork. No Runner retains her cultural identity by telling stories one does not hear, but can feel.

No Runner has experienced racism from extreme to subtle. She has been called ‘dirty Indian’ by a group of guys driving by her as she walked downtown Lethbridge. She has also known racism from the way people act around her, and the vibes others give off.

Going to restaurants, she has seen nonNatives being served before Natives. She has seen her father, beaten and bloody, after being in an outnumbered fight with non-natives who were jealous of his winning at the slots.

How does No Runner get through the discouraging discrimination?

Through multiple heated class discussions, she has found the strength to educate others who were being racist, or when others would insist that southern Alberta is free of racism.

She gained the courage to tell others to walk in her shoes. By standing up for herself, she hopes other First Nations people can also stand up, and create positive change.

No Runner grew up traditionally as a Blackfoot woman, and her sharpest tool for dealing with discouraging situations is prayer; prayer and talking to others, venting and knowing she’s not the only one who faces daily racism. She acknowledges the hardships, yet she was also taught to pray for those who looked down on

Abby Morning Bull reminds youth to know who you are and know where you came from.

the Enfranchisement Act; these acts were introduced to assimilate First Nations people to the European culture.

Morning Bull shares her advice for facing racism: “Know that there are good people out there.” She hasn’t allowed racism to limit her achievements; she was told at a young age, “Don’t let the mean, hurtful people stop you, don’t let them win. Iikaakiimaat (try hard).”

Morning Bull’s achievements include previously elected positions of Councillorat-Large, Secretary, and President of the Native American Students’ Association at the University of Lethbridge. Morning Bull currently sits as the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Representative on the General Assembly of the University of Lethbridge.

Morning Bull insists that youth should, “know who you are, and know where you come from.

Carry the values taught at home: be loving, caring, respectful, and also, be humorous.

Show them the good, because everything you do reflects on your family, your community and your nation.”

The Psychological Effects of Discrimination

by Adrian Teneese

Discrimination against our native heritage can have a negative effect on a person’s sense of self-worth, directly affecting their self-esteem and their ability to feel accepted in the society they live in. Being discriminated against can result in individuals shying away from society, leading to either dropping out of school, not working a regular job or simply not getting involved with what others around them are doing.

In order to improve the emotional and mental health of individuals experiencing discrimination, the individual and community support services must work together. It is often beneficial to seek local help such as Alberta Health Services Mental Health, which provides services to individuals who need direction on how to improve their state of mind and quality of living. In some cases, centralized intake of the individual becomes appropriate in accessing suitable services that will provide the correct information on mental health, consultation to other services, assessments or referrals.

A Registered Nurse, Richard, with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field, states that individuals who are suffering the psychological effects of discrimination are encouraged to take part in many different types of activities.

Purposeful activities designed to build skills and promote relaxation such as yoga allows the body and nerves to remain in a calm state contribute to positive mental wellness. Other therapeutic activities such as exercise (jogging, walking, weight training) or crafts are considered helpful in the promotion of healing through active engagement.

Psychotherapy involving the arts, such as painting or sketching, is an expressive therapy and is aimed to increase the individual’s own well-being.

Albertans facing signs of poor mental

health can access help immediately by calling the Mental Health Help Line. The Mental Health Help Line is a program managed by health professionals providing crisis intervention in a confidential and anonymous manner. You can contact them by calling their toll free number 1-877-303-2642.

Another outlet offered by Alberta Health Services is the Adult Aboriginal Mental Health program. This program helps Aboriginal individuals with support services such as assessments, treatment, counseling, cultural awareness, referrals and outreach support to access health and community resources including access to traditional healing methods. It can be accessed through Alberta Health Services.

Many cities across Canada have large Aboriginal communities. Many Aboriginal people are unable to access information on topics such as how to seek professional help for depression or how to deal with discrimination. In southern Alberta, The Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary is available to provide social, cultural, education and employment services to Aboriginal people in the Calgary area thru youth and senior programs. The program staff members are skilled in providing advocacy for those feeling their human rights are being violated. Educating their clients about their human rights as Canadians and Aboriginal people, they are able to support their clients in a variety of ways. There are many Friendship Centres throughout Alberta. A complete listing can be found at http://anfca.com.

To learn more on how you can access information and services in your community, go to the Alberta Health Services website at www.albertahealthservices.ca, under the Health Information tab a link to Health and Wellness.

Physical effects of the stress associated with discrimination can include Headaches Poor appetite Change in eating habits Sleeplessness Weight Gain/Loss Deterioration of health Lack of personal hygiene Lack of energy Emotional effects Low self esteem Lack of confidence Feeling unwanted Insecurity Withdrawing from usual situations Depression/stress Anxiety Sudden changes in behavior Lack of co-operation and learned helplessness Social effects Isolation Lack of friends Inability to build relationships Intellectual effects Restricted access to education Poor performance in examinations Lack of achievements Poor job prospects Lack of desire to learn new skills The long-term effects of the stress associated with discrimination could include Loss of motivation Reduced individual rights Restricted opportunities Limited access to services Mental illness caused by stress In Alberta, the Mental Health Help Line is staffed 24/7 and provides crisis intervention; information on mental health programs and services; and referrals to other agencies where appropriate. This confidential, anonymous service is provided by Health Link Alberta and is available to all Albertans.

1-877-303-2642

9 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

This assignment took more preparation than most, usually I head out the door with my camera and note book, take a few notes, snap a few shots and voila, a story is produced a day or two later. After 3 months of planning, passing a police background screening and plenty of research, this story basically wrote itself, I was just an observer. Thank you to the Calgary Police Service for allowing me unprecedented access and to Constable Stump for the incredible experience.

6:30 pm- I arrive at the police station, a place I haven’t been to since my bike was stolen from the swimming pool when I was in 10th grade (that was a really, really long time ago).

A night on 6:45 pm-I meet Constable Stump who will serve as my host for the evening.

He informs me that he has some work to do before we “head out”. Great, this gives me some more time to fantasize about getting shot at and being chased by bad guys. Have I mentioned I’m a paranoid chicken with an incredible imagination?

7:00 pm-Constable Stump arrives, ready to head out. He hands me an “Observer” jacket to wear, as if my Lululemon pants and sandals weren’t enough indication that I am definitely not a Cop. 7:05 pm-Stump and I exchange cell phone numbers in case of an emergency. Wait, isn’t everything we do tonight going to involve some sort of emergency?

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7:15 pm-First call and we’re off. House alarm. All clear.

9:45 pm-House fire under control, firemen tell us we can head out.

As we travel thru the streets of his district Stump proves to be a pro multi tasker; running plates at red lights, responding to the person talking in his ear, all the while watching the alerts and calls come in on his computer perched above the console.

10:00 pm-Things get awfully quiet as Stump listens to dispatch and based on the intensity of his actions, I assume something big is happening and I’m right.

8:00 pm-Respond to a collision in a parking lot. A little shaken up but everyone seems fine; Stump gathers statements, fills out the required paperwork and kindly calls the tow trucks. Trucks arrive and we’re off.

9:00 pm- While enroute to investigate the suspected theft of a case of peanuts from a burger joint (I’m not even kidding) we are re-routed to a house fire; lights, sirens, action.

10:04 pm-Arrive at the scene of a crash. There are people seriously injured, I wish Stump luck as he jumps out of the car, I wait there thinking about the injured, the first responders and curious about what could be happening.

10:10 pm- Stump returns to the vehicle only to retrieve police tape. I still don’t know exactly what has taken place but police tape is never a good sign, is it?

10:15 pm-Still waiting in the squad

car, the hustle and bustle around the accident scene is intensifying. My thoughts turn to the victim, the families that will soon learn bad news and Stump who although big and tough must be affected by attending to scenes like this one, whether he admits it or not.

12:00 am –Finally done at the accident scene, on the way to grab a bite to eat when we pull over an unregistered vehicle.

