My Playlist: October

So many great songs out now.

I've never been much a fan of Rodney Atkins, but "Take a Back Road" just sounds so good.


Too, there's something really great about Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night."  I think it's the sing-along-ability of it, like Mellencamp's "Jack & Diane" or pretty much anything by Kenny Chesney.


The new Blake Shelton song is great.  Album version at this link.  Live version here ...


I could listen to the new Pistol Annie's CD Hell on Heels on a loop over and over and over ... and I've been known to do just that.  Two of my favourite songs: "The Hunter's Wife" ("It's like I'm married to a shotgun carrying, tobacco chewing, no good, blue tick hound")


and "Bad Example."  (It's my new ringtone)


Gord Bamford's "Hank Williams Lonesome" -- I really love this song.


Jimmy Rankin opened for Kevin Costner in Belleville recently, and blew me away.  I left a fan.  New single is called "I'm Just Saying."


And for my non-country selection: I catch myself singing this new Kelly Clarkson song every now and then.

Revamped Tyendinaga reserve road to be ...

(Insert great big arm-stretching YAWN here.)

From the Belleville Intelligencer: Revamped road to be safer for pedestrians, cyclists

You know who was there?  Our local MP Daryl Kramp.  What a great opportunity this should've been for him to elaborate -- you know, locally -- on his government's recent take-it-or-leave-it land claim offer.

Or maybe our chief could've told the local newspaper today that Tyendinaga's claim isn't included in those take-it-or-leave-it offers.  Or that it is.  Or that MBQ's attorney Alan Pratt was -- or wasn't -- talking to Tyendinaga people specifically when he told APTN a couple weeks ago that offers like this would likely lead to mass community-level protests.

Truth is, this information would've been better left to our community newsletter.  The one that was delivered to our homes last week, that said nothing about this huge newsmaking development.   And by "huge newsmaking development," I mean the land claim offers and if they affect us, not that some road here on the rez was ... Y-A-W-N.

My playlist: August

I've struggled to find appropriate music for when I'm on the treadmill at the gym.  I tried to build a collection of up-tempo dance music, until I realized my footsteps were somehow matching the beats of the song.  And I'm way too lazy, and disinterested, in matching beats from one song to the next in order to maintain some sort of consistent speed.  Having said that, I got this app for my iPhone called djay that'll do exactly that.  In the meantime ...

Podcasts seem to be filling the void perfectly.  No music.  Just interesting conversations to keep me from counting the minutes, and the seconds, until I can get off the damn treadmill and -- achieve my goal -- commence with being proud that I was on it.

WSM-AM is the home of the Grand Ol' Opry and was the radio station I listened to most when I lived in Nashville.  There's an Opry app for the iPhone now that carries a live stream of the station and, though I rarely remember to plug it in when I'm in the car, I'm always glad it's there.  They archive celebrity visits and station events so I've been hugely enjoying interviews with people like George Jones, Porter Wagoner, Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Patty Loveless, all from only a couple years ago.  That last one made me whip out the "Sleepless Nights" CD that I bought a couple years ago (when it was new) and promptly filed away having listened to it, like, twice.  It's my new favourite.




There's something about this new Thompson Square single that I'm enjoying.




I'm all excited about Miranda Lambert's show at Casino Rama next week.  I created a playlist on my phone/iPod of music I enjoy, and completely rediscovered this song.  I can't get enough of it now.




When I need a little tempo, I go here ...




The music world is completely flummoxed as to how Eric Church sold 145,000 copies of his new release, "Chief," and came out with the best-selling album in America last week, without the support of a hit single.  In country music, it seems, you're nothing without a hit single.  He's had but two Top 10s: they both stalled at #10 and I can't recall ever hearing either of them.  Turns out, if you tour and create a base of fans who don't care if they hear you on the radio or not, they'll buy your CD when it comes out.  So ... I bought into the hype and grabbed me a copy when I was at Walmart earlier today and I'll be damned if it ain't the hottest album I've heard in a loooong time.  Here's a guy, country singer, who isn't afraid to experiment with percussion.  Generally in country you get drums hidden way in the back of the mix, just obediently keeping the beat.  Not here.  I'm just enjoying this CD all the way around.  Lead single is called "Homeboy."




And I'm loving Ashton Shepherd's "Where Country Grows" and Six West's "I Will Wait," even more than I did back in late June.

On the demise of Borders

I fell in love with books and bookstores when I lived away.

It took all year, but I came out in 1997 and the very first step I took was to purchase these two books at Tower Books on West End Avenue in Nashville (there's an f.y.e. there now).  Tower Books closed before Tower Records did.  Hard to believe now that they were two stand-alone buildings that shared a parking lot.

Even harder to believe that one of the Nashville Borders was just a block away.

With bachelor's degree in hand and newly poor, I spent hours browsing both the Barnes & Noble stores in the Nashville area. At Opry Mills I picked up this Joyce Carol Oates short story collection a million times.  It was in hardcover at the time, and I was in no position to spend $25 on -- well, anything, really.  Around the same time, I daydreamed that a guy I adored would buy this Alice Munro one for me.  He didn't -- and I still don't own it.

For three years before I moved home, I was the book buyer at OutLoud!, Nashville's GLBT community bookstore.  I love love love loved that job, that store and everyone I worked with.  It closed this past December; follow the link for details.  I own a million books now, and most of them came through that store.

Independent bookstores have been falling like flies the past few years, and more are threatening to do the same, so it's hugely ironic to watch one of the independents' arch nemeses shutter.  Ironic because the closure of any bookstore -- much less the 2nd largest chain in America -- is bad for the entire industry, regardless to whether management contributed more to Borders demise than anything else.

Gayle Shanks is one of the founders and still operates Changing Hands Bookstore, an independent located in Tempe, AZ.  I heard her speak at an American Booksellers Association conference a few years ago and came away genuinely appreciating her knowledge of the state of bookselling, as well as the history of independent bookselling.

There's one paragraph in this article from Changing Hands' website that only an independent bookseller could write.  It describes exactly an independent's perspective of Borders' competitive work these past 20 or so years.  A very worthwhile read.

Don't forget: locals have to support locals, wherever you live.  When in Belleville, go to Greenley's.

My playlist: June

Challenged and inspired by my cousin and fellow blogger Tina, I've selected a few tunes that consistently find their way into my ears when I'm at the gym or driving somewhere this last while.

"Where Country Grows" - Ashton Shepherd
I love Ashton Shepherd.  Loved her since the first album "Sounds So Good" came out back in 2008.  That title song is still a favourite, so I was all excited when this new music came out a few months ago.  The new single, "Look It Up," admittedly sucks a little bit, but the rest of the cuts on this EP are really good.  I've grown to really like "Where Country Grows" more than the rest.




"Staying's Worse Than Leaving" - Sunny Sweeney
One year ago, on a $0.99 shopping spree at iTunes, I bought a song called "From a Table Away" by someone I'd never before heard of called Sunny Sweeney.  And I'll be damned if that song hasn't become my favourite song ever.  When the 5-song EP was released a few months ago, I immediately bought it, and soon fell for the one that was to become the follow-up to "From a Table Away."  Love it.  It's crawling up the country chart, so I'm assuming it'll be another six or so months until the local country station plays it.




"You Lie" - The Band Perry
I liked "If I Die Young," even though I found it a bit sombre for my taste.  A great song, yes, but (as you'll see here) I've been attracted lately to more up-tempo songs.  And this song ain't bad; I like it.  An understatement, because I listen to this song a lot.  Like catch-myself-singing-it-all-the-time like it.




