Anishinabekwe magic

By Jenny Adams

I too had a dream.

“I awoke suddenly, having a clear crisp memory of my dream, it had a certain realism, almost like I’d lived it before. Sometimes I can let go and fall back asleep, but not this time. There was a message, one that I seemingly remember all too vividly.

My duty became to bring it to life. The photo. Subject: Stomping out racism, one family at a time.

They say when you own it, it can no longer hinder you.”

We all have thoughts; here are mine:

We begin at home as the matriarchs in our families and communities. We’re teaching our kids to always face situations by remaining calm to improve our understanding of others and their actions. We can arm ourselves with the knowledge to accept those judgements without holding the hurt and trauma of the past.

A friend asked what I thought Indigenous women were doing about racism, grassroots.
My answer: Indigenous women are doing what we can to determine a brighter future for the coming generation. That’s what strength looks like.

We’re out here planting seeds of hopium in the minds of our young people early in life so they can process and regurgitate the negativity when racism rears its ugly head. We know people are going to have racial views. It’s how we process that information that will determine our individual happiness. We’re instilling skills to remain calm and have the ability to let it go and close it down. Oh how I wish that would become the new normal, by not giving anymore energy to the emotion. Racism is an emotional commitment to ignorance – we are not that.

We were beautifully created.

These are members of my family. We are the Adams family * cue music * of Eagle Lake. We are a strong, resilient, bi-racial family who have both lineages of Indigenous and non-Indigenous blood stock. Our ancestors were warriors as were yours. As their descendants, we carry their strength within our veins. We are proud.

When you can begin seeing a person’s action as a mirror image of their own feelings and thoughts, amazing things can happen. We make our world from our individual perspectives. Home life can dramatically change that perception.

Having those discussions and hearing that dialogue is what we need across this nation.

We live in one of the greatest culturally rich countries in the world. Let’s make cultural awareness the new Aubergine.

We are Indigenous.