12:30 am-Respond to a call of a bad guy inside a woman’s apartment. Scene

3:00 am-The shelter is bustling because of the weather, Stump runs damage control on some disgruntled people who have been denied access.

One of them threatens to punch Constable Stump, I think to myself, go ahead and try it pal, have I mentioned Stump is HUGE. 4:00 am-911-hang up call. This prompts more than one squad car to attend a home in an upscale neighbourhood. Homeowners are shocked and surprised to see police officers on their front step. The officers clear the home. Fax machine was accidentally calling 911.

4:30 am-Coffee break. Coffee seems very important right now, I’m exhausted and freezing cold from the rain. I honestly didn’t think I would

last this late but time has passed very quickly.

5:30 am-Called to a commercial break in. False alarm. No bad guys.

6:00 am-Time to head back to the station. It seems like we just left and the 12 hour shift has nearly come to a close.

6:30 am-As I head home I wonder if every night shift goes by this fast, my head is spinning at the number of calls and the variety of issues CPS responds to. I also wonder if every police officer is as dedicated, humble and brave as Constable Stump. After a while my wonder turns to hope and hope turns to confidence realizing that because of Stump and those like him our safety is in very, very good hands.

n the beat Story and photos by Stacey Carefoot

is secured and the area is swarming with marked and unmarked police cars.

1:00 am-Starving, we find a pizza place that is still open at this hour and pick up a couple pizzas to share with the team who gathers at a satellite office for a quick lunch hour. There should be another word for this since it’s at 1:00 am but I guess lunch is lunch no matter what time we eat it.

1:45 am- Off we go again. More calls, more drivers to pull over.

2:00 am-While patrolling past a shopping mall Stump spies a couple of characters he is familiar with. After chatting with them for a minute we realize they are hungry and wet (it’s been raining for hours). We offer them our leftover pizza and a ride to the shelter. background image from globetribune.info

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Racism and Discrimination Within the Use of the Status Card

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by Christine McFarlane

When it comes to identity, Canadians often know who they are and where they come from. Status Indians as defined by the government carry a card that says “(Insert name here) is an Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act,” In this gripping essay we learn how our writer Christine McFarlane feels about the impact of being a card carrying citizen.

Growing up, I didn’t know about be covered by my band, provided I met identity and in your face, racism and belonging to a particular nation, or their membership provisions etc. discrimination. what it meant to be a status Indian. I just knew from the people around me, At the time, I didn’t put a lot of extra It meant exasperation from that I was different. I was the one with thought into what it meant for me to storeowners when I presented the card brown skin, who stood out amongst carry this card. At that age, I knew I to them at the checkout. There have the crowd of Caucasian people around was Indian, I didn’t understand the been numerous times when I have me. There were whispers, “oh, Christine complex issues behind carrying a card made a purchase, and the cashier at the is Indian,” when I passed people, and I that stated I was Indian. It was just store would roll their eyes and say, “this felt self conscious about it, for reasons another card for me to show as ID if is so annoying.” People would leave I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t until need be. Oh how naïve. the line behind me when they either I was 17 years old and living on my saw me pull out my card or if they own for the first time that I learned overheard the cashier’s annoyance at about Bill C-31 and how this Bill I say, when it comes to identity, having to do the extra paperwork. It made me eligible to apply to the some people saying, “why do you Canadians know who they are had government to become a status get special privileges or where can and where they come from, I get a card like that?” It also meant Indian. why would status First Nations that I had to often shop around for Applying for status as my family certain health services like dental people be any different? doctor explained it to me at the and eye care because not all health time meant that I would be given professionals honoured the status certain benefits. These benefits meant It wasn’t until I became immersed in card.

I didn’t have to pay extra tax on items my culture, language and traditions Dr. Pamela Palmater discusses in I bought, certain medications were that I learned exactly what carrying her book Beyond Blood: Rethinking covered instead of having to pay out this card that stated who I was meant.

Indigenous Identity the importance of of pocket from my social assistance at It carried a weight heavier than I had identity, how it relates to Indigenous the time, part of my education would ever experienced. It became legislated rights and culture and the challenges 12 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

First Nations people face under the membership provisions of the Indian Act. She discusses not only the problem it has caused her own family but how it has impacted other Indigenous people of Canada.

Is it fair that Indigenous people face varying degrees of government control when it comes to their individual and collective identities?

I don’t think so. Why should Indigenous people be controlled and divided, when no other ethnic group in Canada is? Why should Indigenous people face membership provisions when it comes to belonging with their own people?

The answers to these questions are complex. They lie within the Indian Act and Canada’s policies towards First Nations people. The Indian Act and its provisions have made many

groups and individuals exempt from legal recognition as Indians or band members based on the grounds of gender, marital status, family, race, age, and blood quantum or descent.

Why does the Canadian government choose to set us apart from each other, making some status and others nonstatus? Or by saying, “you’re Indian, and you’re not?” I believe that the use of status cards for status First Nations is a form of legislated racism and discrimination. It is another I knew I was Indian, I didn’t assimilationist tool set in motion understand the complex issues by the Canadian government to conquer and divide a people that behind carrying a card that have already endured enough at the stated I was Indian.

Canadian government’s hands.

Palmater believes that the membership provisions of the Indian Act are problematic because they, “limit what First Nations can do as peoples and as sovereign nations and place a legal burden on First Nations peoples as always having to prove how Indian they are, through blood quantum.”

Do you not think that the divide and conquer tactic has gotten old?

We deserve equal rights and equal recognition when it comes to saying who we are as the First Nations people of Canada. I say, when it comes to identity, Canadians know who they are and where they come from, why would status First Nations people be any different?

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Elder Casey Eaglespeaker Helping Youth Break Free From Stereotypes Photo from Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Conference

Many boys feel that they have something to prove and when Elder Casey Eaglespeaker was young, he was no different. What was unique about Casey Eaglespeaker is that he wanted to prove to the white world that he was not what they perceived.

At a very young age Eaglespeaker knew that he would be spending a lot of time dealing with the racism, discrimination and prejudice that came along with the world he was born into. What he didn’t do is let that deter him from success.

by Stacey Carefoot

abuse took its toll on his family and after returning home from living in foster care, Eaglespeaker became the caregiver to seven of his siblings between the ages of four and thirteen. He fed his siblings by hitch hiking from Standoff to Fort McLeod where he exchanged grocery vouchers for food. He cooked on a wood stove and washed clothes by hand. Too busy to attend school at this time but still very eager to learn, he relied on the truancy officer to bring him schoolwork. “This experience taught me a lot,” he says. “It gave me determination, resiliency and made me extremely independent.”

“First they tell you that you are an Indian, and then they By high school, Eaglespeaker had begun to escape the tell you that being an Indian is pressures in his life by meeting wrong,” he explains when up with two very dangerous asked about his journey of playmates, drugs and alcohol.

First they tell you that you are During this period he says he self-discovery. Not unlike an Indian, and then they tell you many Aboriginal people of had no concept of identity or his generation, Eaglespeaker belonging. Although a high that being an Indian is wrong attended residential school and achiever in academics, he did later attended public school. not attend the last two months Residential school brought with of grade 12. “There was a large it hardships and abuse and public school was a place of black cloud with no sunshine,” says Eaglespeaker when discrimination and confusion. Although his education did describing that period of his life. not come easy, Eaglespeaker understood deep down that it would be the key to his future.

The clouds began to lift and sunshine came to him when he travelled to the United States with some relatives and “Education is a way out,” he explains. “If you do not became immersed in his culture. His family in Seattle was accept education as your way out, it becomes a way involved in the Northwest Intertribal Club. Eaglespeaker down,” he continues. began attending pow wows and joined a drumming group called Percey and the Boys featuring Percy Bullchild.

Eaglespeaker’s life as a young man was not easy. Substance “These experiences instilled in me a strong sense of who 14 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

I am,” says Eaglespeaker. “They taught me that I can be proud to be an Indian, I am human first and a proud member of the Blood tribe,” he continues.