"Shotgun Girl" - the JaneDear girls
This song is so catchy and hook-laden that I feel like brushing and flossing after each listen to guard against cavities.  It's hard for a 200 lb man to sing about being anyone's girl -- shotgun or otherwise -- but trust that when I'm alone in my car, or alone at home, or just pretty much anywhere alone, I sing it LOUD.  Enjoy the juxtaposition of such a poppy song name-checking Waylon, Willie and Merle, too.  Country purists get right offended by it, but I'm okay.




"I Will Wait" - Six West
Every now and then a song will come on the radio that, for some reason, just pulls me in.  Let me stress: it's really very rare.  The most notable time was way back in 1996 when I first heard Kelita -- another Canadian act -- and a song called "The Strong One."  It absolutely blew me away.  I ran out and bought the CD the next day and listened to it over and over and over.  Six West is a duo from somewhere out in Western Canada and, based on what I've learned, this new single is more (shall we say) country-politan than previous releases.  A great melody.  Note that this is only one out of two places where you'll find a dude's voice on my list.  Apparently I'm that gay.




"Together You & I" -- Dolly
Another one that I pulled off iTunes based on just the :30 clip.  Dolly is a superstar the world over and country radio has yet to pick up on this, the single most radio-friendly song she's released in maybe 20 years.  A fascinating look at how production can completely re-write (if you will) a song -- check out this original version from over forty years ago.




"Who's Johnny" -- El Debarge
Out of nowhere this song popped in my head a couple weeks ago.  I downloaded it immediately and now, every time it comes up, I'm surprised at how not embarrassed I am to still enjoy it so much.  The video, on the other hand, is super-80's-cheesy.




"Love Soundz" - Lacey Schwimmer
All dance songs sound the same to me.  I'd have never heard of this song had I not been following Lacey on Twitter.  Thanks to Kyle Massey for being so entertaining, that season he was on "Dancing with the Stars."  If I was Divinely intended to like this song, that was path that led to this.

Indians in the city

Drafted this post over a month ago ...

---

So I'm running around the Eaton Centre a couple nights ago when I was approached by this dude.

Actually he came up to me as I was shopping for shorts.  I couldn't decide between the ones that fall way past the knee with lotsa baggy pockets, or the ones that fall way past the knee with no pockets, when I turn around and here's this Hawaiian lookin guy saying, "Are you Cree? Anishinabe?"

I thought, is that the dumbest, most Northern Ontario-slash-middle Western Canada question ever?!  So I said, "No!  Haudenosaunee, Mohawk."  He said, "Oh, okay."

I will dare guess that most the Indians in Toronto are from the far North, mostly because all of us "southern" (read: Haudenosaunee) Natives already live close enough to the big city that we don't actually have to live there.  So, upon further thought, it really was a logical question for him to ask.
He held out a CD.  You see this happen at pow wows a lot.  I thought, here comes the sales pitch.  He said, "My friend asked me to come over and say hi.  We figured if there's an Indian in the mall, he must wanna spend some money."  I thought, now that's a good one.  That line alone was worth five bucks.

Then I figured: we're not the kind of people to just walk up to strangers and try to sell them something.  If it's $20 or less, I'll get it.  But I won't make it easy.

"How much is this?"

"Twenty dollars."

I've always been good at The Price is Right.  So I said, "I guess I can get one, but you have to sign it!"

We walked over to the cash register area and asked for a pen.  He tore open the packaging, slipped out the card from the case, and then pointed at himself in the picture before he signed his name and added the letters "IN..." then asked me "How you spell 'enjoy'?"

I said "uh... E-N-J-O-Y but how you got it, that's even better!"  It was like an unintentional mix of Injun and enjoy.  I liked it, but didn't take the time to explain.

Apparently, him and a few friends recorded this CD.  It's all new material that they wrote, set to pow wow music.  I asked, "How old are you?"  He told me he's 21, that he hitchhiked to Toronto from his home in Saskatchewan three years ago and has lived here since.  He works at the Native Child & Family Services Centre here downtown where he teaches little children about their culture, and sings to them.

Isn't that cool?

My heart was warmed a little.  "You hitchhiked all the way from Saskatchewan when you were EIGHTEEN?" I asked.  "Yep."

"Well, hang on before you go," I said. "I gotta get a picture to commemorate this brush with celebrity."  So there we stood, by the cash register at the American Eagle, two Native North American Indians posing while a store clerk took a photo with my phone.

How does a sheriff seize Mohawk property?

This story has been part of the local radio news broadcasts for THREE DAYS now.  If you're not from around here, trust that we're not crawling under our windows at home, and running to and from our cars in order to avoid the barrage of bullets that our local news organizations are predicting.

Belleville Intelligencer did nobody any favours with this headline: "Bullets could fly over court ruling"

Kingston Whig-Standard tempered themselves with this one: "Businessman remains defiant"

I listen to the country station in Belleville, Cool 100, and those are the news reports I've heard so often these past few days.  These news organizations have been around long enough to know what an empty promise sounds like.  Around here, I think we've all learned to take threats of gunfire with a grain (an entire lick, even) of salt.  Even the folks at Cool 100 should know the personalities involved.

I don't know a whole lot about this case, but I'm confident that our chief and band council are not prone to suing its own community members, nor will they begin to do it in a widespread manner now.  Mortgage arrears are overflowing, and have always been, without the sort of confiscation and forced liquidation (an ironic word, yes?) of property and possessions that we may be seeing here.  Again, this is a unique situation based on the personalities involved.

Here's an interesting point, from the article:

Justice Helen McLeod-Beliveau ruled that the sheriff can be asked to seize three properties from Miracle, who is the former operator of Mohawk Liquidation gas bar. The sheriff and the band would be then able to auction them off with proceeds to go to the Mohawk Band Council.

The ruling was that the sheriff can be asked?

Call me ignorant: I'm unfamiliar with the jurisdiction of a sheriff.  I know Roscoe P. Coltrane oversaw all of Hazard County, but I can't imagine that's the case here.  Remember, we fall outside provincial jurisdiction in many areas.  That is why our relationship with the OPP, and its connection to our own police force, remains so contentious.  So my question: if confiscation is to happen, exactly who would oversee the physical repossession of this land?

Buy the Indian gas ... and something else too

Here's the thing: if I lived off the reserve and I saw the price of gas going up around 135.9, I'd be shopping around too.  But this is getting crazy ...

This photo was taken earlier today at the Free Flow on Hwy 2 at Shannonville.  Locals refer to it still as "Bayview Variety" because that's what it used to be called.

Just down the road, inside the village of Shannonville is ... gawd, ... Village Variety.  You just get so used to these places, you forget what they're actually called.  I refer to this one as "the gas station in Shannonville."

At neither of these places should you ever have to wait to get your gas.  Maybe at the Village because they have literally two pumps, but never at Bayview.  So to see lines like in these photos is really very unusual.  I needed gas yesterday afternoon and nearly considered going into Belleville just for the convenience of knowing I'd not have to wait who-knows-how-long.  (Note that I didn't.  Well, what I did is I went to the place on Hwy 49.  It's called Quik Stop, I think ... it's the one where the Subway is ... and got $20 worth there, then went back to Bayview later for the rest.

The lot was nearly empty when I got there, around 8pm last night.  The attendant mentioned that the best time is in the evenings.  Food for thought.)

Speaking of food ...

If you're not from Tyendinaga and you're thinking of taking a drive to the reserve during this local oil crisis, please PLEASE consider buying more than gas -- and/or cigarettes -- when you visit.  I don't want to get all "Tourism Tyendinaga" on ya, but there's GOT to be something here you would enjoy, something that would also support our local economy.

I've taken the liberty of making some suggestions for you right now.

