Not an early morning person, I opted to I haul the kids out to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (still under construction) for the Idle No More round dance at noon. It felt good to be there, alongside 150 or so mostly Indigenous people. And yes, it did partially block traffic, which concerned the kids a bit. More so, they were concerned by the bitter cold and we bailed after 20 minutes, retreating into the warmth of the Forks Market and the comfort of Chinese take-out food. They're not seasoned activists yet, but hey, neither am I. :)
Those of you who know me would know that I'm not particularly political. I just want everyone to be happy, including me! Environmental concerns, however, have started to weigh heavy. Over the past year, S has done much reading on the environmental crisis, trying to gain perspective from the most conservative to the most extreme estimates on where things are at and what the projection is for the future. Views range from fairly dire to hopeless. It's knowledge that leads me to feel worried about my kids' futures, mildly depressed and immobilized on some days, determined to do what I can to minimize my impact and do the right thing on other days. Heck, if I hadn't already pulled the plug a few years back on having more children (biological ones, anyway), I would have by this point. It sucks to be the generation that can't be ignorant about the damage to the earth and the implications. Sigh. I was already rightly concerned about future access to clean water, healthy food and even oxygen before Steven Harper undemocratically snuck in Bill C-38 and C-45.
And so with the Idle No More movement under way, I'm compelled to engage. Firstly, because the environmental consequences from the above bills impact all of us. It's not just an "Indian thing" as Wab Kinew rightly pointed out in a Huffington Post article last month. Secondly, the way Harper and his government have brought about these far-reaching 'budget' bills is wrong. I've never been impressed by him, but gosh, I'm upset. And thirdly, I'm a mother of two wonderful girls, 'mine' as a consequence of colonialism and systemic racism. Policy after policy tore apart their peoples and here more policies are being made law, taking away further rights from First Nations' people. It just doesn't stop. I know I speak broadly tonight . . . I didn't really set out to write about this whole issue.
I wanted to say how I appreciate that living in Winnipeg makes it easier to act on things - whether to show support for an event or be part of a group protest - once the desire or need arises. We live not far from the Legislature, the U of W or other gathering places for political actions. It's not hard to head off to be just one more body in a crowd. It's also not so hard to hear of things as networks in a smaller city are that much tighter. Furthermore, what might be deemed political matters have a place in the church I'm a part of (and other ones, too) - it's where I heard of the above two events. So while I find that the worship style isn't exactly my style, I'm encouraged by the level of social engagement at church. I love that real-life issues and concerns are mixed in, even integral to one's personal faith journey. It's a reminder that our 'personal' journey is a community one, with our actions impacting far more than just ourselves. It seems to me that Jesus wasn't very passive about political happenings in his day and so I'm happy that I can start to be a little more active . . . and it doesn't take a whole lot of energy to do it! I know it takes a little more effort in Vancouver, in terms of enduring crowds and traffic. But I hope in some way, wherever you are, you are able to find a way to show support in some fashion.
On a side note, S teased Ai tonight, asking if he'd want S to go buy a little baby brother from the store. "Yes . . . one with brown hair like mine." Not black like your sisters'? "No." What about with nice brownish skin like theirs? "No. White like me." Only a white baby? "No, pinkish white." We laughed at how specific he got and perhaps being a multi-racial family has caused our kids to be more aware of skin colour and other physical differences from an earlier age. It's been sad to hear the racist jokes and comments in response to news articles and on social media sites around this whole Idle No More movement, to recognize how un-accepting, unkind and uninformed some people are. But that's a whole other topic. Now, I shall be idle in bed and say no more. :)
2 comments:
Ann, I so enjoyed reading this. :) I tried to get more up to speed today about 'Idle No More' but I can't say I'm any clearer on what it is about. But if you and S are behind it then it must have merit. Thanks for writing about this topic and others that are close to your heart. Brenda
I'm fortunate in this area, that S does all the hardcore reading and learning and I get the condensed conversations and can make my conclusions more easily. I've read some articles here and there, which have been really good ones. But there are always the naysayers who throw loops in arguments or just distract from what is at stake or what the true issues are. It's hard to be discerning, so I'm not always that. But I do feel that this whole movement does have merit and to do nothing, for Indigenous or non-Indigenous people really bad news. Thanks for reading and for commenting. :)
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