The Aboriginal Newspaper of British
Columbia & Yukon
Published
May 11, 2000
Stanley Lucas Jr. participates in the Royal British Columbia
Museum's Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Festival held April 28 to 30 in
Victoria.
Photo Credit: David Wiwchar
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Photo Credit: David Wiwchar |
NVIT grads told to remember history
by Lee ToopJoin the Bone Marrow Registry
by Denise AmbroseEmpowering youth: Ensuring change
by Cheryl PettenChange your tune and you'll change your direction
by Cheryl PettenYouth learn from us
by Gil LeratIt's our responsibility - column
by Keith MatthewThis is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the May, 2000 issue of Raven's Eye. If you are not receiving your own copy of Raven's Eye, then you have missed out on a lot.
NVIT grads told to remember history
By Lee Toop
Raven's Eye Writer
MERRITT
Connect with your history, and you will see your future.
That was a message handed down by speaker after speaker during
the 2000 Graduation Ceremonies at the Nicola Valley Institute
of Technology in Merritt held on April 29.
Elders, instructors and fellow students reminded the graduates
to remember their Elders, their roots and their history as they
take their newly-acquired skills back to their communities.
"Our Elders keep us grounded. They represent everything
we are, the history of where we came from and what we want to
be," said NVIT Board Chair Garry Merkel. "We have to
thank them for supporting our students, and our students need
to remember them."
Guest speaker Mary Thomas, an Elder of the Shuswap nation and
noted ethnobotanist, also emphasized that connection.
"Today, I'm so thrilled to be here to congratulate you young
people who will be our role models. You are the people we've
fought for over the years," she told the grads. "You
should never forget who we are, and where we came from. No matter
how far you go in your education, always remember your Elders,
and that they are where you came from.
"There are a lot of good things that can be learned from
books, but the most important things can be learned from your
Elders. They hold a lot of knowledge. To put things in the right
perspective, you have to understand history as well as the here
and now."
The 1999-2000 valedictorian, Krisalena Antoine, applauded the
teachers of NVIT for their hard work in sharing their knowledge
with the graduates.
"You have challenged us as we have challenged you,"
she said. "We realize the importance of your role as part
of the educational structure of NVIT, and that your work will
make sure the knowledge of our ancestors is not lost."
She went on to offer some very important advice to her fellow
graduates.
"Always be true to yourself," she said. "Hold
on to your spirit, because within your spirit, you enable your
people to remember themselves, to stand up with pride and the
realization that our culture can stand up and move forward in
this world."
Yale-Lillooet MLA Harry Lali brought the grads congratulations
from the provincial government, and praised NVIT for becoming
what it is today, and for producing graduates that will lead
First Nations communities.
"NVIT is a great inspiration for all people, both Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal. It should be a symbol of pride for every
Aboriginal person in the Nicola Valley and throughout British
Columbia," Lali related. "I'd like to congratulate
each and every graduate on a job well done. Only you know the
kind of sacrifices you have had to make over the last few years
to succeed. The day is yours. The honor is yours."
NVIT President Dick Bate advised the graduates that they can
now shape their own destiny by using their education to better
their communities.
"Each of us has a gift to give," Bate said. "My
advice is to find your gift and give it freely, and success will
be yours."
