Sharing our truth

Every single day is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we like to say, so why do we need a special one (June 21) to celebrate who we are, along with our accomplishments and achievements?

Well, the short and kind of bitter answer is everyone gets a day, really, so why not us?

Although, to be fair, we get a whole month! Yay!

The truth is it goes deeper than that, and it’s important to acknowledge the day (and the month) to have a respectful dialogue with allies about our current plight, our history, and what we see as a bright future.

If that means sharing a word or two in your language, or telling some of our stories or beliefs, or just talking about whatever in an open, respectful way of learning, then that time is a success.

And yes, it was originally a government-mandated pseudo-holiday, but it has become much more.

Although to some, it’s more political pandering to the original peoples of this land with little substance behind it.

The day is a regular day, or it’s not; the month is just June, or it’s much more. It’s your choice.

But if you choose to use it to educate, then your words have to hold wisdom to get your point - and the truth - across.

You wouldn’t want to teach someone something you learned on Facebook or YouTube, which turns out to be complete BS.

Therein lies the problem, which we will extrapolate more on next week, but basically the bane of our existence, which is all social media (hint, it’s not as much social as it is a popularity contest rife with misinformation).

We use Facebook as an example because everyone in town (almost) is on it, but Twitter (we refuse to only call it X), TikTok, Instagram, and all the other lovelies, are open to conspiracy theories, misinformation disguised as news, and just overall BS of a global magnitude.

Sadly, kids these days have an easier time talking to a scammer in India or a pedophile in France than they do their own family, so some of what’s online can be scary; stalkers, crooks, and miscreants all rolled into it.

It’s not all bad, of course, but that’s where we must weed out what’s good and what’s bad and think with a sober mind.

The pandemic brought out so much of it, we don’t want to continue that type of drivel when it comes to explaining who we are to those eagerly willing to listen and learn.

The typical Cherokee princess story comes to mind (here’s a hint, they didn’t exist), but there are other more subtle lies out there as well, and none of it serves our fight for the truth.

What should happen on this day, is the government should have serious dialogue with our communities and ask what we really want and need.

And not tell us.

Settling the land claims needs to be an agenda item every day, but it also needs to happen before there’s no land left.

Money only goes so far, but at this point they owe us money, land, and a hefty therapy bill.

No matter what you do in June, and we’re hoping soaking up the sun and spending time with family is paramount. Use this time and especially this Saturday, June 21, to listen, learn, teach, and hold yourself and others accountable.

Without allies we would have a much harder time to get ahead, but by presenting the real history, the truth of our peoples, we will hopefully find a brighter tomorrow together.

There are many people out there who are simply ignorant of who we are, and they want to know, so sharing our truth will one day lead to a government that sees us as people and not a pain in the ass.

Steve Bonspiel

The Eastern Door