If education is my weapon, religion and beliefs are my shield

Eaglespeaker was a very hard worker and despite being successful at other jobs he always knew that more education needed to be in his future.

“I knew I needed to learn more to help the young people,” he says.

Today, Eaglespeaker is the Aboriginal Resource Coordinator and Traditional Counsellor at Hull Services in Calgary where he serves as a mentor and inspiration to others. He can relate to the plight of youth and offers them guidance in both traditional aspects as well as contemporary issues they

might face today. “I tell them that they are one of a kind, there are no replacements. We all have our own set of skills and knowledge that needs to be applied,” says Eaglespeaker who reminds youth that it is not necessary to internalize the stereotypes of their past. “If education is my weapon, religion and beliefs are my shield,” he says.

If you do not accept education as your way out, it becomes a way down

Traditional Laws of Approaching an Elder Elders are people in the Aboriginal community who have accumulated a large amount of knowledge and experience in traditional teachings, culture and understanding. Elders are often sought out by members of the community for advice, guidance and help. Elders are not born “Elders” and they are not appointed, rather they emerge into their position as a natural progression of their life.

to form a contract between the Elder and the individual. Hold the tobacco in your left hand, close to your heart and state your request to the Elder. After listening to your request, the Elder, by accepting the tobacco agrees to hear you and will offer you support. The Elder will hold your words in confidence and offer suggestions, guidance and traditional teachings.

Approaching an Elder means that someone goes to an Elder and requests advice, asks a questions or seeks help.

Tobacco can be given in a pouch but should not be divided. Despite your personal views on tobacco, it is considered sacred to Aboriginal people and used in many ceremonies.

Presenting Tobacco The presentation of tobacco when approaching an Elder signifies the involvement of spirit and also serves

Gifting an Elder Eaglespeaker suggests to do your homework about the specific Elder

you will be approaching. After the tobacco is exchanged, those seeking the support of an Elder should ensureå that the Elder is presented with gifts.

Elders are not “paid” for their work, as it would be inappropriate to sell Indigenous knowledge.

Providing gifts to Elders, as a sign of appreciation is customary and gifting can be done in numerous ways. It is appropriate to gift on Elder with money as they have many expenses.

In the past, Elders were given gifts of food, clothing and necessities.

In addition to this, gifts of cloth may be given to the Elder to use for ceremonial purposes.

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Economic Recovery and the Role of First Nations Why It’s More Than Just Job Creation Blake Richards, M.P. provides us with some inspiration when he shares the news that Aboriginal youth represent the fastest growing demographic in Canada and are being taken into consideration as part of this year’s Economic Action Plan.

by Blake Richards, M.P. One of our government’s top priorities has been and will continue to be creating jobs for Canadian workers and workers for Canadian jobs.

Whether from a personal socioeconomic or a macro-economic standpoint, the benefits of employment cannot be overstated. Employment opens doors to a higher standard of living, healthier lifestyles and elevated self esteem. Higher rates of employment can lift entire communities and powers the kind of economic growth that can transform entire countries.

continuing to grow our already strong Canadian economy. That’s why this year’s Economic Action Plan includes: · Funding for personalized job training and counseling support for recipients of the on-reserve Income Assistance Program; · Support for post-secondary scholarships for Aboriginal youth; · Consultations with First Nations

Canada is leading the world in job creation.

According to Statistics Canada, our country created about 12,500 net new jobs in April, 2013. Since the depths of the global recession we have added more than 900,000 net new jobs, the best record among all G-7 countries. At the same time some of our growing industries are struggling to find skilled workers to fill key positions.

Aboriginal youth represent the fastest-growing demographic in Canada, and our country is experiencing skills and labour shortages in a range of industries. We have a tremendous opportunity to ensure our First Nations are enabled to more fully participate in 16 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

across Canada on the development of a First Nation Education Act, which aims at improving the structures and standards necessary to ensure stronger, more accountable education systems on reserve.

Of course, our First Nations citizens will also be able to access one of this year’s major budget initiatives: The Canada Jobs Grant. When it is fully implemented in 2014-15, the Canada Jobs Grant will help nearly 130,000 Canadians each year access the training they need to find fulfilling employment with the businesses who need them.

Continuing to grow the economy and increasing employment is one of the keys to raising the standard of living from coast to coast to coast. Our First Nations will play an important role in helping achieve this vital objective.

Photos by Amar Athwal, Parks Canada.

Above: “MP Blake Richards is joined by representatives of Parks Canada and the Siksika and Stoney Nakoda First Nations at the Grand Re-opening of Banff ’s Cave & Basin (Left to Right: Banff Superintendent Dave McDonough, Clarence Wolf Leg of Siksika First Nation, MP Blake Richards, Parks Canada CEO Alan Latourelle, Chief Bruce Labelle of Stoney Nakoda First Nation, Chief Darcy Dixon of Stoney Nakoda First Nation).”

Left: “MP Blake Richards announces the grand re-opening of Banff ’s Cave & Basin (Left to Right: Clarence Wolf Leg of Siksika First Nation, MP Blake Richards, Parks Canada Interpreter Mike Mackenzie. Background: Parks Canada Site Manager Greg Joyce).”

National Aboriginal Day June 21st Summer Solstice When we are able to understand one another it gives less space for discrimination to occur and more space for relationships to be created.

by Cherilynn Blood In 1982 the National Indian Brotherhood, which is now the Assembly of First Nations, called for June 21st to be National Aboriginal Solidarity Day. The designation of a National First Peoples Day was recommended by the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples and the Sacred Assembly called for a holiday to celebrate contributions of Aboriginal Peoples in 1995.

June 13, 1996, the Governor General of Canada, Roméo A. LeBlanc, declared June 21st to be National Aboriginal Day in light of the recognition of the three Aboriginal groups in the Canadian Constitution; First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI).

In the Governor General’s proclamation of National Aboriginal Day, it states, “…AND WHEREAS many Aboriginal peoples celebrate the summer solstice, which has

an important symbolism within their cultures; THEREFORE, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, hereby directs that a proclamation do issue declaring June 21 of each year as ‘National Aboriginal Day’.”

National Aboriginal Day is a day for people from all walks of life to come together to appreciate and be exposed to the unique culture of the many Aboriginal nations within Canada.

Events take place all over the country to bring people together and to educate those who may not have an Aboriginal background.

For more information on what’s happening in your area on National Aboriginal Day-Google it!

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Stump did end up turning to sports and perhaps his involvement combined with his competitive edge were enough to dig him out of a somber situation. “I am still extremely competitive,” admits Stump. “I think it was this competitive edge that gave me some direction and purpose when I was younger,” he adds. He admits to once sleeping in a bus shelter close to his school so he could get to class and be allowed to attend basketball that evening. “The rule was that if you didn’t go to school you couldn’t play sports so I had to show up,” he says.

An all around incredible athlete, Stump is the kind of ball player who swings for the fence, goalie who strives for a shut out and rugby player who always goes home with at least one impressive injury.

off to another call and his drink sits in his squad car until he can take a minute to regroup.

He has an uncanny ability to speak to people at their level and often even in their our language. Although not fully versed in either Blackfoot or Vietnamese, he can speak and understand enough of those languages to allow him to make immediate connections with people, “I can be dealing with an irate person who I know will understand Blackfoot, I will calmly utter some phrases and it can turn their demeanor around instantly,” he says.

Why didn’t Stump end up a statistic, how is he succeeding when others are not? It could be that he had dreams, that he knew he didn’t want his clothes to always be hand me downs and that he wanted a different life for himself as an adult. Not better, but different. “I don’t say that the way others might be living is always bad, it’s just different than what I want,” says Stump, not to judge his family or friends who make choices that he wouldn’t. He also has role models and people he can look up to; Aunties and Uncles he didn’t want to disappoint and parents who care about him.

