Teach our children well

By Suzanne Keeptwo

You may have attended residential school. You may have been “educated” to work as a domestic or labourer. You may have struggled because the language of instruction was not in your mother tongue. You may have attended a reserve school with a high turnover of inexperienced teachers. Your reserve school may have been underfunded with little resources. You may not have had access to good books.

Reading is the White man’s written form of communication, introduced to us through the residential school system. Some of your relatives may still remember when legal notices arrived in the mail, in a foreign language of which they understood not a word or a symbol, alerting them of the Education Act and the law requiring all children to be admitted to the institution. Without understanding the written word, many of our forefathers were imprisoned, fined, or harassed as a result of those written “warnings”. Those changing times were severe but now, we must take our place as equal contenders in the great scheme of things.

Regardless of the historical, financial, instructional, and cultural setbacks, a good education contributes to stronger literacy skills. Among both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, those with higher levels of education generally have a stronger ability to read and write. But, an informal education can also be achieved by simply reading for pleasure.

It is a passive, silent, self-isolating activity relatively new to our oral storytelling culture. Our ancestors expressed themselves through language, storytelling, oral and symbolic literacy. They were most gifted in knowing the literacy of the land. And because our land has been, and continues to be, exploited, our literacy of the land is sacrificed as trees are chopped down to make, amongst other things, paper – for books. So, literature is not only the most recent of all the art forms for indigenous peoples, it has come with an environmental cost. But so does driving a car, drinking coca cola and smoking cigarettes.

To remain illiterate in this day and age for political or cultural reasons is to limit one’s potential. As a leader, one must be able to understand the language of the colonizers. Whether it is for land claims, starting a business, working for the band council or as a social worker, or teacher within one’s community, one must be a reader. It is in our best interest to understand the language of the colonizers in order to rise above the oppressive forces.

To be literate means to navigate instruction manuals, the internet, understanding bills and banking, reading labels on food products or prescription drugs, acquiring a driver’s license, etc. But, it’s not just about understanding how to recognize words. It’s about nourishing the intellectual direction. It’s about comprehending concepts, abstract ideas, philosophies and viewpoints. The better one reads, the more empowered the individual is for their life’s journey.

Reading is naturally the key to academic success but, more broadly, to personal empowerment. Reading for pleasure is the easiest way to learn. Aside from deepening one’s knowledge about any and every subject of interest, one’s vocabulary is effortlessly enhanced; one’s ability to spell increases; one’s writing skills get stronger; one’s ability to articulate ideas develops, and one’s mind and heart expands.

If you are not a politician, an activist, or an academic, you can – at least – be a dreamer and fall in love with books. Through books, one can escape boredom or despair and access the world. And there is an increasing amount of excellent indigenous-authored works out there.

Reading is the tool needed to succeed in our contemporary society whether you live on a reserve, in a remote, isolated or rural community, or an urban centre.  Do yourself and your family a favour and access a library, a book store, on-line literature, or a second hand store to discover the wonderful world of literature. It can literally change your life. One book at a time.

Suzanne Keeptwo is a freelance writer residing in unsurrenderd Algonquin territory.