Tota Maz (pronounced "DUH-duh MAHZ" but you gotta say it fast) is a great little restaurant that opened late last year.  If you've been to our annual pow wow in August, you'll recognize some of this food, particularly the Indian Taco, the fry bread, and the corn soup.  Each are "delicacies" (the quotation marks are important) of Native North American Indians, so you have to at least try it.  The corn soup can be lighter, but the fry bread and Indian Taco will sabotage your diet like four chocolate bars.  The homemade bread is a highlight; try the kind called "Three Sisters."  It has a million ingredients and, again, don't ask for a nutrition label.  It's located across from the community centre, about halfway between Hwy 2 and Hwy 49 on York Road.

Another option is Steve's Fish & Chips at the intersection of Hwy 49 (a/k/a Marysville Road from the 401) and York Road.  It's been a couple months since I've been there but, if I recall, you can choose from Haddock and Halibut.  Not terribly pricey, either -- which, incidentally, is the best part about eating locally.  Eating out here, you'll find, is surprisingly affordable.

Further down Hwy 49, heading south, is a couple stores owned by a couple of my cousins.  Everyone around here loves the coffee at Smokin' Coffee Express.  And I mean they love it.  It's mostly a drive-thru, rez-style: you order at the window, and pick-up at the same window.  It's on the other side of the building in this photo.

Just past it is the Nation2Nation shop, where in it you'll find frozen venison steaks and other interesting food-stuffs amid the tobacco.  Last time I was in there I saw a package of corn soup that you can take home and eat in your own kitchen!  (That's a big deal if you don't cook, like me.)

And don't forget about Native Renaissance II, the great big massive gift shop at the corner of Hwy 49 and York Road.  I was just in there a short while ago when I needed some sweetgrass and sage for burning.  The greeting card selection isn't terrible, either.

So, in conclusion: get the gas and the cigarettes, but be sure to support our other local business owners when you visit Tyendinaga.  You'll be missin' out on good things if you don't.  That's all.   Thanks.

Break Your Own Trail

I've spent all day trying to figure out what it means.  There's an explanation of the term at the bottom of this article.  I still don't get it.  It's not a natural statement, like (for example) Blaze Your Own Trail.  As consumers, we're supposed to connect with an advertisement viscerally, immediately.

Here's hoping someone somewhere does a whole lotta work to make it a catchphrase all the Native people in Ontario will be using.  Until then, "break" will sound like something you don't want to do, something you have to recover from.  Or that you need to stop something.

According to this press release, Colleges Ontario -- and especially the Aboriginal-owned agency that created the campaign -- really did their research.  Yet after a few years working in Aboriginal education, I've learned that advertising really doesn't work for Native people (unless we feel we're not being directly targeted) and we view learning as a lifelong process.

So if the $400,000 needed to be spent, it certainly does, I've come up with a couple alternatives, just off the top of my head this afternoon.

1. The journey starts here.

2. Find your path here.

3. Even the tagline for Ontario Colleges (Your Future Starts Here) works.  Tweak it a bit: keep the photos of Native students and tag it: My Future Starts Here.

What about that line at the bottom of the dedicated page to this initiative: We Are the Future.  I LOVE that one.  LOVE it.  I'm assuming the page will be expanded at some point.  No reason why the links can't lead directly to the Aboriginal student success centres at each college.  Check out this one from Loyalist College, for example.  It provides exactly the information the press release lists as being integral to this entire project.

Yes, Chief Atleo, it's time we talked

AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo has an op-ed on the CBC website, posted this evening, where it appears his organization is debuting its "priorities" regarding this election.  They are further outlined in this .pdf file from the AFN website.  This article from the Toronto Star yesterday served as a good primer.

Who exactly does he want to talk to?  In this article, he isn't directly addressing any one individual or organization or constituency.

My thoughts:

1. Most Native people do not vote.  If we believe our treaties are valid, should we be voting for the "side" that we're hoping will acknowledge their end of the bargain?  When Canada spent the 90's fighting with the US over softwood lumber, Canadians weren't expected to vote in US elections.  Same thing.

2. Regular ol' Canadians don't know enough about our issues, particularly in a tangible way that forces them to demand their government take those issues seriously.  (See that AFN document for what those issues are.)  For example, everyone involved will agree that improving our eduation rates should be an enormous priority, yet nobody seems concerned that increased funding for educating Aborginal people has been capped at 2% since 1996.

During that time, our population has exploded, due both to a growing youth population and the reinstatement of "status" Indians under Bill C-31 and (coming soon) the McIvor decision.  People are being turned away, and walking away from opportunity, in probably every reserve.  Imagine how many people don't even apply for education funding because they've heard so many stories about others who've been denied it?

3. I would argue that Canadians in general do not seem concerned because they have no idea.

4. I use the word "tangible" in point number 2 because it seems important that we should be humanizing our issues.  People -- Canadian voters -- become concerned about an issue when they know somebody who's directly affected by it.  Not when we're described to them as faceless, unidentifiable populations: those are easy to ignore.

In a sort of related note, I was browsing the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation website yesterday and was surprised to see profiles of bursary award recipients from this area.  There are Native people from Bancroft and Consecon -- direct neighbours to voters (and may even be voters themselves) -- who are affected by what I've taken to labeling in this post "our issues."  We get so caught up in "Indians on the reserve" or "homeless Indians on the streets in Toronto" that it's easy to forget that we're everywhere else, too.

5. The AFN has always had an undefined relationship with its stakeholders.  To the Canadian government: is it a lobby organization?  To Native people in Canada: does it represent us or only our chiefs who elect the national chief?

During this federal election, and long after it's over for that matter, I believe the concerns of the AFN will not be heard because even it doesn't know -- as this article asks, ironically -- who it wants to talk to.  On the surface, the AFN has no political clout for two reasons: it's entirely funded by whichever government is in power, and it has no direct relationship with regular ol' Indians.

Will it ever be self-funded?  I don't see how.  I just don't see it.  Who or what organization would contribute to it?  We're not known for our vast wealth, or disposable incomes.  Nearly all of our organizations are "human services" in nature and entirely reliant upon government or charitable donations themselves.  There is, strangely (or not), no self-directed organization of Aboriginal business owners and professionals.  Out in the big world we're an uncoordinated group, many of whom do not choose to identify as Aboriginal ... because of "the effects of residential schools" (see my previous blog post regarding what this phrase actually signifies).

Due to point number 1 (above), the AFN will never be able to tell Canadian politicians that we will en masse make change at the polls.

So what can the AFN do?

It can organize us.  They're heading in the right direction with these virtual summits (next one scheduled for this Thursday; video intro here), but there's an insular nature to these events.  The point shouldn't be for Atleo to take what he learns from these summits so he can further speak to them on our behalf.  If the AFN wanted to truly create a PR opportunity now, this summit would only be considered "research," in the sense that it would be the starting point for developing an awareness campaign that:

a) tells stories about specific individuals -- humanizing us -- to the greater world.

b) asks us regular ol' Indians to help spread those stories about specific individuals.

c) provides us an opportunity -- and an avenue (this is the Internet 2.0 right?) -- for us to tell our own stories in relation to these issues.

I believe Canadians truly would support us, but they're not being given the tools to do it.  They don't know why they should demand more of their elected officials.  And we're not helping when we only talk to politicians and each other.  Or when we rely on one single individual to represent us all.

Ashley Judd's memoir

So I got this PVR hook-up for my satellite dish almost a year ago, and now I have no idea how I survived without it.  Admittedly, I spend more time deleting shows that I'll never watch, and fast-forwarding parts of shows that ... suck, but not being a slave to the broadcast schedule has been grrrreat.

Case in point: I like "The View" only when it gets down and dirty.  When something happens and ABC promotes it all over in the afternoon, I used to think "Damn, I wish I'd seen it."  Those days are gone.  At home for lunch today, I turned it on just as the Ashley Judd interview was winding down.  So, because I tape the 2pm/West Coast edition, I knew I'd be able to watch it in full this evening.

And I was blown away.

Check out this video ...