Awards presented during the 2000 NVIT Graduation Ceremonies:
Medals: Lieutenant Governor's Award (silver): Colin Pennier;
Governor-General Award (bronze): Chelsea Mathieu. Community Awards:
ASTT of BC Award: Alina Skiba, Mitch Gallup. BC Hydro Award:
Colin Pennier. BC Ass'n of Social Work: Tilly Hlatky. Canadian
Institute of Forestry: Sid Jules. Coldwater Indian Band: Lisa
Florence. Dwayne Yamelst Award: Moses Woods. Ken Matsune Award:Eugene
Witzky. Margret Tom Memorial: Francine Billy. Nicola Tribal Association:
Laura McIntyre. SISCO Award: Robyn Anderson, Leah Jackson. Trans
Mountain Pipeline: Chelsea Mathieu. UBC Faculty of Forestry:
Aaron Gillespie. Citizenship Awards: Academic Studies 1st Year:
Judy Green; 2nd Year: Krisalena Antoine. Administrative Studies
1st Year: Ariana Vallee; 2nd Year: Shannon Porter. NRT Program
1st Year: Shawn Quick; 2nd Year: Sid Jules, Neil Thomas; 2nd
Year FWGR: Tracy Sampson. Social Work Program 3rd Year: Lisa
Florence; 4th Year: Joe Marcotte. Academic Achievement: Academic/Indigenous
Studies 1st Year: Laura McIntyre; 2nd Year: Michelle Bate.Administrative
Studies 1st Year: Ariana Vallee; 2nd Year: Ida James. NRT 1st
Year: Leah Jackson; 2nd Year: Sandor Smith; 2nd Year FWGR: Chelsea
Mathieu. Social Work 3rd Year: Tilly Hlatky; 4th Year: Donna
Woodward.
By Denise Ambrose
Raven's Eye Writer
MOWACHAHT FIRST NATION
It has been just over four months since Patrick James learned
that he has leukemia (cancer of the blood), a disease that took
the life of his brother 13 years ago. James' only hope for survival
is to receive a bone marrow transplant before he becomes too
ill.
The procedure is relatively simple for the donor but there is
a problem, a huge one; Patrick needs a compatible donor. Proteins
called antigens that coat our white blood cells determine compatibility
between the donor and the recipient. The odds of finding a compatible
donor can be as high as one in 750,000.
Patrick may have difficulty finding his compatible donor. The
reason: most of the potential donors on the registry are Caucasian.
His best chance of finding a match is in the Aboriginal communities
of both Canada and the United States. Unfortunately, no suitable
matches were found in Patrick's immediate family.
The Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry in Canada is a computerized
data bank that lists more than 200,000 potential donors in Canada.
According to Peggy Warren of the Canadian Blood Services, it
is estimated that fewer than 1 per cent of the registrants are
of Aboriginal ancestry. That amounts to about 2,000 people.
In an effort to improve the chance for Patrick, friends and family
throughout the Nuu-chah-nulth area on Vancouver Island have joining
the registry. Since his diagnosis last November, Patrick has
learned that more people, as they become aware of his illness,
want to help. He decided that it was time to go public and raise
awareness of the registry and the shortage of Aboriginal registrants.
Patrick comes from a huge family and has close relatives throughout
the Nuu-chah-nulth territories. His father is Arnold James of
Mowachaht. His mother, Veronica Dick, comes from the Titian family
of Ahousaht. His stepfather, Tom Dick, also has a large family.
Patrick, 35, has a two-year-old daughter and is proudly helping
to raise his young stepson. He works in the fisheries department
for the Mowachaht First Nation.
Patrick described how he broke the frightening news to his family.
He said he went to tell his sister first in order to gather the
courage to tell his mother. He said that the whole family was
in shock. This is the second time the family had to face this
disease. Patrick's brother, Thomas, passed away at the age of
18. He suffered the same illness and was never able to find a
compatible donor.
Peggy Warren says that, 13 years ago, there was no bone marrow
registry. Odds for survival for patients suffering with blood-related
diseases are much better now the registry exists and is growing
steadily.
Patrick takes it one day at a time and sometimes has bad days.
The doctor told him that he might have as many as two years to
live or as little as a few weeks. Leukemia is unpredictable but
Patrick is in the early stages and is still strong.
He said he is so glad to have his mom by his side. She's been
there before and knows what he is going through.
Patrick asks that all healthy people consider joining the registry.
"If it doesn't help me, it could help someone else."
In fact, a Nuu-chah-nulth person joined the registry in hopes
of helping Patrick; she received a call that she may be a match
for someone else. Patrick is hoping for the best for both his
friend and the potential recipient.
How do you join the Bone Marrow Registry?
