7 October 1869 – Chilkat Chief Kohklux and his wives spend three days making the earliest known map of the southwestern Yukon. Klukwan, British Columbia.
Today I laughed… and cried, today I was proud… and ashamed
By Cherish Fairclough
So here I sit in my hotel room… I should be relaxing with my book or curling up to sleep but my brain just won’t quit and it’s time for me to express, once again, feelings I have related to indigenous life… For those who know me well, you will know that I believe in the rights and freedoms of all people; and that as an indigenous person, indigenous issues are always close to my heart.
Today was an interesting day. This has been an interesting week, month, year, lifetime…
As the world goes, “minority” peoples have always inherently suffered at the hands of others. Not all others, but enought that it has a ripple effect that passes from the elderly to the youngest infant. Indigenous people are not the only to suffer for reasons that are truly nonsensical and based on fear combined with lack of knowledge… this is something we all know, and everyday we see it happening around us.
When I first read an article earlier this week about Health Canada sending body bags to aboriginal reservations I felt sick. Is this really the country I live in? Is this really the country I have been proud to be a citizen of? I was ashamed. Yet another act by the federal government, however direct or indirect, that has brought shame on our country in the eyes of the international world and shame on our indigenous peoples. Was it not embarrassing enough that Health Canada refused to send these reservations hand sanitizer because it contained alcohol? Hand sanitizer that was sent to other non-aboriginal communities to fight the spread of the swine flu but was refused to the reservations because of course, as aboriginal people, it would be used to get drunk rather than save lives… right? Absurd!
It makes me wonder how indigenous people are viewed in the general public… and by our government that will not hesitate to tout it’s “pride” to the international world of the rich indigenous culture we have. Actions speak louder than words; the actions I have seen from our federal government show me nothing of pride. Nothing of support. Nothing of unity. Are we so worthless? I don’t think so.
Everyday I see indigenous people that live hard lives and that suffer with myriads of different issues… but I also see strength and beauty every day too. Can the same not be said of people of all cultures…?
My Dad… I am so proud of him every day. As an indigenous man he has worked hard to break down barriers that would keep him from being the man he is today. When I think of my Dad I see only strength and wisdom and love. He works hard, he cares for his family, he respects his peers, and he is a role model to me… and surely to others. He is not always perfect, but no one ever is. When I hear him speak in the legislative assembly my heart swells; my Dad, an aboriginal man, exercising his knowledge and passion to do what is right for his constituents and his people. Would Health Canada send him hand sanitizer?
My co-workers… what a fabulous group of people! I work at the local friendship centre in Whitehorse and although not all of our staff is indigenous it’s darn close. We offer positive programs in the community geared towards aboriginal people but open to any who wish to participate. I consider the amount of work that is done at the centre and feel honored to be a part of it. A group of like minded people working towards a better future for our community, our territory, our country. Some days our work can be challenging… but we can go home and know that we make a difference. Would we be denied the vaccine if we asked for it?
The many indigenous youth I have had the honor of meeting and knowing… they work hard towards completing their education, gaining skills, and being involved in their communities. Most of them are so globally minded it suprises me on a regular basis. They discuss the issues they face and what can be done to overcome those issues so future generations do not have to repeat the same struggles. They talk about climate change and how they see it affecting their communities, the local habitats, and their tradtional ways of life. They are open and willing to learn from those around them. They volunteer their time to raise money for community events and for charitable causes. Being so young they must not stand a chance… body bags are cheaper to ship right?
To the many other loved ones that I have shared laughter (much laughter, it heals the soul don’t ya know?) and tears with… so many incredible people, too many to list! I hope they would get the supplies they needed to prevent from contracting this awful virus.
I must be seing the world through rose colored glasses because I just can’t seem to understand these actions that time and again seem to show that Canada’s indigenous people are worthless… by our country’s government no less! Well I don’t think we are worthless; I think we have as much to offer as any other group of people in this country.