Ashley's always been the smart one.  Not Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm like her mom.  Not Wynonna with all the self-help catchphrases.  She's been the thinker and it's evident to anyone who's ever listened to her speak.  So, while I am surprised Ashley would require a professional co-writer for this autobiography, I'm nonetheless excited to get my hands on a copy of "All That is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir."

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired."  I get this.  Just within the past few days, I've been wondering, "Why do I feel good physically but I don't feel like I'm thinking well?"  Not like I'm thinking dumb or anything.  My mind just hasn't been going to good, uplifting, optimistic places.

If you can find a full video of this segment, watch it.  There's a short discussion about coping mechanisms that children develop, because they have to adapt to situations they can't control.  She said she learned to put her head in a book.  I get that.  We uncontrollaby use those coping mechanisms into adulthood until we reach a point where they can't help us any longer.  So we're forced into that growth.

About her experience volunteering across the world: "I connected to the fact that things happened to me when I was a kid about which I had never spoken."

Native people should understand this well.  Whether you're a sexual abuse survivor or not, every word from that interview should make sense to you.  Social workers and educators who work with Aboriginal people talk about generations-long trauma and its effect on our people, and the ways it manifests itself today: alcoholism, drugs, cycles of abuse in all its forms.  Those are the big examples.

Consider these less obvious ones: social hesitation that others interpret as snobbery; rumination/silence that looks like ignorance or disinterest; a smile or blank stare when everyone else gushes with joy.  We're people who tread carefully wherever we go -- except in a room full of Indians -- because we've conditioned ourselves to prepare for a surprise.  That's the lightbulb that lit over my head, these past six months or so: I've conditioned myself to prepare for a surprise.  And it's not fun.

Think about that, if you haven't experienced it for yourself.  Trying to predict the next thing someone says, thinking about what you'd do, how you'd react if this (or that) were to happen right now, constantly guarding yourself emotionally, to the extent that you can't genuinely react impulsively to anything.

This is what the world needs to understand when we talk about "the effects of residential schools."  It's what job recruiters need to understand if they're genuinely serious about reflecting the Canadian fabric at their workplace.  It's so much more than the headlines in the newpapers.

As for me right now, today: don't worry about me.  This time tomorrow, I'll have Ashley Judd's book.  I'll find my way.

Long time, no blog

I get home tonight and the satellite isn't working, and I'm assuming that's because it's covered in snow.  Way up on the roof.   And I don't feel like shoveling any more this season, much less scaling the house and dusting out a little satellite dish.  I'm grateful the PVR still works, though I suppose I shouldn't be: it turns out I haven't been missing much, these last few episodes of "Brothers & Sisters."

If you've been lingering around here looking for the political scoop on all-things-Tyendinaga, here's what I got ...

Nothing.

My primary concern regarding the operation of this community has been communication, and the ways we regular ol' Indians don't tend to know anything about what's going on around here unless we read about it in the Intelligencer or some leftist liberal rag (what's the internet version of a rag?  A ragsite?).  I was ultimately concerned about two job positions at the band office: consultation coordinator, and communication officer.

They are huge positions, I still believe, especially because I remain convinced that a member of two of our elected leadership have got all caught up in whatever social status accompanies those positions.  Annointing themselves gods or kings or something like that.  A consultation coordinator and communication officer, when properly trained, can provide a continual reminder that "representing the people of the community" isn't just something you say when you travel outside the reserve.

The band office posted those two jobs a few months ago ... and either nobody applied for them, or nobody who applied was qualified.  It's common in our communities, but disappointing nonetheless.  Please don't ask if I applied: I'm not sure if I'd work well with self-annointed gods and kings.

It's hard to question the quality of our internal communication when the call was made to fill exactly that role and it was not answered.

So if peaking above this screen at three lame episodes of "Brothers & Sisters" has taught me anything, it has been to remind me of the freedom I've felt these past couple months, liberated of the frustration.  It's been an interesting couple months, yes.  Less political.  More "at large" = beyond the rez.  I promise to post more about it soon.  Hold your breath.  Count the days.

Random linkages: Sherman Alexie

What's it called when you're online and you follow a link, then another, and another until, the next thing you know, you have no idea how you got to where you are?  But you're glad to be there.  There's gotta be a phrase for that.  It happens too often for it to not be a universal thing.

In fact, when it doesn't happen I end up saying to myself, "There's nothing on the Internet today," like it's a Sunday afternoon in 1978 and the only options on TV are ABC Wide World of Sports, some ice-dancing show on CTV and a mind-numbing foreign documentary on CBC.  You know what I'm talkin'bout.  Nothing.

Dare I credit Facebook: I followed a link to some writer's favourite books of 2010 at the New Yorker, where I recognized none of the selected titles, but found my way to this page, where Lauren Collins credits the great American Indian writer Sherman Alexie for entertaining her literarily this year.  She identifies his "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" as "my favorite short story."  A grand pronouncement, yes?  I attempted to read that story when it was published, back in 2003 and, a testament to my ever-growing intellect, I din't get it way back then.  Just didn't seem to comprehend the story.

But boy did I love it earlier this evening, when I gave it another shot.  You have to read it.  You just have to.  The story is not about grandmother's powwow regalia, not about alcoholism or homelessness.  It's about Native people -- ahem, Native North American Indians -- and the ways we relate to each other, and everyone else.  It's about laughter, relatability, finding connection in unusual places, (and being open to connecting in unusual places), about losing touch but trusting that you have family at the next turn.

I saw myself in this story, surprisingly, because I've never been homeless or much of a drinker and my grandmothers never owned powwow regalia.

So I went back to the main page at the New Yorker website and searched "Sherman Alexie," where I discovered his new book (at the time) called War Dances was selected a book club pick back in November of last year.  They'd archived an online chat with him and that's where I found this article.  Unrelated, I'll admit -- and I've yet to read it -- but if Sherman Alexie wants me to read it, I'm gonna read it.  It's an essay called "Twilight of the American Newspaper," written by Richard Rodriguez (who's no literary slouch himself).

In nearly every article and blog post the New Yorker published around this book club title the writers each referenced an outside piece: it's an article from the New York Times that (apparently) notoriously quoted Alexie as saying War Dances, the follow-up to his much-heralded, best-selling young-adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, was "an attempt to re-establish my eccentric self."  An interesting quote, but set it aside.  Here's the good one:

"We all know the Indians were colonized by the Europeans," he continued, "but every colonized Indian has been colonized by the Indian reaction to colonization."

I trust you're an intelligent reader.  I could explain that statement, but I'm sure you're already there.  In short: there exists a long complicated web of repatriation of our culture and traditions that includes our own varying degrees of acquiescence to the world as it was during each successive generation since the first "strain" of colonization.  I will argue that understanding this as the new starting point in our journey makes the next steps clearer.

Lots of great reading here.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

We can handle the truth

Details from the Williams sentencing hearing this week have sparked debate about the appropriateness of the news reported.  What does it say about our media diet?  Mine?

I found it hard to look at the events of this week as a great big story of national interest.  Just the presence of the vans and satellites, the lighting equipment and reporters milling around outside the otherwise quiet courthouse on Pinnacle Street, particularly at night, helped steer me away from the national newspapers and TV news.

It was a troubling case -- to say the least -- and, though I'm not a resident of Tweed, nor am I part of what appears to have been Williams target demographic, I needed the comfort of knowing our own local newspaper would have our best interests at heart when they covered this story.

I had faith that our local reporters would leave the salacious details to the Toronto Star and the Sun (both of which have edited online the loudly screaming headlines from their print stories, though here's a good example), that they would put this story in context for us.  And they did.  They did a great job.