You must attend an information session before signing up. The
information sessions tell you everything that is involved in
bone marrow transplants, pain levels and recovery time. You must
be between the ages of 17 and 59. Unfortunately, people with
heart problems, cancer, blood diseases and insulin-dependent
diabetes cannot join the registry.
You may call Canadian Blood Services at 1-877-366-6717 for the
dates and locations of information sessions in your area. You
will be required to give a blood sample at a later date if you
are accepted onto the registry.
What to do if there are no information sessions in your
area?
Be proactive. Contact your Community Health Representative or
Public Health Clinic and tell them you are interested in joining
the registry. Talk to other people, collect names and phone numbers
of interested people that are committed to attending an information
session. Volunteers will come to your community if there is enough
interest. All they need is donated meeting space and the use
of a television and VCR. The session lasts about one hour.
How is the bone marrow harvested?
While lying on your stomach under anaesthesia (you will be asleep),
a specially designed needle is inserted into your pelvic bones
at both sides of the lower back. Three to five per cent of your
marrow is removed and is replaced by your body within a few weeks.
You will probably feel stiff and sore in the hips/buttocks area
for a few days. The pain has been described as about the same
as when you fall on your rump on an ice rink. You will probably
spend less than half a day in the hospital.
If, for any reason, you change your mind about donating your
bone marrow, you may withdraw from the registry at any time.
Some information for this article was taken from the Unrelated
Bone Marrow Donor Registry Pamphlet. Visit their website at www.bloodservices.ca
or call 1-877-366-6716.
Empowering youth: Ensuring change
By Cheryl Petten
Raven's Eye Writer
VICTORIA
About 500 people from across Canada gathered in the Victoria
Conference Centre April 2 to 4 to take part in the 7th annual
"Believe in the Healing" conference.
The conference was aimed at those involved in helping to empower
children and youth, including school administrators, teachers
and school board trustees, First Nations associations, bands,
community workers, school support staff, social workers, counsellors,
psychologists, justice workers, police, health care providers
and parents, as well as youth themselves.
The conference included both sessions with an adult emphasis,
and those aimed specifically at youth, as well as sessions designed
for all ages.
Barbara Smith, organizer for the "Believe in the Healing"
conference, said response to the event was very positive.
"From the feedback from delegates about the whole conference,
plus their comments on the individual presenters, they were all
absolutely outstanding. People seemed to really enjoy the conference
and felt quite moved by it. And all the speakers got really high
ratings, which was nice for them," Smith said.
"I think the power in it is that so many of the presenters
have been through some of the tough things. And because of that,
they demonstrate a lot of courage and give the kids and the other
delegates that are there hope that with determination you can
do anything you want to do."
Smith has been involved in organizing conferences for several
years.
"I'm actually a former school principal, so I've been doing
lots of conferences on education issues for kids. Actually when
I first started, I put on a conference for people who work with
children with severe disabilities. And then I moved through that
to kids with behavior problems and learning disabilities, and
things like that. And then... there was a concern about youth
violence, and this was probably in the late 80s, and I started
this conference called "Prevention of Youth Violence."
And that was very successful, but it was tough stuff, hard issues,
and it brought in more sort of judicial people and social workers,
and not as many teachers. And then I began to say, 'who am I
kidding. I can't prevent youth violence through a conference'...
So I then moved toward solutions ... 'Okay, these things have
happened to young people. Something that they couldn't control.
And I want to get people around that can help young people, or
adults who have been through tough things too, to move on by
providing a supportive environment'...and then the shift went
to "Believe in the Healing," and that's what brought
in a lot of the First Nations people."
Smith said she hadn't set out to create a conference aimed at
First Nations people, but that it was something that just happened
on its own.
"I think, the words "believe in the healing" brought
in a whole different group of people. And then it also attracted
First Nations speakers. So it kind of had its own course, it's
own direction, its own path. And it always has been that way...it
just creates itself," Smith said.
"Not all of the speakers are First Nations," Smith
explained. "I try to keep it cross-cultural. I think that's
really important. We're all in this together."
