Boozhoo,
My name is Robert A. Horton (“Bebaamoyaash”). I am a member of Rainy River First Nations, the Manidoo Baawitigong (Manitou Rapids) community, and from the Waabizeshi Dodem (Marten Clan). I am a Sociologist and former Social Policy Analyst for Rainy River First Nations.
Throughout the last few years, I have attempted to create partnerships, volunteer time, and efforts to work very closely with our First Nation’s youth in a variety of ways, but at the core of these efforts has been to build an element of sincere trust and communication. Our youth are very bright, capable, proficient, and deserving of granted respect, just as it would be self-evident for any other children, students, youth, and culture who call our communities “home.”
This afternoon, I was contacted by a significant number of our children and students (ranging, respectfully, from ages 9 to 19) who sincerely questioned;
-If this respect is present in our surrounding communities?
-If the understanding of respect for our culture is a priority at central, influential aspects in our surrounding communities?
-And if any sort of worthwhile and valuable understanding, respect, and awareness is, at all, a priority in the outlook and worldview-shaping daily influences of the schools they attend with children from fellow communities?
-Is accountability present?
Available on the World Wide Web, currently, is a video of a party with a number of non-First Nation teenagers, identified as fellow students and a daughter of a notable area school faculty member, holding bottles of alcohol in the air with our traditional Pow-Wow music loudly playing. To the drum and the singing, these young people (but obviously at the age that should harbor consciousness of what is overtly disrespectful) dance in circles and “dance Pow-Wow” while drinking more – mimicking our ceremonies that are absolutely central to our spirituality, culture, worldview, and identity as a people.
Watching the satirical example infuriated, hurt, and insulted many of our youth on a wide scale to the point of contacting me in Thunder Bay, this evening. With the trust they have put into me to address this in some fashion (which is appreciated), I see it as a reciprocal responsibility to do so.
As a Sociologist, I have to ask, with disappointment, “what is occurring (or not occurring) in the elements that greatly shape our young people’s lives, week to week, (such as school, family, and community) where firm examples disrespect, dehumanization, vast misunderstandings, and lack of awareness continues to occur?
Why is unspoken, self-evident respect towards fellow cultures, religions, spiritualities, and ethnic groups consistently present by a number of our generation’s people, but inarguably lacking towards our people in the same caliber?
Why do we not see parallel, equivalent acts of disrespect towards similar spiritualities, culture, or religions – but predominantly ours?
Think about it and reflect. When is the last time you’ve witnessed a satire of, say, Christ on a cross…or nuns waiving chalices of holy water around a makeshift alter of three crosses? Perhaps, satire and humor of Hebrew/Jewish faith and spirituality with dehumanization taking place since the experienced holocaust? Perhaps, a roomful of partiers pretending to be of African ancestry, identified in ‘black-face’ comedy make-up, chanting in vocalizations reminiscent of beliefs in Louisiana, Mississippi, or even as far back as tribal Africa? Perhaps, youth pretending to be Muslim and pretending to drink and bow, publicly, to Mecca.
How do a few of those not constitute a hate-crime, just as a few constitute overt racism and bigotry?
Now do I have your attention?
If these examples have left you slack-jawed, then I ask why the continued satire, dehumanization, disrespect, misunderstanding, lack of awareness, and such remains continuous in the degree they are to us…but more importantly, remains continuous with little to challenge and too much to accept that it is the exception to creating and reinforcing similar respect as the others?
In my recently conducted qualitative research which examined our First Nation’s gaps in educational success, a significant amount of my sample demonstrated consistent themes of experiencing matters of disrespect, great misunderstandings and lack of awareness of our culture (which is central to our identity as a People), feeling ‘just tolerated’ based on racial definition, and experiencing similar attitudes following students outside the classroom.
Matters known and established to be so close to our communities (and seemingly so publicly accepted) hurt our youth, damage their pride in who they are, frustrate them as they feel mocked and feel who they’re told to be proud of appears to be an accepted joke, and this has very relevant and very real social effects and consequences.
After speaking with a number of our youth who were very forthright about how they felt and why they felt it, I strongly propose this matter (central to our community area) to be addressed by our administrations with serious considerations of communication and partnership building, consistently, with our area schools and educators to go beyond glossing over our generalized histories with sincere attempts to address social-sphere effects of these in-grained matters, to challenge these paradigm-asserted mindsets, tolerated perceptions, and challenge them by making REAL understanding and communicated knowledge of our culture and area histories as a key ingredient in uprooting such things.
Time spent in schools with effective teachers is quite influential to youth of any background and can spark a fire, with partnership from family and community, that can spread into our daily lives and assumptions about each other – when assumptions should not exist, but understanding instead.
Our youth strive through a great deal of similar mentalities on a daily basis, from media, to misunderstanding, some to overt racism, and they manage to attempt to live very full and happy lives. They deserve respect, just as any other child does outside of our cultural and racial parameters.