Criticism has been most harshly reserved for Twitter, the microblogging website that limits user updates to 140 characters.  Print newspapers are expected to summarize the previous days' events and create a document of record, even when stories continue to unfold.  Television news can provide video, and though it can react and report quicker, it is still limited to pre-determined broadcast times (except for 24-hour channels) and, more importantly, the responsibility to summarize and explain what's going on.

The Internet, and especially Twitter, is all about now.  Unedited.  This moment.  Not that last sentence you just read.

This one.

And it's a voluntary medium.  Though I tried, I couldn't avoid TV newscasters and the photo of Williams in the blue shirt during his interrogation, or large-print headlines from the national papers pleading for my emotional reaction.  I chose to read the feeds of reporter Luke Hendry (www.twitter.com/intelLH) and www.twitter.com/TheIntell just as deliberately as had I chosen not to read them.  This is the place for details, however graphic, because we have the option to tune out.

A three-part tweet from Hendry worth repeating:

Interesting point made in media gallery today (not to be interpreted as justification). Immediacy of tech these days now makes (cont'd)

it possible for something new in Canadian courts: live, moment-by-moment accounts. Theory was that this (cont'd)

may be at least partly why some are interpreting coverage of #colrw as media overload.

It is only in North America where journalists ascribe to impartiality in their reportage.  It is debatable whether that is ever possible, so the greatness in the immediacy of in-the-moment reporting is that humanity wins out.  Remember the 140 character count is a limit; you can't just blow out 300 characters, or even 141, whenever you want.  It's remarkable how much you can say when you have to say little (my emphasis below).

@IntelLH Police photo was not - from my very quick look - graphic. Police gathered forensic samples & analyzed #colrw

And when we receive a plethora of loosely edited information, all in-the-moment, we're allowed to focus on the questions we ourselves want answered.  Jessica and Williams had not ever met before his attack on her; didn't have to be a front-page story but, just the same, it answered a question I had.  That's what makes this form of reporting so valuable.

It also presents a couple thoughts about our use of social media during events like this one.  If a person chooses to "unfollow" you, it's not a personal attack or judgment on your character, particularly when your upcoming tweets are understood to be of a specific nature.  Because I was interested in the Williams case, I found myself reading my main Twitter update feed less, and routinely refreshed the @intelLH and @TheIntell pages in separate windows.

Are we using our "lists" optimally?  Mashable considers Facebook's list function, used for selectively distributing information to friends, "one of the most underrated privacy tools."  For Twitter, a more receptive medium, lists are important -- very important -- when we need to filter out updates from people we follow but who's updates we may not require, or be interested in at all (to put it bluntly).

It's been a long week, and I'm thankful that it's over.  I offer my sincerest, heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and friends, and my appreciation to the members of the media for considering the needs and interests of your local audience, your community, at this time.

Third time the charm for police building delivery

Fascinating that we have this fancy new website and so many new communication tools, yet all the significant information I've received this week either came via word of mouth or -- more ironically (and more substantially) -- the Belleville newspaper and the Belleville court.

What that says about the balance of interest regarding Mohawk versus non-Mohawk (member versus non-member) knowledge of our community's affairs, I'll let you decide.

From today's Intell, an interview with the chief: Third time the charm for Mohawks?

From the Quinte News network of radio stations: Delivery day for Tyendinaga police station

Politics and the Tyendinaga police force (part 2)

Judge signed the order this morning. He stressed that his ruling was based on the "drip, drip, drip" (his word) of money being spent between the initiation of this ordeal and now, and that the funds were allocated toward that building specifically.

He also expressed disappointment that the injunction request was filed at such a late date. This petition, he deemed worthless. Paper copies were distributed by band office employees only to identified supporters yesterday evening, apparently. It seems improper, I think, to ask employees to engage in such politically-motivated work.

That petition came about, I've learned, immediately after yesterday's court proceeding. From a communication perspective, we know now just how quickly the band office is capable of sharing information with the community. A good thing.

I don't believe this community realizes just how dangerous this precedent is for Tyendinaga. On both sides of this issue, I'm sure that most among us are likely preoccupied with their feelings about the building itself -- and perhaps feeding their animosity toward "the other side" -- instead of seeing that the process has been re-routed in a way that will guarantee continued division among us. It happened quickly, and rather easily, and it will be quicker and easier next time.

Our political history as Mohawk people is to counsel. It should be our instinct today. The local newspaper has quoted locals who claim the community was consulted regarding this building, but that's not true and I've commented on that in the past. Not once has my opinion about this building been invited, beyond the either/or sort.  Our recently deposed Consultation Coordinator has acknowledged that the engagement with this community regarding the building was biased toward a specific result.

The development of the consultation policy would be an enormous first step toward reconnecting this community to the sort of "counsel" that made us the creators of democracy as the world now knows it. I've researched this quite a lot since I moved home three years ago and the greatest surprises have been those instances when my instinct mirrors our tradition. I'm not special or unique in that respect. The problem: I'm never the loudest person, either (another mirror to our tradition, incidentally).

Our chief and two of our councillors were present in the courtroom this morning. I'm concerned more than ever now of two things:

1. This was a very politically-motivated move. The building was secondary. Winning appears to have been the motivating factor. Our chief even went so far as to accuse others of not "consulting" with the council.
2. I believe they genuinely do not understand how hugely productive it would be for them to engage us proactively, without an agenda such as yesterday's faux survey.

Perhaps it's an age-related, generational issue. Our chief and councillors are very old (the average age has to be somewhere in the mid- to late-60s) and are of a time when Indians were intentionally excluded from participating in their own affairs -- on various levels, within and outside the community. There's a good likelihood they're perpetuating this without realizing it.

That there remains so much support for this sort of top-down governance among Mohawk people -- the creators of democracy -- says quite a lot about who we've become and the work before us.  There is a lot of work before us.

Politics and the Tyendinaga police force

When our chief and council ask a Canadian judge to force the Tyendinaga police to do anything, we're all treading on very uncomfortable ground. The entire Ipperwash Inquiry hinged on whether politicians were directing the work of police.

I am absolutely blown away by this document.

MBQ-NoticeofMotion-PoliceBuilding

The last time this building was scheduled for delivery, the Tyendinaga police force chose not to intervene in the protest that ultimately sent the building away.  To my knowledge, there were two reasons:

1. The Tyendinaga police force numbers only about eight;
2. Inviting a mass of OPP officers to enforce Canadian law on a Mohawk reserve is just a really, really bad idea.  Really bad.  Particularly given that the issue is internal to this community.

It is hugely ironic that our chief and council argue in this document that our community has "suffered irreparable harm" due to the "undermining of the authority of the police services" when the purpose of their request is to do exactly the same thing.

From the moment this clearly very controversial building was proposed, our chief and council has had exactly three years to engage the community, to negotiate some sort of resolve to this mess.  The idenfication of the need for a consultation policy was a great idea.  There are creative, intelligent people here who can help build that policy, but when just the loudest and most polarized elements among us are the only voices acknowledged, we all lose.

I've heard the Tyendinaga police are opposed to this request by chief and council.  Note that, as a direct result of the last protest of this building, our police force along with a Crown attorney from Belleville have actively consulted this community regarding alternative forms of justice for instances unique to Tyendinaga members, a positive step in relationship-building that has remained unacknowledged by our chief and council.

It's not about the building

So it appears the "controversial" police building is coming (again) to Tyendinaga.

First: I don't care about this building at all.  I don't care if it arrives and our cops set up shop there. I don't care it it's turned away again.  I don't care.

As a writer, communicator, and educator in this community, I truly care that the proper dialogue takes place regarding issues that have the potential to divide us.  As one who takes a particular interest in this issue, as one who pays attention to every message that is delivered to this community at large, I can't help but acknowledge my continued confusion.