Smith was hard-pressed to select just one aspect of the 2000
conference as being the event highlight.
"I think the highlight for me is the blend of stories and
the blend of energies. I can't say there was any one speaker...certainly
Howard Rainer. People loved him. He's a very powerful speaker.
And another was Thom Henley, who does a lot of work in Asia -
southeast Asia - and he talked about Indigenous groups, and their
struggles. And that was very powerful. Very powerful. In fact,
people were crying."
One of the conference highlights for youth delegates, Smith indicated,
was the day-long session, "Make a movie in a day."
"That was very exciting for the kids," Smith said.
"When I looked at them at the very beginning, they were
sitting in a circle looking like, 'Oh, boy, what's this going
to be all about.' But by the end of the day, and when they were
able to actually show us their film, it was really neat. They
were empowered. And according to the crew, many of those kids
have real talent. And probably it may have changed their career
thoughts. So I'm definitely going to have that one again next
year. It was hugely popular."
"The conference is a very emotional one," Smith explained.
"It's not just sitting and getting facts. It's enriching
oneself, somehow."
"There's a tremendous warmth, too, amongst people. It's
a gentleness. There was a real mellowness. The year before, everybody
was kind of excited and high when we all left, and this year
it was just a real peaceful, mellow, gentle feeling. Very supportive."
Change your tune and you'll change your direction
By Cheryl Petten
Raven's Eye Writer
VICTORIA
Howard Rainer was one of the many speakers at the Seventh
Annual "Believe in the Healing" conference held in
Victoria April 2 to 4, but despite his involvement in the event,
Rainer believes the time for healing is over.
Rainer, a motivational speaker who teaches at Brigham Young University,
was the keynote speaker at the conference, presenting the address,
"It's Time to Empower With Your Own Positive Power."
Rainer also presented two sessions - "Empowering First Nations
People: The Rebirth of First Nations Pride", and "The
Reward and Power of Positive Self Discovery: Finding the 'Good'
through Fun and Interaction."
Rainer has been working for almost three decades with Native
parents and children and young people through out North America.
His theme and his mission has been that it's time for every Native
person to have their share of proud moments."
"My main emphasis for that whole conference was let's move
on," Rainer said in a telephone interview following the
event. "I mean, how much longer must we heal? How much longer
must we dwell in self pity and past mistakes and frustrations
of the past.? Let's move on. And that's what I told those people,
is that, if we're really going to empower people, or have the
power to empower, we've got to let go. And letting go means start
working on it. I mean aggressively. Most people don't want to
let go of their past. They hang on to it.
"My objectives were for the people to see their good. It's
very easy to see one's negative and past mistakes and errors,
but it's very hard to see one's good and one's worth in this
world. So when one discovers how good they really are, they can
do a lot of good things. When they dwell on what's wrong with
them, they stay where they are.
"The second thing was to provide opportunities for those
participants to see how they, not me, but they, can create a
positive environment. And through the exercises that we did,
we enabled those people to show that they do make a difference,
and they do affect others - by their attitude, by their actions,
by their words. And so we went through various exercises to show
them that they have the power, really, to influence people for
good. And it was very moving to see how quickly they adapted
to that whole environment, and that is that we can create a positive
environment if we want to, by how we speak to one another, and
how we interact, and how we make people feel.
"And the third, probably the most important thing is looking
at their spiritual base. Native people have always had a spiritual
base, but it flickers most of the time because we don't use it.
And that is learning to have a closer connection to the Creator,
and asking him for help in all aspects of our life, not just
one moment at a time, but where are we headed as a person? What
should we be doing in life?"
As part of his participation in the conference, Rainer selected
a group of 10 people to take part in a very special project -
learning how to become messengers of empowerment.
"I selected, from two of those workshops, Native people
that - this is my philosophy - I am looking for those few who
are looking for a higher purpose in their lives. Now they didn't
know that, but I selected them because I watched them as we did
our interactive exercises, and I selected them. Then I put them
to a test and that was, on my free time, in the evening, I would
meet with these 10, and I would take them through an aggressive
positive self discovery session and help them to see the potential
of becoming a presenter, or a messenger," Rainer explained.
