Selected essays
ayahciyiniw pîtosaskîhk/ stranger in a strange land
I’m jet-lagged at a conference in a skiing village in Bavaria. The hotel reminds me of the Banff Centre, but we aren’t in a national park that was created through the displacement of Indigenous Peoples. I don’t know how to relate to these lands, but the sâkahikanis/pond they call a sâkahikan/lake, ein See, is rumoured to have eine Meerjungfrau/mermaid that drove a German king mad, and powerful water beings are familiar.
Notes from an Apocalypse
Speaking to Barnaby on the phone was a lot like chatting with a friend over a cup of Red Rose or a pint of beer. He’d been doing interviews for a couple of days straight, but he still had the energy for a two-hour conversation about his work and the ups and downs of being an Indigenous director in Canada.
Who is a setter, according to Indigenous and Black scholars
The descendants of enslaved Africans absolutely cannot be considered settlers. Enslaved peoples could not consent to being brought here, and their presence cannot confer upon their descendants acceptance into the settler colonial system, especially since, being inherently white supremacist, settler colonialism is virulently anti-Black.
Why Indigenous languages should be taught alongside French and English
Embedded within our languages are cultural concepts that have the potential to give all Canadians a deeper understanding of our place in relation to the world around us. Our languages have been systematically devalued for generations out of a misplaced sense of their inferiority.
Blanket Statement
On the Prairies, the HBC multi-stripe point blanket—white wool with colourful bands of green, red, yellow and navy blue—is highly prized among Métis and First Nations on this side of the medicine line. When we want to honour someone for their achievements, or give them a gift during a ceremony, blanketing is a shared custom, and not an inexpensive one!
Are we serious about truth and reconciliation?
When Oka happened, in the summer of 1990, I was in junior high. It was a strange time. From almost never seeing Indigenous people on TV or hearing about them on the radio, suddenly there were months of coverage. Every time I saw a picture of a Mohawk warrior in camouflage, face covered and raising a fist, I felt both thrilled and terrified.
