News & Events
Remaining true to values, heritage, spirit of Tecumseh
December 14, 2009
Boozhoo! Ekosi! Ho Dakota! Han Dakota!
The holiday season is a time to look back on the past year and to look forward to the upcoming year. It is a time to appreciate the people who are important in our lives. Let us also look to the people and the activities that can inspire us; to that from which we can draw strength.
We all have people who matter to us in our personal lives; family members and others we hold dear. The people who give our lives meaning on a daily basis - the children we raise and the parents who cared for us.
We have the gifts given to us by the generations who came before us. Our responsibility is to our children and to our grandchildren and to generations not yet born. Our job is to create for them living situations that are not just wholesome and pleasant, but which is also powerful Indigenous identity. We must work to make sure the things that were passed on to us will be there for future generations.
The face of assimilation has changed, but it is still with us.
I am sure most of the people reading this message are familiar with the history of broken Treaties, residential schools and a wide range of government policies aimed at "taking the Indian out of the Indian."
or well over a century the power of the government was overwhelming. There was tremendous damage done to our people - it was emotional, physical and in some cases, people were either killed or allowed to die.
It is truly amazing that our culture and our spirituality were able to survive this smothering oppression. Our practices were outlawed and branded as "heathen," so our ancestors responded by taking their spirituality underground.
This bold, wicked approach is no longer allowed in Canada. The laws that Canadians have passed to protect themselves wound up protecting our culture and spirituality as well.
The forces of assimilation have become more subtle.
For the last 40-50 years, there has been government-enforced apprehension and government-directed care of First Nations children. I have spoken and written about this many times during the last 2 ½ years, so I will keep my comments short. The government's approach to child and family services has
worked to separate First Nation children from their heritage, their communities and their families.
We need an approach to child and family care that is truly our own, not a government model disguised as Indigenous. That is why SCO First Nations have put so much effort into securing changes to the existing system.
Another issue is loss of language, a problem that will get worse in the future unless further measures are taken. I know that the Manitoba First Nations Education Research Council is doing important work in this area as are some other groups across Canada. For our part, we have sponsored the Ojibway Word of the Day weekday mornings on NCI radio.
The threat of assimilation - or identity loss - has become more subtle and comes from more directions than decades ago when the enemy was brutal, straight-forward government policies that were easily visible.
At one time First Nations people were forced to remain on reserves, but by remaining together they were able to keep their culture and language alive during horrible oppression. Now our people are becoming much more mobile: they travel to explore employment and educational opportunities. On one hand, these things are good, but on the other they further separate people from community, family and historical identity.
One of our many challenges for the future is to work on ways of providing cultural services for people who have moved to the cities. I believe urban Treaty areas - often called urban reserves - provide wonderful opportunities for our people when they succeed.
One of the people whose legacies I admire is Techumseh, the Shawnee leader who tried to establish an Indian Confederacy 200 years ago. He saw this as the only way to stop the continuing invasion of Eastern Americans and European immigrants. He believed that Indigenous people must work together and remain true to their beliefs.
Today his basic message still holds - we must remain true to our identity, our heritage, and our values.
Have a wonderful and meaningful holiday season. Best wishes for the year ahead.
Pidamayepido, Ekosi, Meegwetch,
Grand Chief Morris J. Swan Shannacappo