Why ending Canadian control over First Nations education starts with you and me
As kids prepare to head back to school this week, I’m gathering up my PDFs and stocking up on coffee as I enter into the final year of my PhD. And yet, firmly entrenched as I am within academia, I still find myself asking just what the heck it is I’m doing here. As it...
Victoria’s Secret: The Inconvenient History Behind BC’s Capital City
Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, is celebrating its 150th anniversary today. In the lead-up to this occasion, local organizations, artists and businesses have partnered with the City to create a whirlwind of events, promotional material and educational swag to draw people out to its August 2, 2012 celebrations. Looking over the City’s website,...
National Aboriginal Day: Friend or foe?
Today, June 21, is Canada’s National Aboriginal Day. This morning, like most other days, I woke up, made my coffee, and sat down to read the news. The consensus seems to be that today is a day to celebrate Aboriginal cultures and to remember our vibrant history within Canada. In the newspapers, stories of celebration...
Any illusions of credibility for “sham” Missing Women Inquiry fade as Aboriginal rep resigns
Tensions reach boiling point over true purpose of Inquiry: to account for lives and deaths of missing and murdered women, or for the (in)actions of police?
A History of Violation: Why an Aboriginal grave site robbery is no isolated incident
In Tsartlip, a Coast Salish community near Victoria, BC, a family grieves the loss of a loved one for the second time. Back in 1999, a fatal car accident took the life of then-30 year old Frazer Joe Smith Jr.. Thirteen years later, the family struggles to understand the removal of a totem pole memorializing...
An Open Letter To My Local Hipsters
Sigh. Today in the neighborhood coffee shop, I spotted a poster made by a local designer for an upcoming music festival. Hence the sigh. A tomahawk and feathers had somehow made their way onto the poster for a West Coast band consisting of three bearded white guys. As I stood in front of the poster,...
Seeking the Breaking Point: Violence and Justice in Canada
For more than fifteen years, I have been working on issues of violence in Indigenous communities in BC. I have become familiar with the state of the justice system in Canada, with its huge over-representation of Indigenous people in detention centres and an accompanying lack of concern for those of us who are victims of...
Apprehending First Nations children: a Canadian tradition
An Ontario government report released several weeks ago confirms what many Indigenous people already know: that First Nations children are still vastly overrepresented in Canada’s child welfare systems. In fact, statistics show that there are more First Nations children in government care today than at the peak of Indian residential schools. In his report, “Children...
Government blames sex workers for violence used against them
I had planned to write my first post here about something light-hearted (I’m working on pieces about yoga and an awesome art project). Much of my time is spent thinking about violence in our communities, so I wanted to take on some more positive issues, reminding us of our strengths and possibilities as Indigenous people....