Constable Jeremiah Stump Turning Dreams Into Reality Story and photo by Stacey Carefoot Constable Jeremiah Stump rides in the front of a police car, but according to his past and this Nation’s sad statistics he could be the one riding in the back.

Stump’s youth didn’t include a white picket fence but it did have a revolving door. In fact he lived, like many do, in a house filled with extended family and often uncertainty came knocking.

Raised on the Piikani Nation, Stump admits he lived on the edge as a kid and well into his teenaged years.

Coincidentally, Piikani people in Canada are often referred to as Skinni Piikani, which means to live on the edge, historically referring to their preference to camp at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. When Stump was growing up he and many of his Piikani peers lived on the edge all right, but not in a good way. “We had a lot of negative influences all around us,” says Stump.

“It was difficult to turn away from those influences when often there was no place to turn,” he continues.

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Stump is humble about his athletic accomplishments but perhaps it was athletics that helped keep him out of too much trouble and kept him focused.

It might also be his competitive edge that landed him a recruitment interview with the Calgary Police Service three years ago and there is no doubt that his drive to be the best is what secured his entry into the force, fulfilling a life long dream to be a police officer. A constable for three years now, Stump combines what it takes to be a good cop with his experiences growing-up. “I think I can relate to what some people are experiencing, I know what they’re going thru,” he says.

Like the basketball player who leaves everything on the court after every game, Stump leaves it all on the street after every shift, and it shows. Sure he drinks coffee like the stereotypical police officer but the coffee Stump drinks is almost always cold. The minute he gets around to buying a fresh, warm one he’s

If he could go back in time and have a chat with himself as a little boy living on the Rez what would he say? “Don’t give up, you can do anything,” he says.

“You’re young and smart, don’t doubt yourself,” he continues, after thinking about the question for a long time.

There’s probably a lot more he’d like to say to that little boy, but time is short and Stump isn’t one to dwell.

Today, Stump’s life seems a long way away from that bus shelter near James Fowler High School. He now sleeps in a warm bed, in his own home that he bought a couple years ago, cozied up to his beautiful wife who he’s been married to for almost a year, with his dog Ralph at his feet. One could say he’s living the dream-a dream Constable Jeremiah Stump has had since Kindergarten.

Are you AWARE of your Rights?

Most Canadians are unaware of their human rights; therefore they do not realize when their rights are being violated. Canadian Human Rights are protected under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Each province in Canada has Human Rights Legislation.

Under section 15 in the Charter we all have equal rights and the right to be free from any type of discrimination based on our race, age, disability, sexual orientation or status of our health.

When your human rights are violated, you can take the situation forward to the Human Rights Commission. Take Darlene for example. In 2007 Darlene was a meat cutter for a private company in her small town in Alberta. She started at a wage of $12/hour when the male meat wrappers were making $16/ hour. When she asked her bosses why she was making so little, they told her they were testing her out and moved her up to $16/hour.

Darlene later learned that the male meat cutters, who were doing exactly what she was doing, were making $24/hour. This is when she finally recognized that she was being discriminated against and her rights were being violated. She resigned her position and went to the Human Rights Commission of Alberta and filed a complaint. When the Commission called the owner in regards to her complaint, he claimed that she wasn’t capable of doing the same work as the men.

Darlene was being discriminated against for being a woman in a predominantly male environment, although she was doing exactly the same job, if not more, than the male meat cutters were doing. Darlene went to work with the same capability and work ethic as the other employees and never turned down an opportunity to grow in her position. By providing good documentation and having a good case they ruled in her favor and she won.

By simply knowing her human rights,

without discrimination.

Due to confidentiality concerns, the Alberta Human Rights

By Adrian Teneese Commission cannot accept or reply to complaints and being able to identify the situation of discrimination via as a direct violation of the Alberta e-mail. Please phone the Commission’s Human Rights Act, she was able to confidential inquiry line if you have bring justice to not only herself, but to a question about a specific situation other female meat cutters. Darlene is or want to make a human rights now a meat department Manager for complaint. You can also send written a thriving Alberta grocery company complaints through regular mail. Please and says she has no intent on backing see below for contact information. down. After dealing with her situation, she is now able to help others identify A complaint must be made to the any violation of their rights. She has Commission within one year after the also been given the chance to be a role alleged incident of discrimination. The model to female meat cutters across one-year period starts the day after the Alberta and to be an advocate for her date on which the incident occurred. new work place’s diversity initiative.

For help calculating the one-year periWith fundamental principles like od, contact the Commission. To inquire about making a complaint, contact the Under section 15 in the Northern or Southern Regional Office of the Commission: Charter we all have equal

rights and the right to be free from any type of discrimination based on our race, age, disability, sexual orientation or status of our health

the Human Rights Act, we are able to remind ourselves to live in a civil manner, to have respect for other people who may speak a different language or perhaps pray in a different way. We can ensure that all people are offered an equal opportunity to work, to live in a dwelling peacefully, and enjoy services available to the public

Alberta Human Rights Commission Northern Regional Office 800 Standard Life Centre 10405 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4R7 Confidential Inquiry Line 780-427-7661 Alberta Human Rights Commission Southern Regional Office 200 J.J. Bowlen Building 620 - 7 Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2P 0Y8 Confidential Inquiry Line 403-297-6571 You can also visit the Alberta Human Rights website at www.albertahumanrights.ca

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Word on the Street

ster·e·o·type

A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing: "sexual and racial stereotypes"

Timothy Hall Ashley Baptiste

Chris House

I think it’s not true what they say because I see a lot of people who are succeeding. The problems we are going through go on generation to generation. They try to say we are all like drunks and we are not all like that. I think we are doing a good job for the most part, proving that we are getting past those stereotypes.

I think it depends where I am. Here in the city, yeah I have to tell ignorant people not all natives collect welfare or drink. But they should mind their own business. It’s just not true what they say, because there are a lot of natives doing good. A lot has to do with our history and it really affects us today.

D

Natasha

I deal with stereotypes by ignoring all the remarks and comments, motions and actions I see. Everyone will pay in the end for whatever his or her sin is. Like Jesus said turn the other cheek. We are all the same, just a different color.

I usually see comments on Facebook that offend me and I will usually say something, and I feel like a need to stick up for others. Growing up I learned for myself to accept all people, doesn’t matter what race they are.

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It’s not fair that we get called down for doing what we need to do. We been through a lot of heartache throughout or past and we still do our best to show we are not all the same. Those who live the stereotype have had people in their lives fade away and disappear because of unfair treatment in our past. For a long time our Nations and culture were put down. We have to change their perspective of us.

Holly Badger I just ignore and prove to others that I’m not the kind of native that maybe they think I am. A lot is changing for us and not everybody is the same. I will definitely have to teach my kids to do well in life and prove everybody wrong. Just to ignore the stereotypes and not let it keep them from doing what they want to do.

Special Edition II writer Tia Ledesma hit the streets to speak to Aboriginal youth about their experiences with handling stereotypes. She spoke with some insightful, strong and vibrant members of the community and this is what they said when she asked them….

“How do you respond to Aboriginal stereotypes in your day to day life?"

Jasmine I usually try to ignore it and not let it bug me too much. It’s not really bad here [Calgary] for people openly rude. But back where I’m from its really bad with racism and discrimination. With my son I would never let anyone treat him different because of our race. I would definitely have to educate my boy and others around him about stereotypes.

Juanita Rose

I think a lot of people don’t really know a lot about first nations people; the real history. They believe stereotypes and actually think that is the truth about us. Really there is a lot of natives succeeding and I get ticked off when I hear or see comments that make it sound like we are all one way. I try to ignore it but sometimes you just have to say, ‘Who are you to judge? You haven’t walked in my shoes.’

Karri Baptiste

John Plaited Hair The way I deal with it is not pay attention to it. Everybody is different and has their own way of thinking. And you just have to think your own way and not care what others say. Its discriminative what they say and I just have to let it go and do my own thing.

It offends me and it gets me mad.