Two weeks ago, our police chief told the Intelligencer that ... well, here's the entire quote:

(Police Chief Ron) Maracle added that the 'local chief (Donald Maracle) and council have exhausted their political avenues and will' and the task of ensuring the buildings safe passage to the site rest in the hands of the police.

The article went on to acknowledge the protests that met this building, during both attempts to deliver it to Tyendinaga.  Today, then, it comes as an absolute shock to find this notice posted on the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte administration website:

Tyendinaga Police Services Building - Providing Support
Posted on October 04, 2010

Tyendinaga Mohawk Council kindly requests that MBQ community members who support the delivery of the new Tyendinaga Police Services building please do so in writing. When submitting your written notice of support, please be sure to include your name.

Your words of support can be provided:
•Via email to Lisa Maracle, Acting Director of Nation Building, lisam@mbq-tmt.org
•In writing to the MBQ Administration Office, 13 Old York Rd; OR
•Fill out an online survey on the MBQ homepage http://www.mbq-tmt.org/.

There may be a good reason for the band office to collect "support" instead of something less one-sided, but it's not been revealed to us via the website.  Or any other means.

Many among us will recall a consultation policy that the chief and council promised to this community nearly two years ago.  That idea sprung directly from the first round of protests that met the news of this police building.  Today, we still have no consultation policy.  In fact, the primary research required to even begin creating the policy hasn't been done.  It's incredibly disappointing, therefore, to watch this chapter in our history close with such a huge opportunity lost.

Not only lost but with a complete indulgence of a politics of division reconstituted.

Mohawk protesters to be sentenced

Wow.

There's something about this article that makes me really uncomfortable.  I was there today in Napanee and, I dunno, maybe it was that my perspective is different than Jerome Lessard's but what I saw was massively, worldly different.

There was a lot of talk about building relationships in and outside the community that Jerome didn't report on.

There was a lot of talk about Gladue, the landmark Supreme Court decision that bound every Canadian court to consider the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Canadian jails when it comes to criminal sentencing that Jerome didn't report on.

There was a reminder from a defense attorney that Gladue is not just an option for a defense attorney but a priority for the defense, Crown and judge to consider and work collaboratively toward implementing that Jerome didn't report on.

There was continued ignorance of this from the Crown that Jerome didn't report on.

For clarity: Chartrand represented himself. "Defense" didn't ask him to speak.

For clarity: Clint's statement was far, far, far more substantive and powerful than was reported.  It was humbling, whereas the quotes used here have a very stubborn sound to them.

As I watched the proceeding today, it struck me how fascinating, how genuinely interesting, it would be for a reporter from the Intelligencer at some point in the future to speak one-on-one with Judge Griffin about the uniqueness of this trial -- that it was the longest in Napanee history; of its complexity in that the accused were making a political statement but were charged with uncontextual crimes.

But my faith is shaken.  Good journalism shines light upon the situation, the totality of the experience, makes sense of it for those who couldn't be present themselves.  In this case, it would take into account the perspective of those who spoke, the surrouding communities, acknowledging the political insularity of Tyendinaga, and the relationships -- large and small, figurative and literal -- that exist for the people involved and, notably, the people who are not involved but live here too.  Good journalism does that.

It's a great opportunity.  A really great one.  And I'd love to see that article someday.

What I learned from "seven Mohawks found guilty"

This entire trial has been a big, BIG education for me and, I'm sure, those directly involved. And it all came to an end, finally, earlier this week.

It's been a long drawn out process. Because twelve people faced tens of charges stemming from the protest at the Thurlow Aggregates Quarry on Deseronto Road back in late April 2008, it was decided somehow by someone that they should all be tried at the same time in one great big massive trial.

Twelve defendants: five defense attorneys, three representing themselves.

What I learned about the Canadian justice system:
A "justice of the peace" isn't a judge or even a lawyer but a good upstanding member of the community who presides over a bail hearing, among other things. "Duty counsel" is an attorney who represents a defendant at a bail hearing if no other attorney has been identified. I have very little faith in either.

As with any other public place, a courtroom has its regulars. The nonchalant, familiar exchanges between the judge and (unrelated) recurring defendants, that took place before the trial resumed on certain dates, I'll always find strange.

As with any other workplace, there are norms that new people have to figure out for themselves. For example, increased police presence is common at a bail hearing but not at a trial. The reason is obvious but, when everything is new, nothing is obvious.

What I learned about Aboriginal people in Canadian courts:
Because Native people are over-represented in Canadian jails and prisons in comparison to our percentage of the overall population, case law exists to support the argument that Native people should avoid jail time whenever possible. It's shorthanded as simply "Gladue" and in this case neither the justice of the peace nor the duty counsel knew of it.

What I learned about conflict resolution and divergent worldviews:
To the defendants, this entire experience was about a land claim and a blocked road was secondary.

To the court, this entire experience was about a blocked road. Period. Hence all the "mischief" charges.

What I learned about the OPP's "A Framework for Police Preparedness for Aboriginal Critical Incidents":
The Framework (link will download a .pdf file) was created by the OPP, a direct result of the Ipperwash Inquiry, in order for it to have a plan when "Aboriginal critical incidents" occur. It talks of an Aboriginal Liaison and an Aboriginal Relations Team that will work with Native people leading up to, and for the duration of, events like Ipperwash, Caledonia, Oka, and now Deseronto. Unfortunately, it appears the Aboriginal Liaison ranks quite low in the hierarchy.

Even more unfortunate, an officer who ranks higher than an Aboriginal Liaison can arbitrarily decide an event has changed from an Aboriginal Critical Incident into something much more vague, like a "public safety issue." At that point, the Framework can be ignored. Immediately and without notice, which is diametrically contrary to the intent and spirit of the Framework.

In this specific instance, I'm left to wonder how a Mohawk protest on a roadway could, after a few days, be labeled anything other than that -- particularly when only those present those last couple days were exclusively Mohawks and police. Just the fact that I'm still unsure of this, and uncomfortable about it, proves there's a problem.

This is what makes the judge's claim that "the conduct of the OPP was reasonable" so surprising. Don't get me wrong: I'm not arguing that we should've seen not guiltys across the board, because there was some outright wrongdoing among the defendants. I suppose I'm coming from the perspective of one who's taking in the entirety of the situation because the objective should be to identify not only the best resolution to the issue, but also the best steps forward.

Isn't that what a court should do?

Did the Mississaugas REALLY own Belleville?

There are some among us who believe the Mississaugas never owned any of the land that the Alderville First Nation received nearly $750,000 for earlier this month.

It is no secret -- except maybe in Canadian history books -- that the Haudenosaunee people had exclusive ownership of a huge tract of land in this area, and far beyond this area, long before North America was ever "discovered."

To this day, the land considered our homeland, in the Mohawk Valley at present-day New York State, contains fertile soil for growing the crops we have long been known to harvest. That area, though, is not so conducive to the hunters among us who, back in the day, made use of our current land base (and surrounding area) for that purpose.

I'm finding it fascinating, really, to learn this history. All Native people, I will submit, are guilty of at times adopting the "mythical Indian" fantasy that so much of North America has embedded in its inhabitants' collective memory. In our hearts, though, we know our ancestors weren't perfect, that they had real human interactions and, as in this instance, they didn't just live exclusively in the area attributed to us throughout a history we didn't help document.

We had exclusive ownership of this land, including that which is bordered by the Bay of Quinte and what are now Bell Boulevard, Front Street and John Street/Hillcrest Avenue -- the land that the Alderville community received payment for, and a fancy plaque at Myer's Pier, a few weeks ago.

Let me emphasize this. We owned a whole. lotta. land. So much that it would have been absurd to ship the Mississaugas out of it. To my knowledge, it was agreed that the Mississaugas were welcome to reside here as long as they understood who were the rightful owners of this property.