They, we, deserve respect – enough where partiers are not mocking who we are.
Please address this circumstance as it is beyond deserving of serious attention and not to be glossed over – – we have an opportunity to show our youth that you do not just patch an open artery, the key is to uproot the problem at the core.
This is not a matter of tolerance. We should not be “tolerated” or misunderstood in our schools and neighboring communities, this is a matter of acceptance and understanding. Acceptance that the matter of respect must be a two-way street and understanding built on the firm awareness that our culture, ceremonies, historical livelihood is just as relevant to today as it was even before the drafting on Treaty #3….and it is to be soundly respected in every facet of contemporary society.
I believe this begins in our famillies and schools and reverberates back into our families, youth, and surrounding communities.
Isn’t it the responsibility of the educational paradigm to challenge such mentalities and skewed perspectives?
This matter, hitting so close to home, must be vocally addressed and not placed on the backburner – our youth don’t forget.
Marian Wright Edelman once stated, “if we don’t stand up for children, then we don’t stand for much.” The recent events that have taken place in and about Fort Frances High School have galvanized a variety of perspectives and opinions from many walks of life and today. I am pleased to see that more people than not are placing importance and emphasis on respect of that which is to be respected. This common ground is good to see.
In talking to many of our youth from surrounding communities when they’ve come to me for advice over the past few days, I didn’t have many answers to give when they’ve showed huge signs of doubt – if not the sincerity of the recent apologies, doubt that the larger issues at hand will be taken care of at the root, rather than a quick ‘patch and fix’ only to erupt again later. Patching the open artery rather than pulling the root, so to speak.
The only thing I could tell them is – ‘be open and honest about how you feel. Express yourself honestly and if you have concerns, voice them.’
Tonight, a 14 year old girl, who wished to be referred to as “a proud jingle-dress dancer”, Brittnee Hunter, contacted me after her parents said that a letter I put together, “Not to be Swept Under the Rug” circulated widely.
Her one request, please “make-sure people read this. This is how many of us feel.”
As you can see, as I did when I first read this, that further discussion, attention, focus, and emphasis be placed on looking forward in the long-term in terms developing measures to build the awareness, understanding, respect, and faith in the school setting where many of our indigenous youth feel ‘only tolerated.’ Not only initially, but staying committed to the effort.
I am very pleased that our youth and Miss Hunter have decided to talk to me about such matters so openly, but especially to relay how many feel in such open and explicit terms.
I ask and those involved in our schools, communities, and administrations to take her words to heart, to look at the sentiment behind the words, and to note that many of our indigenous youth share the same feelings, doubts that conditions and efforts will move to improving circumstances, and (to a large extent) harbored reactions of discontent.
To remind you how very fragile the First Nation and indigenous success rates are in public schools is not required, as the knowledge is here. Will our students be carrying these sentiments and feelings into a school setting where they feel merely tolerated when they step on the bus in the morning? It certainly won’t help matters.
The knowledge is here. As is the responsibility.
“Under the Rug?”
I can’t stand all this impertinence.
They jus don’t get it.
They try to break us down…
Like we aren’t legit.
They must acknowledge our importance
Native pride ‘till we die
Forever we will keep our heads high
and never be afraid to speak our minds
This fight we will win as it must be taken to a higher level
Their neglect will blow up in their faces.
It’s not going to be swept under the rug this time
They shouldn’t get away with this just because they’ve “apologized”
This is something no one must neglect.
We have to grab a hold of the respect we deserve to get
The youth needs to be heard
We’re all angry and hurt because nothing has been done yet
It’s ALL bullshit.
One day we will be at peace with one another
but until that day everyone must work together
We mustn’t fight each other
Violence won’t make anything we’re working for any better,
but this seems like the only way we as teenagers get your attention
and if you wont take the time to listen
what else can we do besides send them home with a busted lip?
And now they’re lispin’
What else can we make happen?
We are young
but we deserve to be heard and the adults aren’t doing a lot to back us up
It’s our hearts they scar and our minds they disrupt
Now is the time everyone must wake up!
Who is listening?
Our spirits are crushed.
Our spirits are crushed like the tragedy at Columbine.
Brittnee Hunter, 14 years old.
Manitou Rapids Anishinaabe
There is a golden opportunity to preserve and create a better experience and improved solidarity not only in the school hallways, but between these institutions and our communities – if we choose. A great indigenous leader of our lands, Turtle Island (North America), once stated ‘let us put our heads together and see what kind of future we can make for our children.’
This is something I think we can agree that the efforts would be worth such a result.
Respectfully yours,
Robert Animikii Horton
“Bebaamoyaash”
Manitou Rapids Anishinaabe
Waabizheshi Dodem (Marten Clan)