When people say stuff, like once when I was on the train I could hear a woman who just came to Canada from another country talking about native people and she was really putting us down. I had to speak up and tell her to stop talking about us. People shouldn’t speak on what they know nothing about.

Megan

Melissa Creyke

I think it will affect my son’s future when other people look down on native people. I am proud to be where I’m from and I want my son to have pride in himself when he realizes how people talk. Its effects me when I hear other people talking about natives and they have all these negative things to say.

It used to bother me when I was younger but now that I’m 22, It doesn’t bother me as much because I am doing a lot better, so I guess I’m just beating the odds of the majority. I’m just living my life to prove against all the odds and show that a lot of us work, go to school and support ourselves.

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Artist : Kristy North Peigan 23 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

W

e have all encountered racism at some point. It can happen anywhere; your school, your workplace, a store or between groups of friends. Someone can spew hate towards you, make fun of you in some way or another, and it leaves you angry, upset, even fuming and feeling hurt. You shake your head when it happens. It might leave you wondering, “what did I do wrong?”

You may think that it is something you have done or said, but in all likelihood, it is not. It is in what the other individual believes and is saying to themselves and then projecting onto you. They say hateful things because they have been taught to be like that or have witnessed it and think it is ok to put someone else down because of their race and what they think it represents. It makes them,

discrimination, it is easy to turn the other person’s words or actions inward and blame ourselves, especially when it attacks our character, our family or our community. This reaction is something the person spewing the hate wants to see. Don’t give them this satisfaction because if you do, they win.

By refusing to react, you are taking a stand. Use skills that will disarm the other person. Be patient, use humor, try to understand why they are thinking the way they are, speak up when you come across something that is blatantly racist, but speak calmly. If you cannot do it verbally, walk away from the situation until you have cooled off and then address what you felt was wrong, or do it in writing.

rac·ism rey-siz-uhm The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as...

Prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief.

Tools For Dealing With Racism Racism Racism Racism Racism

by Christine McFarlane

as an individual, feel strong.

You know in your heart that racism is wrong, and you can either let the words and actions of this racist person knock you down or you can empower yourself to do something.

Sometimes it can take one incident of racism to make you act, or it can take a few incidents before you act, but the important thing is you have the ability to make the move to stop it from happening.

Don’t Blame Yourself When we encounter racism or 24 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

Racism is difficult and hard to deal with. We often ignore or laugh off slurs because we do not want to create a scene, but what we can do is calmly question the belief that is being projected onto us and take the opportunity to initiate a calm discussion.

Be A Role Model Treat everyone fairly and with respect, the same way you would want to be treated. On a community level, you can go to friends who are not involved in the racism; to your Elders or an adult you trust and ask them to help you create a community dialogue. This can

be done through awareness programs, volunteering, using social media in a respectful way or once again writing about it.

Know you are Not Alone It may feel like you are, but really, you are not alone. Do not be afraid to go to someone you trust. Tell them what is happening to you, and do not be afraid to say, “I need help in dealing with this.”

To admit that you need help with someone/something does not mean you are weak. In fact, you are showing a strength that not many people can appreciate. Change begins with you.

idle no more Taken on the Blood Reserve by photographer Blaire Russell

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I am from Peepeekisis Cree Nation in the File Hills near where Treaty 4 was signed in 1874. Our ancestors signed treaties as a sense of security. Their livelihood and main food source, the buffalo, were being slaughtered and driven off. Bands had no choice but to surrender and sign in order for their people to survive.

The idea of owning land is only a concept. An imaginary divide of borders and boundaries. How can you own Okâwimâwaskiy, our Mother earth?

You can’t own her.

The Plains, the area my ancestors called home, were quickly changing. They signed treaties in order to secure our future because the world around them was evolving so quickly.

In 1885, an amendment was passed that made it illegal to practice ceremonies such as Sundances and sweat lodges, it also became against the law to carry traditional objects like pipes, drums and rattles. So basically our ancestors could have landed themselves in jail for practicing our traditional ways.

events that that took place leading to the oppression of our culture. I could go on about squatters on land, enfranchisement, bill c 31, what makes a status Indian a real Indian, and so much more, this little column would end up being an endless book if I had the space on these pages to elaborate.

When we look at the bigger picture, we see generations of people carrying the

“Learn everything you can about your history. Arm yourself with the knowledge to be a well-rounded individual who is proud of your ancestry.” ideas and beliefs of their forefathers.

There are Indian people who are brainwashed to believe that their old ways are evil and uncivilized. There are white people who are decedents of the policy makers and settlers on the

to do? It’s time to investigate.

Investigate who you are. Learn everything you can about your history.

Arm yourself with the knowledge to be a well-rounded individual who is proud of your ancestry. You are born an Indian person, with an Indian spirit and a connection to this land. Racism and discrimination can be cured by enlightenment and by educating yourself and knowing exactly who you are. Be proud of it. It is our responsibility as Indigenous people to break the cycles of the stereotypes and the statistics we are given. The drunk. The druggie. The one who gets all the handouts.

It’s important to make healthy choices now. Drugs and alcohol have hurt our people for generations. Get rid of it, it’s not meant for us. We react and respond differently to those substances. Take a hard look, you’ll see. Put down that weed pipe and pick up a real pipe.

We need to practice our culture and traditions. We need to be proud and strong, to live life with integrity, humility and love. It is so important to keep

Learn, Heal, Rise and Decolonize Decolonize A column by Desirae Desnomie

In addition to this, the Canadian government wanted to get rid of the “Indian problem” and “Take the Indian out of the child,” with the support of churches and the Indian agent, it was the law to take our ancestors children from their homes and families and place them into residential schools where many of the children experienced abuse of all kinds in the most brutal ways.

The children were taught little in the way of valuable education and often treated like labourers. They were not allowed to practice their traditional ways and had our language literally beaten out of them. This happened in Canada, it was the law...

There were many other historical 26 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

frontier who have a negative outlook and attitude about Canada’s Indigenous people. It’s about education. Or lack of education.

I know the more I learn about our history the more outraged I become. I also become more determined to focus on spiritual sustenance and language retention, to show my babies this way.

It lays heavy on my mind. How many people still have their language? Look at our dynamics? Do you see the after effects of residential school lying heavy on your shoulders? A lot of our people are still living oppressed. In this day and age, in this modern setting there is so much racism and discrimination plaguing our people. What are we going

our songs and storytelling alive! Teach yourselves, ask questions to knowledge keepers and share what you know. It is time for us to reclaim our languages and our ceremonies. Join in. There’s no one to beat the language out of you or abuse you for practicing the old ways. Residential schools have closed their doors; there are no Indian agents anymore. We need to stay out of the jails and our babies need to stay out of foster care. Teach our young ones the truth.

Wear your braids proud and sing your songs loud! Now is the time. It is our responsibility to learn, heal, rise and decolonize.

Photo by Jack Borno

Eradicating Stereotypes through Cultural Knowledge Discrimination exists everywhere, even on reserves. Sometimes First Nation people discriminate against First Nation people. For example, the Blood First Nation has a conflicting history with the Stoney First Nations. A lot of people today are still rivals. This is a form of unrest that hopefully some day will disappear.

There are three bands on Morley reserve. All three bands share the Morley reserve. Some people think that the bands often work separately, rather then cooperatively. This divisiveness can cause problems with the people.

There are many non-native teachers at the high school. They drive in from Calgary, Canmore, and Cochrane.

Many of the non-native teachers are absolutely amazing! On the other hand, some non-native teachers often compare their own life experiences

with life experiences of people who live in Morley. Many see poverty, see life on the reserve as inferior and they feel sorry for our people. This makes me feel angry. This creates a stereotype.

I have a friend who got pregnant at age sixteen. After she dropped out of school, I noticed a few teachers putting her down and making bad remarks about her. I felt compassion for my friend and I also felt humiliated.