Nobody is arguing the Alderville community shouldn't be compensated for the agreement the Mississaugas made with the Crown over 200 years ago; at least I'm not. Just the same, check out this item, compiled over 10 years ago, and originally documented in 1959. I'm confident we can all agree there was some discrepancy even then, at the very least, as to who owned the land that the Mississaugas sold to the Crown in 1783.

(NOTE: for some reason the document isn't visible here ... you should see it below. I've contacted the company that makes this happen and, hopefully, it'll be available when I hear back. Thanks!)

Alderville lays claim (no more) on Belleville

Fascinating, truly outta-the-blue story in Saturday's Intelligencer about a land claim recently concluded between the Canadian federal government and the band council at Alderville.

According to the Intell, "the settlement means the Alderville band council will receive $743,852 in federal compensation. The government and band also agreed the claim would never be reopened." The "brief history" provided to the Belleville daily by the department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is sufficiently concise:

1783: Crown buys a narrow parcel of land from the Mississaugas of the Alderville First Nation. It was bordered by the Bay of Quinte and what are now Bell Boulevard, Front Street and John Street/Hillcrest Avenue. Of that land, 428 acres were reserved for the Alderville nation's burial ground.

1811: Crown asks to buy the burial ground land. Likely delayed by War of 1812, the land is surrendered Aug 6, 1816. The Mississauga band later relocates to the Rice Lake area southeast of Peterborough, with the first survey there occurring in 1835.

2007: Canadian government agrees to negotiate claim. Claim is based upon the claim the First Nation didn't receive payment for the land and that the Crown failed to protect the burial grounds from disturbance.

2009: Canada and Alderville nation reach a deal: $743,852 to be paid to Alderville. The claim can never be reopened. Belleville city council agrees to place plaque on Alderville nation's local history in Jane Forrester Park at Meyers Pier.

There are two important points here that, while mentioned in the article, I don't believe were sufficiently highlighted.

1. This technically isn't a "land claim." I'm certain it was filed with the federal government under it's Specific Claims Policy but, as the article states, the Alderville community argued only that it had yet to receive payment for land they agreed to sell to the Crown in 1783. (Land claims in general tend to regard land that has been improperly transferred from an Aboriginal community to the Crown, specifically where there is little to no evidence of any agreement.)

2. This was an insignificant claim even to the Alderville community. Who would argue, for example, that the land in question is worth only $743,852? (In an editorial, the Intelligencer called it "reasonable" but doesn't explain how it came to agree with that dollar amount.) Chief James Marsden himself acknowledged in the article that two larger land claims are of greater concern to that community, one of which involves the Quinte region.

For these reasons it is improper for the Intelligencer, in that same issue, to editorialize regarding the resolve of this dispute in a way that references Tyendinaga's current claim to Culbertson land in present-day Deseronto, and beyond.

It writes: "There are those involved in land claims and native relations -- on both sides -- who could learn a lesson or two from this."

What the editorial writers at the Intelligencer may not realize is that the Specific Claims Policy was designed for small claims like this one. At the time of its implementation, in 2007, there were over 800 outstanding Aboriginal land claims in Canada and the overwhelming majority of them were of the size in the Alderville/Belleville claim.

The policy was developed, by my estimation, as a direct result of much, much larger land claims, notably those at Tyendinaga and Six Nations. It was designed to create the appearance that government is capable and willing to negotiate land claims while, at the same time, it did little (some would argue it did nothing) to resolve the most high profile and contentious ones.

By no means, therefore, should the Alderville/Belleville claim be considered a template to resolve the sort of land claim anyone in this area is familiar with.

What's fascinating, just unrelentingly interesting about this story is the history involved, the direct relationship this "land claim" has with Tyendinaga Mohawks. I'll share more about that tomorrow.

I'm Non-Native and I'm here to save you

Wes Isley is disappointed that Native people "are organizing" and "becoming more vocal about what they see as outright theft of their ancestral spiritual traditions." One only needs read as far as the first paragraph of his recent screed on the Huffington Post to understand, not where he's coming from, but from where they (uh ... we) are.

Here is that first paragraph:

As MY spiritual path has evolved, I'VE discovered a growing appreciation and respect for Native American spiritual beliefs and traditions. I KNOW there are many differences among tribes, BUT IN GENERAL, they all APPEAR to share a reverence for the land, for animals and plants, for the bonds of community, for the wisdom of the elderly and for the contributions of their ancestors. I FIND these perspectives compelling and valuable because they are unfortunately absent from MY OWN culture's religious traditions. (emphases are mine)

And here's how I read it:

As my spiritual path has evolved, I've discovered something about me. I know Indians are not all the same but, as far as I'm concerned right now today, they are. At least in ways that are convenient and similar to my existing spiritual interests.

As the article continues, he complains, complains, and complains some more about how he's not being accepted from this undefined pan-Indian collection of Natives who are out to keep his spiritual peace down. To this extent: "Perhaps Native American spiritual traditions have an opportunity to evolve, too."

Recognize, if you haven't already, that we're not talking about Mohawk, Cherokee, Navajo beliefs, for example. Isley has lumped us all together under an umbrella called Native American Spiritual Traditions and, because it's not completely all about him yet, he wants Native American Spiritual Traditions to "evolve" to fit his current spiritual needs.

Poor thing.

Similarly, Joseph Quesnel writes an opinion piece, published in today's Globe & Mail, as though he's never met a real live Indian. First he assumes we all agree with the term "illegal tobacco." The perspective disconnect is alarming. Check out this line:

With few prospects for NORMAL business development, indigenous communities turn to their inbuilt ADVANTAGES, such as tax exemptions. (emphases mine)

And this one:

By all means, crack down on illegal tobacco ...

It's as though we're not allowed to read the newspaper, as though there is no expectation that we have any opinion in the matter. What's most frustrating about this article is -- my hunch -- the number of regular ol' Canadians who'll read this and, because the argument is framed that way, just assume that we are continually in need of non-Native people and organizations to tell us how to live.

It reminds me of a story.

A few of us were visiting the newsrooom at the Whig-Standard in Kingston a couple years ago. The opinion page editor was talking to a roomful of journalism students, all Native, about his work. He mentioned, off-hand, two unrelated news stories from that day: one about Aboriginal unemployment in the Kingston area and the other about a manual labour shortage upcoming (years upcoming, in fact). And, as clearly as I've laid out the scene here, a lightbulb went off in his head. You can figure out what he said next.

In shock, I watched while this gentleman ruminated aloud about how "we should train these people" to work in these positions. Did he ask our opinion? Was he interested in any contribution we might have to support, or refute, his idea? Nope. Alone in a room full of Native people, he was genuinely delighted to have discovered a way to help the Indians. All by himself.

Arson "a large blow to the community"

As in any strange case, the first or second wave of news tends to elicit more questions than provide answers. Here are mine.

First: the fire was not technically at the airport here on the reserve. Neighbouring the airport, just west of Tsi Tyonnheht Onkwawenna, our community's Mohawk language adult education program, and sharing the same parking lot as the former hangar that used to house our school buses and (to my knowledge) is where plenty of the band office's vehicles are kept today, is where the small Quonset hut was burned early this morning.

The purpose of the fire seems clear. I could be wrong, but among the items charred -- a water delivery truck, and "two emergency preparedness power generators" -- is a large amount of fibre optic cable, the only item among all of those that has aroused any opposition lately.

By and large, it seems the entire community is either on board or ambivalent toward the plans, announced well over a year ago, to wire the community with fibre optic cable in order to provide cable television, high speed Internet, and advanced telephone service to Tyendinaga. In recent months, each of our roads have been delicately torn up on their periphery in order to lay the cable. Rumours have abounded that someone has been cutting those wires after they'd been laid, the roads patched, and the crew long since moved on.

