Tattoos for National _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Day
By Maurice Switzer
“Share in the Celebration!” The words virtually shout at you from the federal Aboriginal Affairs ministry website.
“Canadians from all walks of life are invited to participate in the many National Aboriginal Day events that will be taking place from coast to coast to coast. This is a special day to celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada.”
Far be it from me to rain on anybody’s parade, but it sure would be helpful to hear Bernard Valcourt saying nice things about his brown brothers and sisters 365 days a year, and not just each June 21st.
It seems like only yesterday the Indian Affairs minister was calling First Nations leaders a bunch of “rogue chiefs” after they suggested that he roll up his First Nations Education Act and find a good place to store it.
Valcourt is the latest parliamentary gopher assigned to impose Stephen Harper’s brand of reconciliation on First Nations. In the past year alone, this has included chopping federal support for everything from land claims research to maternal child health care benefits.
Just so you get a feeling for the quality of the relationship between the Harper government and First Nations, for the first time in history, the government of Canada has been summoned before a human rights tribunal to explain why it funds First Nations children in care an average 22 per cent less than provincial child-care agencies across the country. That’s just the tip of an iceberg that has been forming since 1867. Ever since it officially became a country, Canada has tried to find ways to make the promises they made to First Peoples disappear. They even tried to make the First Peoples disappear.
But the promises and the people are still here. There is no Indian word for surrender.
It’s time to make National Aboriginal Day more than a cultural sideshow that Canadians can point to and say “See how happy our Indians are.” It’s time for Stephen Harper and Bernard Valcourt to admit that First Peoples are more than beads and feathers and bannock and dreamcatchers.
Nobody asked, but here are seven things Anishinabek people would like to be celebrating on National Aboriginal Day:
· TRUTH: We didn’t get to name National Aboriginal Day. It was unilaterally chosen by the federal government in the same way that the current government re-branded the department of Indian Affairs. Originally it was known as First Nations Solidarity Day, but we’d be happy if Canadians called it “National First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Day”, or “National First Peoples Day”, or “National Indigenous Peoples Day”. Non-Aboriginal people are the ones who prefer the term “Aboriginal” because it fits better on their business cards. DEBWEWIN.
· RESPECT: Section 35 (1) of the 1982 Constitution Act of Canada says “The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.” It hastily adds that “aboriginal peoples” refers to Indian, Metis, and Inuit. (We didn’t get to write that text either! ) In refusing to share Canada’s vast resource wealth with the peoples on whose territories it is found, or by attempting to ram its own education legislation down the throats of First Nations, the federal government was actually acting in breach of its own constitution. They used to call that “treason”. MNAADENDMOWIN.
· WISDOM: Exactly 250 years ago last Oct. 7, the Crown in Canada recognized the Indian tribes of North America as “Nations” with inviolable rights to their land. Exactly 250 years ago this July, over 24 Nations of Great Lakes peoples agreed by the Treaty of Niagara to permit the peaceful settlement of what is now called Canada. So July, 1764 is really Canada’s birthday – not July, 1867. NBWAAKAAWIN.
· BRAVERY: First Nations have always played a major role in defending Canada. They provided the bulk of Canada’s defence force – some 10,000 warriors – in fending off American invaders in the War of 1812. The most decorated soldiers wearing Canadian uniforms in global conflicts have been First Nations volunteers. AAKEDHEWIN.
· HUMILITY: Canada should put aside the arrogance with which it continues to deal with First Peoples, and support our efforts to build strong governments and institutions. On June 11, 2008, Stephen Harper actually apologized for the mistakes of the past. “We recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.” He pledged “a new relationship between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians, a relationship based on the knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward together with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us.” Baloney. DBAADENDIZIWIN.
· HONESTY: Conservative politicians repeatedly mislead and even lie to the Canadian media and public about Indigenous issues, most recently by denying that huge funding gaps exist between Ottawa’s level of support for First Nations schools and the amount of support First Nations students receive when attending provincial schools. GWEKWAADZIWIN.
· LOVE: Red, yellow, black, and white peoples– we are all related. The Golden Rule is a pretty good one to follow, even though it’s not an Anishinabek teaching. Why is the Harper government not interested in calling an inquiry into almost 2,000 Indigenous men and women who have gone missing or been victims of unsolved murders in Canada in the past 30 years? ZAAGIDIWIN.
Government websites are telling Canadians that June is “National Aboriginal History Month”, offering “a special opportunity for all Canadians to gain a greater knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal cultures, traditions, and contributions to Canada,” and where they can get free posters and temporary tattoos.
This June 21st, I’d be willing to pay for someone to ink permanent tattoos that read “I am a treaty person” on the foreheads of Bernard Valcourt and Stephen Harper.
I’d offer to do it myself, but I’m afraid I might press too hard on the needle.
Maurice Switzer is a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation. He serves as director of communications for the Union of Ontario Indians and editor of www.anishinabeknews.ca