With the recent suicides occurring in Attawapiskat recently, Indigenous people are mobilizing, we are connecting, we are harmonizing. Last night we had a beautiful, commemorating vigil to recognize the lives that were taken all too early. A children’s life should not be burdened with the thought of how best or quickly they could end it. Our group of nearly 100 people of Indigenous & non-Indigenous descent gathered in a matter of less than 12 hours to stand in strength and support for these individuals. Although it was a sad event, we need to keep in mind the importance of the issue of suicide and its effect it has on our people. Why are our people in such despair? Why do they feel as if their lives and minds are like jail cells which they cannot escape? Why are kids as young as 7 learning that no longer taking a human form on Earth is the best solution to their problems?
THIS IS A PANDEMIC!
This morning a rally was organized to peacefully march the the Indigenous and Northern Affairs of Canada (INAC) building with hopes of exemplifying solidarity with Attawapiskat. We want to show the citizens of Ottawa, the people on reserves and the government officials that losing 11 lives in the matter of one weekend is serious. When our women and children start to lose faith in the future, and start to lose faith in existing, we realize this issue was created for us, not by us. Since first contact, it has been the government’s plan to forbid language, to abolish culture and to destroy lives. Plain and simple. Were their intentions to “assimilate” the Indian positive? No. Were there plans for us to overcome the atrocities and tragedies bestowed upon us? No. They expected us to slowly deteriorate on these reserves as we lost our skills to communicate, hunt, travel and subsist.
These are hard truths to face, but the resiliency and power of the spirit continued to rise on and live within most Indigenous people. This spirit is what led me to organize the vigil, and to show up to the rally this morning. We arrived at Parliament to gather the women who would sing an honor song and a welcoming of the ancestors song. Our plan was to open the day with positive spirits and in a welcoming, nurturing way. On this cool, brisk morning we sang with our drums as we walked down Wellington Street to make our way to the government buildings falling within Quebec’s jurisdiction.
Talk about feeling a sense of disconnection and inequality. As we arrived into the foyer of 10 Wellington, Gatineau, QC, at the building of “Indigenous and Northern Affairs” we were met with roughly 8-10+ police officers who stood legs hip width apart wearing bright florescent vests. This was extremely intimidating and nerve-racking. The foyer was immediately filled with emotions such as fear and anxiety. I felt as if I was a stranger on my own land. I felt lost. I felt as if I was “in the way”. I felt as if the place who “takes care” of matters pertaining to Indigenous people wanted nothing to do with us. What a way to start a morning!! Unable to use the washroom, I walked to a local Subway where I felt obligated to buy a few items just to use the restroom. As I returned, one older man from Saskatchewan had been pleading to use the facilities.
The anxiety and fear was still as strong if not stronger when I returned from Subway. I made an announcement asking “Why is it that I feel fear when I walk in to this foyer? We need to calm this energy and we need to switch this fear with faith. Let’s start over, let’s not be two opposing forces”. The energy calmed down a bit and I told the people to use the washroom at the local Nando’s across the street. It is illegal for any public outlet to deny anyone access to a washroom facility. I ended up buying the man from Saskatchewan lunch because he didn’t seem to have enough for a can of Fresca. I mean, come on, we just spent the morning walking 2.4 kilometers while singing.
All this to say that I have never felt as unwelcome or as lost as I felt this morning. It’s no wonder why Indigenous people who come to “big cities” from the reserve don’t end up staying. We are not expected to stay. It’s as if we should accept the control of being “locked out” or “kept away” from institutions that hold “power”. This never ending cycle of “rationing” and “restricting” the Indigenous people from accessing anything from previous documents involving residential schools, proper education, and even washrooms is the most despicable use of power I have ever witnessed. This is not a sob story or a pity story. This is a story about a student, a friend, a sister, an aunt, who believes she should enjoy the same treatments other students, friends, sisters and aunts who live in this “free” and “democratic” society called Canada do.
Auntie Gee 