Which presents perhaps the biggest question of all: why would anyone oppose such a genuinely unopposable initiative? Perhaps the community hasn't been properly informed of the fibre optic plan. If memory serves, I learned the bulk of what I know about this fibre optic business thanks to gossip.

The MBQ band office has been without a communication officer for nearly a year now, and it is on days like this that Tyendinaga is in dire need of some form of communication that will both inform us and calm us. I've learned that the new MBQ website is close to going live and I have really, really big hopes for it. In future, in a similar situation, we should anticipate at the very least a short four- or five-minute-long video message from either the chief or the CAO or the communication officer explaining directly to us the situation, and providing updates throughout the day. Not a copy of a press release. Not a letter or memo. A video so we can see and hear directly from the source.

We shouldn't have to rely on outside media organizations to provide us our own news. Why? When our chief tells the Belleville Intelligencer that this morning's arson is a blow to the community, there are two problems.

1. He's representing the Mohawk community to a non-Native reporter who's primary interest is to inform the city of Belleville. As community members, we're left to interpret that message back to a Tyendinaga-centric perspective.

2. There is a unique worldview and, I'll dare add, linguistic form among Native people that requires targeted messaging. For example, I can read an article filled with costs and lists of items burned and hypotheses about a suspicous fire, but the moment our elected leader says it's a large blow to the community, I think about the people. When I read this quote earlier today, my immediate concern went to the members of Sadie's Lane longhouse, who's meeting place burned last year with nary a peep from our chief and council.

It can be argued that the Sadie's Lane burning was a more political act than the Quonset hut fire and, for that reason, regardless to the $800,000 price tag today, Sadie's Lane was a far greater blow to the community. Today's fire, for clarification, was a blow to the band office. The chief shouldn't be blamed for saying what he did to the Intelligencer, because he understood his audience. When, though, will he explain today's events to us?


Great big question number two: what prompted the fire to be set this morning?

The Sadie's Lane fire came in the overnight following a community-dividing stand-off regarding the (still undelivered) new police building. Logic would suggest it was a passionate and emotionally-based move that was likely not pre-meditated.

For that reason, if this morning's fire is tied directly to the fibre optic wire, or the water delivery truck, or the generators, why did it have to set on fire this morning? If it was an emotionally driven act, then somebody somewhere -- I would suspect even at the band office -- would know of some sort of event or exchange that made (for someone) burning a sudden priority. If it was premeditated, planned a while ago and simply executed this morning, then this community has a much bigger problem on its hands.

This is why the still-in-development consultation policy is necessary. For history: the band office hired a consultation coordinator last year who's work engaging this community regarding its ideas for best communication methods from the band office has either been done in secret -- an irony, yes -- or has been abandoned entirely.

The community of Tyendinaga, not an elected chief and council, has to decide, preferably before the arsonist is identified, how that person's relationship with this community will be defined. The assumption, at least on my part -- I just now realize I've not mentioned this yet -- is that one of our own lit that fire and, while chief and council have the authority to expell any member forever from the community, it is ultimately the members of the community who, collectively, will decide who stays and who goes.

Finally: though this may appear antithetical to related statements above, much credit is due the reporters of the Belleville Intelligencer, particularly Steve Pettibone, Mike Lake, and Luke Hendry for continually updating information throughout the day via a story on the intelligencer.ca website and especially Mr. Hendry's Twitter feed, twitter.com/intelLH. These updates proved invaluable to me personally in my effort to make sense of today's events (and that's the point of journalism, isn't it?)

The Intelligencer told me I'm thrilled

The Belleville Intelligencer reported today on a gift Queen Elizabeth offered to us, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, along with those at Six Nations, on Sunday. There are three points I want to make.

1. I can't wait until the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte band office employs a proper communication officer and implements timely communication methods so that we, members of this community, will no longer require an outside organization to inform us of our own news.

2. Chief Maracle is a wealth of knowledge regarding our history, who clearly informed the raw bulk of this story, who undoubtedly maintained personal contact with the queen's representatives in order for an event like this to happen. Much gratitude is due him, because ...

3. This is a great big deal.

Why? Because the gifts offered to us -- "eight silver hand bells" -- mark the British Crown's 300-year-long direct, independent relationship with the Mohawk people of North America. Again, that's three hundred years.

A point of reference: last week Canada celebrated it's 143rd birthday.

Note, too, that the hand bells are engraved: "The Silver Chain of Friendship 1710-2010." These are not simple empty words. They directly reference the historic Covenant Chain, that longstanding direct, independent relationship between the British and the Iroquois Confederacy (of which the Mohawk are a member). More information here.

This week's gift stands as a reminder, a "polishing of the chain" in our traditional lingo, of that relationship, and I applaud The Intelligencer for properly placing this news on the front page.

It is the real living history of this land that has yet to find its place in our schools and, more importantly, the whole of Canadian society. Though it might seem merely symbolic or irrelevantly ceremonial, there are Mohawk people, Iroquoian people here who genuinely live by this agreement, those who use moments like this as continuing evidence that we never surrendered to any nation, who proudly remind us that Iroquoian people are (technically) not Canadians.

In case it wasn't clear until today, now you know why.

Here's that Intelligencer story, in its entirety.

Natives thrilled by surprise gift from queen
by Jason Miller

The local Mohawk community is ringing with joy after the Mohawk band received a surprise gift from Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Toronto Sunday.

Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte was one of two Mohawk leaders who were invited to meet the Queen and Prince Philip at St. James Cathedral, where the Queen presented them a gift of eight silver hand bells to mark the monarch's 300-year relationship with the Mohawk people.

The set of hand bells were engraved "The Silver Chain of Friendship 1710-2010." Maracle said the gift commemorated the 300th anniversary of the 1710 visit of the "four Iroquois kings" with Queen Anne in England.

"It was (the Queen's) idea," said Maracle. "She wanted to honour the anniversary. We're pleased that she remembers the Mohawk people and our mutual history for the past three centuries."

He said the "kings" -- chiefs of the Iroquois Confederacy of the day -- made the voyage to England in a bid to get military aid for the colonies to fend off French imperialist ambitions. Maracle said the trip was also aimed at strengthening the military alliance forged between the Monarchy and the Mohawk Nation.

Maracle attended the service with fellow Mohawk Chief William Montour, from the Six Nations of the Grand River. He said the two Mohawk groups were awarded the bells because Six Nations and Tyendinaga are where the Royal Chapels in Canada are located. The two regions, near Brantford and Deseronto, are where the native people who were allies of the British settled following the American Revolution.

The chapels are two of the six Royal chapels located outside of the united kingdom, the original in connection to the Iroquois Confederacy being located in Johnstown, New York.

Queen Anne had gifted the communion silver to the Four Iroquois Kings during their visit to England in 1710 and it was originally kept at the Johnstown chapel. Captain John Deserontyon, a Mohawk who fought on the side of the British against American colonialists, almost single-handedly saved the Queen Anne silver, the cherished icon of Christian Mohawk traditions in New York, from falling into American patriot hands. Deserontyon protected and recovered the silver at the risk of his life. Today, the town of Deseronto is named in his honour.

The set was later divided between Six Nations and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. The bells preesented by the Queen Sunday will compliment the communion silver in each Mohawk territory.

Maracle said the bells presented to the Tyendinaga Mohawks will be housed at the Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawks, located near Deseronto. It was designated as a national historical site in 1995.

"She was a very warm generous person," Maracle said about his brief meeting with the Queen. "She chatted a bit about the chapel."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the storied 157-year-old St. James Cathedral for Sunday morning service, as her nine day visit to Canada winds down.

The packed service was attended by many dignitaries including Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Lt.-Gov. David Onley. The 84-year-old monarch was making her third visit to the cathedral.

Maracle said the gift was well-deserved as the Mohawk people have made significant contributions to the Crown in North America.

jmiller@intelligencer.ca