I wanted to argue with the teachers about their remarks, but I didn’t feel empowered to do so. If only some teachers could see students through a different lens.

Just like all other communities, Morley experiences social problems.

If only some people could see past the stereotypes and see the beauty in our culture and traditions.

In spite of this, there is unity amongst our people. There are times that all of the Stoney people get together as “one nation.” The people attend events like powwows and round dances, and they attend ceremonies such as sun dances, sweat lodges and pipe ceremonies.

These events instill pride and harmony in our people. We laugh, rejoice and bond. The Stoney First Nation culture is beautiful. The beauty flows through the blood in our veins and our culture becomes stronger than ever. People need to know this to eradicate the stereotypes in our society.

A Stoney First Nation student, who was raised on the Morley reserve 50 km west of Calgary, wrote this essay. This student plans to attend university to earn a degree and become a social worker.

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In an inspirational account, writer Kelsey Bird Quinney shares the dream of Ontario teen Shannen Koostachin.

Shannen calling out the government on Parliament Hill, June 2008.

Shannen in her pow wow regalia, Timiskaming District Secondary School Pow Wow. Shannen Koostachin, March 2008 with some of the thousands of letters written by students across the country in response to the “Students Helping Students” campaign launched by Shannen and her friends. photos provided by Charles Angus

by Kelsey Bird Quinney “My message is to never give up. You get up, pick up your books and keep walking in your moccasins.” In 2009, the largest children’s rights movement in Canadian history was taking place, all because of a fifteenyear-old girl with a loud voice and an infectious determination to reach her goal.

Shannen Koostachin was only fourteen in 2008 when she wrote her first letter to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl asking for a new school to be built on her reserve Attawapiskat First Nation.

In that letter she shared her aspirations to obtain a proper education in order to follow her dream of becoming a lawyer.

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She also shared the struggles that she faced everyday in the pursuit of that dream.

Shannen came from a family of seven children. When she realized that she had been going to school in makeshift portables intended to be a temporary solution to the community’s lack of a school, she made the decision to change the situation not only for herself, but also for her younger siblings and entire community.

In her letter she said that the number one reason for her motivation was her younger siblings, “I’ve been going to school in these washrooms for eight long struggling years now. I do not want my younger brothers and sisters thinking those portables are proper schools,” she said.

Beginning in 2009 she led a major children’s right movement for Aboriginal children. It flourished from a small idea to a nationwide goal. The use of social networking and media websites, such as Facebook and Youtube helped spread the word of her human rights campaign for education very quickly.

For an individual to make a difference they must believe in themselves and what it is that they are fighting for.

Inviting the country to join her cause, students, teachers, church groups, and people from all walks of life soon shared in her fight against the inequality in the education of Aboriginal students.

Shannen acknowledged the support of the nation and its multiculturalism.

“This is why we are made of the circle.

One is red, one is yellow, the other is white and the other is black. We are all the same. We keep the circle strong,” she said.

She had a deep-rooted belief that education is important and that it would give her the opportunities that she would need and want in life. At the age of fourteen she understood the importance of education, and the need for a proper environment in which to be educated.

In 2009 she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize because of her work. She spoke at the Education Rights Conference held at the University of Toronto, moving people with her words of truth. Eventually, she had the New School Campaign include not only Attawapiskat, but all First Nations across Canada.

Sadly on June 1, 2010, Shannen Koostachin passed away in a car accident while making her daily drive to high school off reserve. After her passing, her friend Chelsea Edwards along with the help of her MP Charlie Angus picked up where Shannen left off.

Shannen’s Dream was presented to the House of Commons as Motion 201

in the fall of 2011. February 27, 2012, Motion 202 was unanimously voted in.

The motion, put forward by the NDP and supported by all Parliamentarians declares that all First Nation children have an equal right to high quality, culturally relevant education. The motion also commits Parliament to providing the necessary financial and policy supports for First Nations education systems.

Shannen Koostachin made a difference to her community and our country at a young age. She did not set limits on her goals or her means of achieving them.

Even when faced with the daunting task of challenging the federal government she would not take no for an answer.

“I would tell them [other children] not to be afraid. To ignore people who are putting you down. To get up and tell them what you want and what you need!” For an individual to make a difference they must believe in themselves and what it is that they are fighting for. That belief becomes so strong and contagious that it begins to spread within communities, and cities, to the whole country.

“I would tell them [other children] NEVER give up hope.” From her speeches and letters it is evident that she spoke a simple language. When you are speaking from your heart there is no need for pretentious or over-rehearsed words.

According to a joint study by provincial, federal and First Nations staff, Alberta First Nation schools are short $15 million a year compared to other provincial schools. There are more than 11,000 students between the ages of four and twenty-one missing from on reserve education intuitions. In an Alberta Education report, Appendix E, states, “education levels for certain segments of the Aboriginal population are still below the Canadian average. In 1996, 31 per cent of the Aboriginal on-reserve population, about one half the Canadian average, had a high school education.” In the section of this report titled Performance Measures, it uses the Alberta provincial Achievement Test as a measurement of grade level and capabilities. It illustrates the statistics, stating, “the strongest performance by students with registered Indian status who wrote the Achievement Test was in grade 3. Approximately 40 per cent of grade 3 students in band-operated schools and 50-70 per cent of students in other school systems met the Acceptable Standard in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The weakest performance was in grade 9. In the past three years, fewer than 15 per cent of grade 9 students in band-operated schools and fewer than 50 per cent of students in other school systems met the Acceptable Standard in Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

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Fighting With Fire With Fire Will Only Get Us burned

by Cherilynn Blood

kid,” her parents exclaimed.

Not only did a little nine-yearA little girl in fourth grade went old boy have the mindset that home crying to her parents after natives were what others had school one day. Seeking comfort stereotyped them to be, but also she told her parents of the details her Nitsitapi – native parents of the day leading up to why she had placed a stereotype on the was so distraught. She shared “white” people. everything including what she I was that little girl, and to this ate for lunch and eventually she day that incident haunts me. told her parents that a boy in class One of my biggest obstacles in called her a dirty Indian. life has been managing racism She couldn’t comprehend why he and discrimination because of said such a thing, why be so cruel the life I was born into. and make fun of who she was.

I hear the phrase “white person” She couldn’t thrown control that around as if it’s One of my biggest she was an synonymous Indian; she obstacles in life has been with racist. just was what I have managing racism and she was. A experienced discrimination because of people judging nine year old the life I was born into boy already in me, a young the mindset Blackfoot that Indians woman, were dirty, that stereotypical based on the stereotypes of our mindset of many non-native Nitsitapiiksi – native people.

Southern Albertans at that time.

Truth is, this virus among Her parents listened and asked thoughts, affects everyone no who the boy was, both parents matter their cultural background thinking it was a Naapikoan – a or skin colour. I have seen white person. fellow Nitsitapi students accuse “It was this black kid in my class,” teachers of being racist for how she cried, tears streaming down they go about their job. It’s not her face. Her parents looked at racism, it’s just the teacher doing each other in shock. “A black their job and treating the student 30 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

based on their participation in class. I have also experienced always be there, judging me based on their past experiences an elderly white couple scorn my friends and I for laughing a or observations that have nothing to do with me. bit too loud during lunchtime in a fast food restaurant, telling As I looked over our tweets I sat and stared at the computer us we’re not on the “rez” anymore. screen, tears streaming down my face. I tried not to let his I have come to learn not to label people in general but form words get to me but it was too late. my opinions about them as an individual based on their “Fight fire with fire and you only get burned.” actions.

A saying that is used frequently but when dealing with racism Like others, the Idle No More movement it is easy to use that same anger and swept me into its frenzy. While taking part hatefulness back. Fighting racism with in this movement I have come across many racism, will not win you an argument Fighting racism with racism, rather it will place more negativity in racist people. will not win you an argument your life.

Through Twitter I have gained followers rather it will place more by my active role in Idle No More, one day Someone tells me I get “free” school?

