Another National Day for Truth and Reconciliation has come and gone; the fifth since its inception. Orange shirts were worn. Speeches made. Politicians commented on the importance of Indigenous people to this country, and on the horrors we’ve endured throughout its history. Originally, the day recognized the tragic legacy of residential schools, the missing children and families left behind, and the survivors of these institutions. It has morphed into so much more. Amongst other purposes, it’s become a report card: a time to tally up how many of the 94 recommendations set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have been met. (To date, according to the non-profit group Indigenous Watchdog, only 14 have been completed.)
But there is still a substantial amount of work to do in creating an understanding of what’s behind reconciliation. Many out there chafe at the thought of historical accountability. “Get over it” is the rallying cry of those who think Indigenous people have thin (albeit cool and sexy coppery) skin.
As I tweeted out my day of Truth and Reconciliation adventures, the comments on social media were less than positive or encouraging. I will give you some examples. Somebody complained they were “sick of hearing about the [I]ndigenous. There’s never been a bigger bunch of whiners in the history of this country.”
Well, that’s not saying much — our concept of the history of this land goes back far longer than your five hundred odd years. We have trees older than that.
The line about whiners sounds kind of whiny to me. I can picture them typing this away as the song “Whiter Shade of Pale” plays in the background, completely misinterpreting the meaning of the title.
“Our ancestors are the reasons you have 5G instead of smoke signals.” You need to brush up on your history. My people, the Anishnaabe, never had smoke signals, other than to tell us dinner’s ready and Dad burned something. And from our hearts, I wish to thank your people for the creation of 5G internet. Our lives have been so greatly improved by the steady flow of porn and cat videos.
Another fan wanted me to know “Life would be better for your people if they just started working and bought their own places off reserve. That doesn’t destroy your culture. Unless your culture is laying around in filth.”
I have been to over 150 First Nation communities across Canada, and usually half the listed population of each community lives off rez, in cities. With jobs. As for the line about lying around in filth, I don’t think so. We have a white person who comes over twice a month to clean our house.
One person sent me a picture of an 1880s white settler family, with the caption, Happy Settler Pride Day! Another posting said: Happy White People Day. We hear references to this all the time. There’s Indigenous History Month and Black History Month. Why isn’t there a White Settler Month? It reminds me of back in my childhood when kids would ask, “If there’s a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, why isn’t there a Kid’s Day?” The response was usually, “Well, every day is Kid’s Day.”
Someone else simply said, “You are welcome for free schooling.” Thanks?!?!?!
I wouldn’t say free. It cost us an awful lot.
Someone thought an intelligent avenue for discussion might be “Remember when the Iroquois used to throw girls down Niagara Falls?” I’ve visited at least six times and don’t remember seeing that. (Rumour says it was after a snow-snake tournament; a bunch of the boys went to the wax museum and thought it might be fun to borrow Marilyn Monroe and Madonna for a trip down the river. A simple misunderstanding.)
And finally, my favourite, somebody said simply to me, “You’re white.” Not exactly sure what that has to do with the Truth and Reconciliation Day. Additionally, not the most original observation — but I get that a lot, as I sit here on the rez, in the house my mother owned, while my cousin, the chief, sits at the band office where half a dozen of my other cousins work. When confronted with this, I like to ask: “Where did you do your undergraduate work in identifying Indigenous people?”
A lot of this may seem snarky, but this is an important day for Indigenous people. It’s an acknowledgement of the past — and that those children, once considered lost, are remembered. I love that metaphor of how those children who were buried became seeds of defiance.
Some want to shrug it off, saying, "That was then, this is now."
But nobody is ever gone if they are remembered. And to quote a cliche, those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
One of our ancient teachings is that people who give attitude will frequently get attitude back.
I once read it on a piece of birch bark.
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