Indigenous

An excerpt:

As the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina unfold, the world is once again turning its gaze to the podium. But for most nations, the importance of the Olympics extends well beyond medals.

The Games are a place where nations tell stories about themselves: who belongs, who represents them and how secure that nation feels in the world. National sporting events offer a way to make abstract ideas like sovereignty and belonging visible.

As humanities scholar Homi K. Bhabha argues in his book on nationhood, nations are not fixed entities, but are continually retold, like stories. The Olympics provide one of the most visible stages for nations to shape narratives about themselves.

At a time when Canada and other countries are feeling pressure about their sovereignty, the Olympic Games are taking on heightened symbolic meaning.

But Indigenous athletes, in particular, reveal the limits of using sport to perform national unity, and show how multiple sovereignties continue to exist within “Team Canada.”

As I was reading these Coyote stories in these hundred-year-old ethnographies—because that truly is the state of this incredible body of oral literature, that is the only place they really exist anymore for my people—I started realizing that the trickster, this incredible creator, destroyer, survivor, deadbeat dad, looked a lot like my own dad, this incredible creator, destroyer, survivor, deadbeat.

Probably the most significant quality of the Coyote is that he dies and resurrects so many times that our people didn’t even bother to keep count—not that it’s a competition with Jesus or anything, but Jesus only did it once.

...

One thing that has always bothered me about the erasure and the invisibility of Native people is that we have some damn good stories. We deal with a lot of loss and death in our communities. Maybe that’s why we’ve gotten so good at telling stories, because we have to remember our loved ones? Otherwise, who else will? Clearly not this colonial society.

Are there any first nations groups that are hosting Lemmy instances? It occurs to me that, while repatriating land to first nations may be fraught, first nations-hosted fediverse servers would be at least be a straightforward path to "digital decolonisation," no?

"Flint And Feather" is a book of poems that I picked up when visiting the author's birthplace and childhood home on the Six Nations Reserve, near Hamilton, Ontario. The house, Chiefswood, still stands as a National Historical Site which gives excellent tours during the summer.

Johnson was born in 1861 to Mohawk Head Chief Onwanonsyshon (G.H.M. Johnson) of the Six Nations, and Emily S. Howells a British woman from an established family.

Her poems reflect this mixing of worlds. She was a prolific author, having published almost 300 poems from 1883 to 1913. She wrote about both her heritages, and about Canada, having travelled extensively across the country. Her writing is fierce about her indigenous roots, and evocative about the lands she visited. Though of course, her language is a product of the time, and her Christian upbringing features in some of her work.

Tekahionwake succumbed to breast cancer in 1913 at the age of 51, in Vancouver. Her public funeral was the largest in Vancouver history at the time. Her ashes were placed in Stanley Park, where a memorial still stands.

The poetry is now in the public domain, and available online: https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/flintandfeather/

Her acrostic "Canada" still rings true.

"Canada" - Tekahionwake
Crown of her, young Vancouver; crest of her, old Quebec;
Atlantic and far Pacific sweeping her, keel to deck.
North of her, ice and arctics; southward a rival's stealth;
Aloft, her Empire's pennant; below, her nation's wealth.
Daughter of men and markets, bearing with her hold,
Appraised at highest value, cargoes of grain and gold.

An excerpt from the piece to give context to the title:

In 2021, the Williams Lake First Nation opened an investigation into missing students at St. Joseph’s Mission. The First Nation’s investigators found that under Father O’Connor, a member of the clergy who rose to the rank of bishop, as well as other principals at St. Joseph’s, babies conceived by students and nuns—including some fathered by priests—were aborted or adopted out. Witnesses as well as records in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police archives attested to something even darker: newborn babies cast into the incinerator to be burned with the garbage.

Sometimes, I wonder what Tony knew about men like O’Connor and what happened at his school after dark. It’s hard to imagine he spent all those years walking the mission grounds at night without hearing or seeing some of the things that students, prosecutors, juries, and even abusers themselves later acknowledged. But he did tell this story to the Williams Lake Tribune, where, seven decades later, investigators found the article and shared it with me.

Because that night, the night of August 16, 1959, Tony followed that wail, flashlight in hand. Sound and light led him inside the service wing to a garbage burner about the size of an office desk, where trash from the mission was turned to ash. He opened it, casting rays of light onto rubbish and soot. Somewhere near the top of the pile was an ice cream carton, repurposed as a makeshift wastebasket and discarded no more than twenty minutes before. Within was a newborn. The authorities called him “Baby X.” And he was my father.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/6498963

About 100 people packed into the Smithers courthouse on Friday to show support for three Indigenous land defenders being sentenced for attempting to halt work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline in 2021 in defiance of a court-ordered injunction.

Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko will avoid jail time after B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Tammen handed the three suspended sentences, rejecting a Crown submission that they spend time in jail.

The trio were arrested, along with several others, along the Coastal GasLink pipeline route on Nov. 19, 2021.

The sentencing closes a chapter in the years-long conflict over construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline through northern B.C., which sparked solidarity protests that shut down transportation corridors across Canada and made international headlines.

Construction on the 670-kilometre gas pipeline was completed in late 2023 after years of opposition by Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders and several high-profile police actions. Earlier this year, the LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat began shipping gas transported through the pipeline.

Inside the courtroom, some supporters became emotional as Tammen acknowledged the Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders’ decades-long fight to affirm the nation’s rights and title — and the B.C. and Canadian governments’ failure to engage meaningfully in negotiations over the outstanding claims.

But instead of sending the three to jail, Tammen suspended the sentences on the condition that they complete 150 hours of community service work, abide by a court injunction issued to the pipeline company and be on good behaviour.

After the decision, Sleydo’ — a member of the Wet’suwet’en Gidimt’en Clan — thanked the Dini ze’ and Ts’ako ze’ (Hereditary Chiefs) who have stood up for the nation’s land rights.

“What they did and how hard they fought and the fact that we still have lands and territories... today, that really showed,” she said outside the courthouse.

“It feels really good today to not be going to jail,” Sleydo’ added, to cheers from those gathered.

Full Article

Author: Andrew J. Karesa | Adjunct Professor, Indigenous Business, The King's University Canada

An excerpt:

In the 21st century, leadership is typically framed in the position of power, strategy and authority and oftentimes considered interchangeable with management.

What if there was a different way to perceive and demonstrate our leadership in a way that empowers and supports others?

For Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Chief Poundmaker), leadership was about something more: it was about service, peace and an unwavering, relentless commitment to his people.

Throughout the late 1800s, Cree Chief Poundmaker used his unique leadership abilities to navigate political and cultural tensions while successfully advocating for the survival of his community. His legacy, while often misunderstood or unknown, has the potential to provide significant value in the leadership development of contemporary leaders globally.

Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) is pursuing the acquisition of a longstanding revenue-generating asset rooted in Hastings Park in Vancouver.

On Friday, the First Nation announced it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Great Canadian Gaming Corporation for an agreement in principle to acquire the “casino business and related real property interests” at Hastings Racecourse & Casino.

This appears to signal that Great Canadian does not intend to pursue a renewal of its lease to operate the racecourse and casino at the site. The company’s lease began in 2004 and is set to expire next year.

Upon inquiry, the City of Vancouver told Daily Hive Urbanized today that Great Canadian’s current operating agreement runs until May 2026, with an additional five-year renewal option subject to mutual consent.

“Great Canadian Gaming Corporation is the operator of Hastings Racecourse and the City cannot disclose specifics of operating agreements,” the City stated.

As the property is owned by the City, this could trigger potential lease negotiations between the municipal government and the First Nation regarding the site’s future use beyond May 2026.

Before the Usual Time is a short book (180 pages) that spans multiple indigenous cultures. I appreciated getting a taste of each of the authors' experiences and cultures, and the poems are approachable for those new to poetry. The stories are inventive and the writing is excellent. I'd highly recommend it!

Featuring writings from:

• Leanna Marshall - Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (Ontario)
• Emma Petahtegoose - Atikameksheng Anishnawbek
• Joan Naviuyuk Kane - Inupiaq
• Ardelle Sagutcheway - Eabametoong (Ontario)
• Craig Santos Perez - Chamorro Guahan (Guam)
• Sherwin Bitsui - Diné of the Todich'ii'nii (Arizona)
• Chuquai Billy - Lakota Sioux/Choctaw (New Mexico)
• David Groulx - Ojibway (Ontario)
• Sy Hoahwah - Comanche/Southern Arapaho
• Cathy Smith - Mohawk
• Dennis Saddleman - Coldwater Reserve
• Craig Commanda - Kitigan Zibi
• Emily Clarke - Cahuilla
• Darlene Naponse - Anishinaabe from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek
• Lori Flinders - Couchiching First Nation, Lynx Clan
• Ajuawak Kapashesit - Cree, Ojibwe, and Jewish descent