I decided to put up my graduation picture That taxpayer’s money pays for our negativity in your life along with the words, “educated first nation people? Well taxpayer money pays right there! @pmharper.” Followed by for Canada’s roads, public buildings, another tweet saying, “…be afraid @pmharper I’m trying education, healthcare, and so on. When someone tells me hard and going onto university so I can fight people like you that residential schools were 100 hundred years ago and to for my people. #IdleNoMore” get over it, I remind them that the last one closed in 1996 A bitter person I did not know decided to be a keyboard and we are three generations from recovering from the harm warrior and comment on my Tweets. This person called me those schools have brought. down for wanting to go to university, claiming I should thank Throughout the injustices that our ancestors faced, the Canada for my “free” schooling, telling me that I should stop settlers from England and France gave us our greatest replying to him and, “set up a road to block or something.” weapon, education. Education is how I counteract the words These remarks outraged me, and made me think to myself, of those close-minded individuals who think stereotypes no matter what I do in life – succeed or not – people will should define our people.

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The 4th Annual Hate Crimes Awareness Day took place on April 24, 2013. The theme for 2013 was “We all have a role.”

A hate crime is a “message crime” designed to strike fear and/or terror into the heart of a community. These types of crimes marginalize human rights, erode multiculturalism, subjugate equality and are oppressive to society as a whole. Hate Crime Awareness Day invites communities to rally together to send the message that hate crimes will not be tolerated in their community.

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Calgary Police Service Hate Crimes Coordinator Eric Levesque listens to the concerns of a citizen during the event.

Calgary police chief Rick Hanson addresses the large crowd assembled at the gathering.

Photos by Stacey Carefoot

About the Front Cover The front cover of New Tribe Special Edition II was conceptualized by USAY program manager Rachel Paris.

“I wanted to depict a modernist variation of the medicine wheel, using the face of our youth as the canvas,” says Paris.

In this instance, the four colours of the medicine wheel represent the four human races and the interconnectedness of all people and all things. For many Aboriginal groups the medicine wheel represents and honours the four directions, stages of life, sacred medicines, seasons and aspects to living life in a healthy and respectful way.

Paris’s vision was brought to life by model Chris Cranebear, photographer Freddy Horst, and make up artist Kayla Martin.

“We chose Chris as our Model because he is actively involved in USAY initiatives and he is extremely photogenic and on top of that, he’s a great guy,” says Paris. A special thanks to Freddy Horst, and Kayla Martin of Kayla Martin Mobile Spa for their artistic contribution to the cover of this publication.

32 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

> Left to right, Aboriginal Liaison Officer Cindy Provost, Hate Crimes Coordinator Eric Levesque and Community Liaison Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative Monique Fry take part in Hate Crimes Awareness Day held at the Calgary Public Library.

MOVIES

It’s time to grab a date, a friend or the family and curl up on the couch with some popcorn. Our writers have reviewed a couple of great movies you’re going to want to watch soon. Both of these films will spark pride in culture and remind us of the importance of our roots, doing the right thing and making a difference.

Heartspeak about Shannen’s Dream

Producer/Director Shelley Steele Heartspeak TV Available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gy38grr35c Reviewed by Kelsey Bird Quinney Heartspeak TV is a channel on YouTube that showcases and connects the voices of youth on social issues, relationships, life and learning. One of their most viewed programs is an enlightening and inspiring documentary on Shannen Koostachin. “All kids in Canada deserve a learning environment that they are proud to attend. We want the same hope as every other Canadian student,” said Koostachin during the documentary.

Shannen Koostachin was from Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario, and was leading the nation’s youth in the fight against inequality of education against Aboriginal children. As the video states, “Shannen didn’t set out to be a leader. She just wanted to go to school.” Attawapiskat has been in need of a new school for over 30 years, the temporary solution was to use makeshift portables for classrooms until a new school was built. The government had promised, and backed out of building a new school in the area three different times. Shannen was aware of this, and did not shy away from the opportunity of calling the government out on it. “Three years ago, my sister Serena Koostachin was here on this spot and pleaded for a new school. But I ask, why do I have to come back to ask for the same thing?”

Early in the short documentary we learn that Shannen died in a tragic motor vehicle accident on June 1, 2010 when she was only 15. Heartspeak TV does an incredible job of bringing the viewer into the picture very quickly.

We watch how those who knew Shannen have rallied around her dream and how they have turned their grief over the loss of their family member and friend into something positive.

Through Shannen’s own words, captured on video during her many speeches we can hear her passion and her commitment to her people. The film is filled with candid snap shots and is narrated by the film’s creator Shelley Steele. During the documentary, a song titled Diamonds in the Snow is featured in the background; a personal friend of Shannen’s, Member of Parliament Charlie Angus and another Member of Parliament Andrew Cash are performing this song, which they wrote specifically for Shannen and the children of Attawapiskat. The film also features Sarah McLachlan’s hit I Will Remember You. This documentary which is easy to access via the Internet is a must see for absolutely every Canadian.

Crooked Arrows

Directed by Steve Rash Reviewed by Tia Ledesma Lacrosse, the ancient fast paced game and also known to the Siniquaw people as the Creator’s Game is beautifully showcased on the big screen, as it should be, with tradition, culture and community tied to the essence of the sport.

Half Siniquaw, Joe Logan, a former star Lacrosse player and manager of the local casino is disconnected from his heritage but is forced to reintroduce himself to his culture when he signs a deal to expand the casino on traditional land and requires the reservations approval. Tribal leaders see the economic benefits of a casino but decide first to let Logan’s father guide him back to his native traditions. He eventually enters a quest for selfdiscovery to prove he is worthy to guide his people.

In order to bring honour and respect back to his people he must be the new lacrosse coach. With the help of his Grandmother serving as his spiritual advisor and tom-boy kid sister, (Chelsea Ricketts) he takes on the challenge of getting the all-time losers, high school lacrosse team to a winning state championship. Through trial and error and with the Elder’s stories and the youth’s perseverance and a love for the game, he is able to connect with himself and his community.

The director is able to blend culture and tradition into this movie nicely. Brandon Routh surprisingly pulls off playing a half First Nation, and the youth in the film look great on screen. The storyline is able to balance sport and drama nicely although I would have liked have to seen more comedy throughout the film. It has it funny moments but they are predictable. It’s perfect for a family movie night and will leave you feeling good.

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Books definition: a critical review of a book (usually a recently published book) In a world that is filled with so many different ways to obtain information we often can’t see past Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to remember the good old fashioned book. You know, those things found on the dusty library shelves or between the aisles at the bookstore. We hope these book reviews spark your interest and remind you to pull out that library card or download these selections onto your e-reader and enjoy!

The Inconvenient Indian: A curious Account of Native People in North America

By Thomas King Publisher Doubleday Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited Reviewed by Desirae Desnomie

Thomas King’s The Inconvenient Indian offered heavy historical facts and issues combined with humorous wit. It was delivered in an easy to read way. I was thoroughly entertained and quickly became very interested in the range of topics. I felt like I was absorbing important information, information that I later shared with the people around me, so they too could be enlightened.

Whether you are looking for a crash course on Canadian-American Indigenous history and the relationships at first contact or on how we’re doing now in a modern setting this is the read for you.

Thomas King writes from the Indian’s perspective, his provocative storytelling about myths and legends, with a close look at the romanticized historical past of Native people in North America. King’s categorization of the “Dead Indian,” the “Live Indian,” and the “Legal Indian,” breaks down common stereotypes. I found myself agreeing with everything he had to write about.

King’s outlook is accurate and will enlighten a younger generation of readers on issues that are alive and well today. I felt I could relate to Thomas King’s viewpoint on Indian/White relationships. He had a way about writing pure truth, nothing sugar coated and I appreciated that.

The Inconvenient Indian is fresh and well written. The truthful, straightforward pages are worth the read.

