Injustice is seen all around us but faith in humanity prevails

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Commentary

The inquiry into the deaths of Connie and Ty Jacobs has started, and life for everyone went on as usual, everyone except the Jacobs family. The hope of many Aboriginal people, especially for Aboriginal women, is that the results of the inquiry may lessen the chance of history repeating itself. For others the issue is where to lay the blame.

For some people the violent deaths of Connie and Ty are just that. The deaths become another prime example of the great sad state of affairs for Aboriginal people. For some the situation is a mirror that reflects their own issues from the past or of the present they are struggling through. Whatever the case may be, the fact is, we are all affected by the violence that surrounds us.

The strength of Aboriginal women to endure situations that most people would find intolerable has been acknowledged many times and in many ways. They've certainly had the practise in dealing with complex and challenging circumstances. It's been reported that more than 400 Aboriginal women in Canada are missing and presumed dead, and those are just the ones who are reported missing. The situation for some women has become too great of a burden for them to bear alone. After all, carrying burdens are for the creatures with four legs and not for Aboriginal women who are charged with keeping the culture and spirit alive through their children.

Just as we are affected by violence, we are affected by each act of gentleness. I had the privilege this month of interviewing several women who have affected thousands of lives with their acceptance of humanity. For me, it provided hope. It felt like a generous wind coming from the opposite direction, blowing away the pessimism that comes from witnessing injustice time after time.

These woman saw the human side of difficult situations without ever having to analyze it. One Aboriginal woman, who is considered an Elder, called it tolerance, which means a willingness to permit someone to be who they are without interference.

A woman who spends her life sitting a wheelchair compared life to a journey where people must continue to struggle for balance to keep themselves alive. She maintained she does her best work under the pressures the world sends her way.

Then there is the brillant energy that radiated from the young girls in Grade 3 who see life through innocent and accepting eyes.

I remembered a part of the inaugural speech Nelson Mandela gave when he became president of South Africa.

"It is not our darkness that we are afraid of, but it is our light and the greatness we would achieve if it were to shine," he said.

Aboriginal women may have had to deal with oppression, ignorance, and self-defeating actions, but we are human. I think Mandela meant that to believe in humanity we must see that light in ourselves and others.

For the few months, the light will be shine on the details of the death of an Aboriginal woman and her child on a reserve. Maybe that light must shine on dark matters so that we can see. The situation may look dark as the expectations are that the inquiry will raise the harrowing ordeal that many Aboriginal woman must cope with. Then there are those who struggle to find the balance between light and dark and that is what keeps us hopeful.