S had been talking that afternoon with former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Ovide Mercredi. Discussing the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, Ovide extended an invitation to join a delegation of chiefs and First Nations war veterans to London from October 2-7. Their hope was to meet with the Queen (or a Crown representative) as a peaceful reminder to honour the treaty made with King George III, which among other things, recognized the rights of First Nations people in Canada: And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to Our Interest and the Security of Our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians, with whom We are connected, and who live under Our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to, or purchased by Us, are reserved to them, or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds. . . .
Canada has neglected to recognize native treaty rights as covenanted in the Royal Proclamation - that unceded lands were to be "reserved to Indians," only to be settled and sold by Indigenous consent, at a public gathering and through a representative of the Crown. The delegation hoped to re-engage the conversation, as well as interact with faith groups and peoples of conscience to gain support in the face of the failed covenant toward First Nations people.
S was honoured by the invitation, though apprehensive as many details were up in the air regarding how he could be involved and supportive of the delegation. I was excited for S to have the opportunity, A was envious he'd get to go to England, Iz was rather unaware of his departure and Ai was devastated to send Daddy away on another journey. There were lots of tears after we dropped S and videographer friend, Brad, off at the airport.
Value Village was en route home, so to deter the tears, I gave them each $3 to spend on a bag of toys of their choice (with the understanding that this will not happen again when Daddy next heads on a trip). They waited until we got to A's flute lessons to open the bags and thus, killing time for the younger was delightful thanks to some newly raked leaves, a bag of dinosaurs and a Thomas the Train find (for which I snuck in an extra $2). :)
Only nine more days to get through without Daddy . . .
Over in the UK, things went by quickly for S. Lots of late nights and early mornings - especially when he had to be at 6:30 a.m. meetings in central London taking the tube in from the outskirts. This really didn't work well when the connecting Underground lines were down and he, Brad and two Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) colleagues had to then come in by bus! He had little time to email, so I knew things were coming together by the few photos that would come my way via Facebook (other friends following the delegation). It became a game to see if we could spot him in the crowds.
 |
| A reception at Canada House in London with National Chief Shawn Atleo and Gabrielle Hughes |
On October 7th, there were over 60 "Idle No More" events held across Canada and other parts of the world to commemorate the anniversary. The one S attended in the UK was small, but meaningful.
In Winnipeg, the kids and I rode down to the Legislature at dinnertime to participate.
Once things got started, I had about five minutes to hear the drummers and speakers. That was with Iz contained on the shoulders of S's boss, Ai in my arms. Once she was down, they were all on the move . . .
Soon I became the bush-babysitter, chasing after kids out in the mini-forest on the Legislature grounds as they all - my kids, ones from church and many others - ran wild. They had a blast and until I had other parents lined up to help keep an eye out on the other side of the woods, I didn't!
 |
| Ai stopped to pose, which I appreciated. I see the Johnson in him at this moment. |
 |
| At least she was staying in one spot! |
I left exhausted, but happy to at least have shown some semblance of solidarity with a cause I feel is important. As for S, his trip may not have been effective in terms of the delegations' hopes. The Chiefs had an appointment booked over a year ago with Prince Charles. At the last moment, the Canadian government pulled their weight and called for that meeting to be canceled - would have validated First Nations sovereignty, that they are able to meet "nation to nation" without Canada's interference, I guess. :( Symbolically, the delegation was worthwhile and on a personal level for S, it was an invaluable trip. Click here to watch a short video capturing a bit about his time there.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Incidentally, I had a good laugh about a week after S's return. He had given the younger two cute activity books, which they'd been intently colouring each day.
I was surprised to see a tired Ai suddenly fling the book onto the floor one afternoon, then yell out between tears, "That's a BAD BOOK!! I wish Daddy had never bought it for me." I picked it up and discovered that while most pages looked like this . . .
. . . one of them had this
and one had this . . .
Of delicate nature, it was too much for my five year old. It wasn't for his eight year old sister, however, who had him laughing later that afternoon with her strange, gory drawing:
She'd likely love a trip to the old Royal Victoria Wax Museum with its gruesome depictions of torture devices down in the basement. Some things from childhood I remember clearly and visiting there was one of them! Yikes.
No comments:
Post a Comment