Suggested Readings

APRIL RAINTREE

By Beatrice Culleton Peguis Publishers, January 1 1984 1491 NEW REVELATIONS OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS

By Charles C. Mann Vintage, October 10 2006 34 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

RETURNING TO THE TEACHINGS: EXPLORING ABORIGINAL JUSTICE

By Rupert Ross Penguin Canada, August 27 1996 THE DISPOSSESSED

By Geoffrey York McArthur & Co, November 1999

Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity

By Pamela Palmater, Publisher - Purich Publishing Ltd. Reviewed by Christine McFarlane

This book discusses the Indian Act and how it plays a huge role in how it defines identity for First Nations people. The author gives a historic overview of legislative rulings defining Indian status, readers are taken through contemporary court case rulings and the impact these specific rulings have had on First Nations people. She not only uses her own family as an example but also mentions such historic cases as McIvor vs Canada (2009) and others.

Indigenous peoples in Canada face varying degrees of government control when it comes to their individual and collective identities and Palmater believes that the membership provisions of the Indian Act are problematic because they, “limit what First Nations can do as peoples and as sovereign nations and place a legal burden on First Nations peoples as always having to prove how Indian they are, through blood quantum.”

Palmater states that a recurring theme when it comes to dealing with the Indigenous peoples of Canada is control, division and assimilation. She also examines various band membership codes to determine how Indigenous identity is affected and how it is through the reliance on these membership codes or how the status criteria through the Indian Act perpetuates discrimination between Indigenous peoples themselves.

This is a very well written book. It makes you take a second look at how the Indian Act defines you as a First Nations individual and has you questioning whether the Indian Act is more detrimental to the Indigenous peoples of Canada than it is helpful.

ME FUNNY

By Drew Hayden Taylor Douglas & McIntyre, January 2012 MEDICINE WALK

By Ardath Mayhar Simon Pulse, November 28 2007 BLASPHEMY

By Sherman Alexie Grove Press, October 2 2012 OUR STORY: ABORIGINAL VOICES ON CANADA’S PAST

By Thomas King Anchor Canada, September 20 2005 WALKING A TIGHTROPE: ABORIGINAL PEOPLE AND THEIR REPRESENTATIONS

By Ute Lishchke & David T. McNab Wilfrid Laurier University Press, March 14 2005

ROUND HOUSE

By Louise Erdrich Harper, September 24 2012 LIFE STAGES AND NATIVE WOMEN: MEMORY, TEACHING, AND STORY MEDICINE

By Kim Anderson University of Manitoba Press, September 19 2011 SEEKING MINO-PIMATISIWIN: AN ABORIGINAL APPROACH TO HELPING

By Michael Anthony Hart Fernwood Books Ltd, July 31 2003 THE ELDERS ARE WATCHING

By Roy Henry Vickers & David Bouchard Raincoast Books, June 2003 YELLOW LINE

By Sylvia Olsen Orca Book Publishers, September 2005

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Journaling to Unfortunately, racist and discriminatory behaviours occur around us everyday. Young and old are witness to or the target of this negative behaviour; it can take place anywhere including schools, grocery stores and public parks. Discriminatory behaviour can affect how you feel about yourself and how you feel towards others. Journaling about how an experience made you feel can help you heal and discover how you might handle a similar situation in the future.

Prejudice: An irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race or their supposed characteristics.

Racism: A belief that ‘race’ is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

Human Rights: Rights (such as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture and execution) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all persons.

Discriminate: To make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit.

All definitions are from www.merriam-webster.com

Take some time to yourself and respond to the following questions: 1. Write about a time that you witnessed or experienced racism or discrimination.

How did it make you feel? How did you feel towards the offending person?

Explain how you reacted to the situation. Did you pretend not to hear, or did you say something?

2. Describe how you felt afterwards about how you reacted to the situation – did you regret your actions or wish you had done more?

3. Write down 3 strategies on how you will manage a similar situation in the future.

If you can’t think of any, read through the magazine and learn about how others have dealt with their own experiences.

1.

2.

3.

Awareness 4. Think about your own prejudices: what are some conclusions you jump to when you think about certain demographics, cultures or religions?

5. How do you think you’ve developed those stereotypes and prejudices towards others? Have personal experiences contributed to your thought pattern?

6. How do you think your family and friends contribute to your thoughts about other groups of people? Are your thoughts your own or someone else’s?

7. What are some things you can do to learn more about those cultures/groups/religions you have negative thoughts towards?

8. Being a positive role model and educating others around you about your culture/group/religion can help to dispel myths and misconceptions that exist in the community. List 4 things that you can do within your family/school/community to help eliminate racism and discrimination 1.

2.

3.

4.

9. List 5 things that make you proud to be you.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

poetry /ˈpōətrē/

Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm;...

A quality of beauty and intensity of emotion regarded as characteristic of poems; “poetry and fire are nicely balanced in the music”.

FIRST NATION Shooting Sioux star I adore See you dance across the floor Points are sharp, colours bright The outfit you ride is blue and white Beaded and fancy it moves to the beat As the dancer twirls so light on her feet Her shawl spreads ribbons around like tail The Sioux star tells a story that is not frail Keep dancing, keep falling, know your reasons why The Pow Wow is the night, the dancer the sky The shooting Sioux Star I see tonight I wish you may I wish you might

F- Follow your heart I- Independence is where to start R- Rise to the top S- Stand up and never stop T -Teach your ancestry with pride N- Negotiate with no one A- Always strive to get things done T- Temptation, try to avoid I- Inequity will lead others to be annoyed O- Optimism, the best in everything N- Nation to nation, what a beautiful creation -Hannah

-Davis

Photos provided by Chris Grimes

Untitled

I am Me

No one can be like me All the years being me All the years growing up All the years remembering, listening, How to grow up, to be me All the years seeing family grow up And get old But I’ll always remember Where I came from Which blood I was born into Everything around me I’ll always be me -Anonymous 38 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013

D- don’t pick on me Y- you don’t even know me N- nobody likes bullies A- anyone can stand up M- maybe even you I- I stand up to bullies T- time for you to stand up too E- everyone has feet, you have two

I respect my culture in any way The way my Grandparents told me Coloured or not couloured it doesn’t matter A person is a person My culture is a way of life Some accept. Some chose not to I respect my culture Behaviour is happy Always smiling Not putting people down A person is a person Even when our cultures are not the same.

-Tim

-JJ

Dynamite

This piece depicts how our Elders help younger generations in coping with racism and other issues in our lives. The artist, Kristy North Peigan, chose to focus on the balance of peace and turbulence. ”Regardless of our background, we all have challenges we must face. Every person has a story and a history,” she says.

“We deal with many types of issues in our lives as Aboriginal people. It is unfortunate, but all we can do is remember who we are as a people, and the advice and teachings of our Elders,” says North Peigan. “We must remember these teachings; because they will be the lessons we share with future generations. I think these should also be teachings to share with many other communities, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. What we need as a world community is a mutual effort in understanding one another. We need to see each other as equals,” says North Peigan.

On the back cover an Elder woman mirrors the young woman. On the young woman’s side, there is turbulence and darkness. “I wanted to communicate the inner turmoil

About the Back Cover

that occurs over a hurtful event, and hurtful words,” says the artist. The young woman is shown holding a sacred circle, with the white area covered. This was intentional, and a way to show disconnect between us as people. She is holding it near her heart, which is being shielded by the Elder woman’s hand. This is an action done to protect the young woman’s spirit and general Being within Creation. The calming colours balance each other. They are shown as two halves of one Being, because the teachings we are taught stay with us as we grow into the people our Elders hope we become.

About the Artist…

Kristy North Peigan is from the Piikani First Nation. She moved to Calgary in 1997 and frequently visits her family and friends back home. She attends the Alberta College of Art and Design and is a Visual Communications Design major; she has just completed her second year in the program. Upon completion of the Bachelor of Design program Kristy would like to travel to attend various Illustration workshops abroad.

39 NEW TRIBE Special Edition 2013