I will continue to share good times with my friends and family. We will continue to do the work we do, however un-appreciated it may be at times. We will continue to be involved in the arts & entertainment, in government, in all aspects of professional practice. We will continue to strive for unity and understanding. We will continue to stand for what is right and fair. We will continue to do this… if the government doesn’t decide to sit back and watch us all die of something they could have provided us the cure for.
I am from recycled goods, bus passes, and borrowed books, walking in the canyons, biking in the woods, reading about places I want to visit, hearing about people I want to meet, riding the bus alone.
I am from homes with no electricity and hauled water in containers, brilliant night skies, ambrosial petrichor, cutting wood for winter, baking bread for dinner, watching bootleg movies on a duct taped television, hitchhiking to get to the city.
I am from game stews, bowls of mush, squash and frybread, sweet mush with clumps when my mom makes it, mush plain with black coffee when my father makes it, blue corn mush with juniper ash when my friend’s mom cooks it, “What is mush?” off the reservation.
I am from “What are you?” …never who, “I thought all you guys were dead” and “Well my grandmother is a Cherokee Princess,”
I am from “Be Proud of who you are,” I am from places and cultures that seem worlds away sometimes. I am from Irene and Ambrose and a cobbling of friends, a patchwork of people met along the way, Elders words and oral histories, traditionalists and rebels, caring people whose toil is quiet but the impact deafening.
-Robin Máxkii
A graduate of Diné College and Salish Kootenai College. This poem is inspired by George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From.” Originally published in Tribal College Journal
Please don’t ask someone ‘how much Native’ they are. I am not a dog. You are not entitled to check out my pedigree. If you must, ask the person what tribe they are. I say American Indian/Native American as a default, to avoid overwhelming people who are not familiar with Indigenous americans. If you seem interested I usually break it down further. If you are Native, I break it down to tribe/region. If you are from my tribe, I break it down to clan/fam.
Please stop using the word ‘pale face’ to describe yourself in jest. Just don’t. I don’t use it. I don’t know any Native that uses it. But I see a lot of people using it in jest online and have run into people who jokingly refer to themselves as it. I find it offensive because it is a stereotyped patois that is based on a stunted form of ‘tonto-speak’. This also includes words like “squaw” “fire water”.
Please stop asking me about sweatlodge. Chill out. Go to the sauna at 24 fitness if you want to feel dry heat. You don’t ‘need’ to experience an ‘authentic native ceremony’. I will invite you to something if I want to or am allowed to. I don’t have an obligation to expose every part of my life to you. I don’t constantly ask hipsters I have just met to take me to Urban Outfitters or brunch at a microbrewery.
Please don’t act like I am your personal historian/expert on ‘all things Native’. It isn’t my responsibility to educate you. Asking is different than expecting.
Please stop asking me what my thoughts are on the ‘reds**ns” or “#nodapl” when you first meet me. I understand you might be trying to demonstrate an awareness of Indian Country (thanks!), but you don’t have to feel like proving it to me. This makes me feel like you are being super conscious of my ethnicity and not of me as an individual.
Please don’t ask me if I know “John, he is like Cherokee or Chickasaw or something”. We don’t all know each other.
Never, under any circumstances, call me: Squaw, Thunderbird, Indian Princess, Warrior, Chief, or any other racial slur that you find cute. Don’t.
Understand that if I don’t want to talk about something, it is my right. I really enjoy talking about my culture and sharing it with others. But sometimes I don’t want to discuss certain topics. Asking me about alcoholism on reservations while I am trying to chill out at the pool or prompting me to discuss land rights during intermission at the Symphony is weird.
Which reminds me, please don’t assume correlations based on stereotypes. If I tell you I don’t want a drink, do not automatically assume it is because ‘I am Native”. This seems so outlandish - yet if I had a quarter for every time someone has said this, I could probably afford to separate my laundry at the washateria.
Please don’t compliment me with a “for a Native”-qualifier. I love compliments! But when someone tells me “I speak really well for a Native” “Smart for a Native” that hurts on a lot of levels. You are basically saying you have lowered expectations of me and my community while having the gall to patronize me with your unwelcome approval.
Be aware of your own culture. When I am being nice enough to share stories of my culture with you and you automatically respond with “that’s so weird!” think about what you are saying. You are calling my culture weird because it is not your culture. It’s a default of a lot of people to assume that their culture is the ORIGINAL! AUTHENTIC! OG BEDROCK! culture and that everything else is backwards or a subgroup.
Also put some thought into your questions. When you say something like, “Why are reservations so poor?” “Why don’t Natives get jobs?”. You are basically assuming that these are issues we don’t discuss ad nauseum on the rez. You are also showing off your ignorance of basic American History and Policies, like the Indian Termination Policy and historical oppression.
Please don’t immediately ask me about casinos. Not all tribes have them. It is just a stereotype. Don’t ask me about ‘free money’. Not all tribes get per capita payments. It is just a stereotype.
Please don’t feel the need to ‘top my nativeness’. When i tell someone who asks what tribe I am, and they reply ‘Never heard of it’ and then proceed to continue with “…But I am a Cherokee Princess”. I don’t know what you want me to do, Congratulate you on something impossible? Genuflect?
And this is more personal and perhaps it is just indicative of the phase of life I am in right now, the annoying ‘opinionated-Tribal college-educated-politically active’-phase, but people using the word ‘savage’ bothers me so much. I get that it has become super mainstream slang and it is not uncommon to see sorority girls with “savage!!!! <3 <3” captioned all over their instagram. But I find this usage so offensive. If your people were never considered ‘savages’, if you have never been called ‘a savage’, if it is a slur that has never been applied to you, don’t suddenly reclaim it as a positive word.
I attend a Tribal College in Montana and parts of the film were rumored to be shot within the region. When the movie was released a large group of us (students) went to go see it at the local theatre (which only has two screens; so to even be screened at the theatre, there has to be some sort of demand). I can’t speak for anyone else, but I really liked the cinematography. I thought the story itself droned on at points and I always get a bit uncomfortable watching violence (whether it bear or man or bear and man).
…but I feel like your question is really asking about representation and I will bite.
I appreciated the fact they actually hired Native actors and conducted an actual casting (thanks Michelle Shining Elk), rather than relying on the standard Native standby actors that seem to populate any mainstream Hollywood film that deals with Natives. I did have an initial kneejerk reaction where I feared the Natives in the film weren’t going to be fleshed out and instead just treated like scenery or props. I also find myself conflicted about the larger issue of media representation for us being incredibly limited and when we are depicted it’s often in a historical context. This creates an incredibly distorted view of our culture. We either become historical relics, savages, or else ‘not real natives’ because we don’t act like the Natives in cinema and run around in buckskin, shooting arrows, and live in tipis. Instead, we might go to Universities, wear jeans, write code, read quora, etc. and are fully individualized people just like anyone else. But because Natives are rarely shown doing these ‘modern’ things, we aren’t always thought of as capable - if we are even thought of at all.
Overall I didn’t watch this film because I thought it was going to be about my culture or important to my community. I watched it because I like Alejandro González Iñárritu.
I think I developed more of an interest in the film when Leonardo DiCaprio used his Academy Award acceptance speech to namecheck our respective communities. That speech clip was passed around by my friends on snapchat, facebook, instagram, and even discussed in class. Other than that, the few times the film has come up with friends it’s we mostly talked about the bear scene, or how so-and-so’s Uncle was an extra, Tom Hardy, or arguments about filming locations.
Such an important topic and their food is delish! I’ve been blessed to eat with them a couple times and am anxiously awaiting the new restaurant that is coming.
Really? I want to try it so bad too!
ok but they mentioned colorado does that mean I can travel in my car to a place where someone cooks indigenous food because i am so down