"So for three or four hours, we went through this until
almost 11 that night, and that is where that group came out of,
this dream team, that we went to this Native school the next
day."
"Now that's pretty amazing, really, to take a group of people
who have had virtually no experience in public speaking or presenting,
and put them right in the front and let them go. Now, for example,
here's how powerful that little exercise was."
"There was a gentleman from Saskatchewan somewhere. He had
a song and dance.... He was abused as a child in school. And
he kept singing that same song. I said 'we're not going there
anymore.' And so he wanted to sing that song in that presentation.
About 10 in the evening I said, 'I told you, we're not going
there anymore. Change your tune.' And that gentleman the next
day gave a powerful presentation to the young people, no longer
dealing with abuse but the power of education. And that shows
you what can happen when people start to go in a different direction,
and start looking at a different tune to play."
"All across Canada are all these people who, like I say,
want a higher purpose in life. And what is that? That is thinking
beyond the past, moving on from past mistakes, daring to dream
big, going for their goals, serving to make a difference, making
positive changes a reality, willing to take a stand for what
is right, willing to be a role model to the young, valuing the
home and family unity."
Rainer's experiment was a success, both for the 10 selected presenters,
and for the students watching their presentations.
"We have all this millions of dollars being spent by your
government and the United States government to improve the quality
of education for Native children. Nothing is happening, and do
you know why? Because we don't have messengers. We don't have
presenters. We don't have Native people who are actually going
in there and uplifting them and creating dreams and daring these
kids to excel."
"In all these schools across Canada and the United States,
our Native young people are almost in the shadows. They are almost
dis-regarded, and I think it's high time that we bring in Native
presenters, messengers, powerful messengers, and teachers and
mentors that can really uplift the spirits of these young people
and give them a reason to keep going in school," Rainer
said." It takes people going into the schools. It takes
people opening that door."
By Gil Lerat
Raven's Eye Columnist
I recently had the honor of attending Dr. Martin Brokenleg's
two-day workshop on "Reclaiming Our Youth." As we begin
to heal ourselves from the past, we have to start to our future
- the next generation. As we struggle with the consequences of
addiction, our youth have learned from us and they are currently
no different.
Perhaps the biggest mistake that adults make with youth is to
assume they do not know. Society treats youth and children as
sub-humans. Some of the most derogatory statements in our language
show just that:
"Act your age"' or "Quit acting like a child."
Those two statements make childhood seem unworthy and less-than.
I believe the most beneficial thing we can do for our youth is
to treat them like we would any other person. After all, they
are human beings with feelings, thoughts and emotions. The only
thing they lack is maturity and that only comes with time. We
cannot expect them to be where they are not. When someone makes
us feel inadequate or shameful, we generally do not like that
feeling and it brings with it other feelings - resentment, anger
and hostility.
Through Dr. Brokenleg's, "Circle of Courage," we can
teach our youth the four major developmental tools needed to
assist young people to grow up healthy, caring and responsible.
Belonging
Every person needs to feel they belong and this feeling is intensified
in adolescence. We have to create a feeling of belonging for
those in our life. We can create a sense of belonging for the
youth in our lives through the support systems of family, positive
communication, other adult relationships, caring neighborhoods,
a caring school climate and parental involvement in schooling.
Mastery
Every individual needs to feel they have accomplished something
and are good at it. We need to allow our youth to feel successful.
We can accomplish this by giving our youth enough information
to create a success or mastery. We should not give them the answers,
but let them discover them by their own methodology. This can
be accomplished through positive boundaries and expectations,
healthy family, school and neighborhood boundaries, as well as
adult role models, positive peer influences and high expectations.
Independence
Every individual needs to feel powerful and that they can do
things on their own. It is through the independence of youth
that we can teach about choices and consequences, discipline
versus punishment.
Discipline is proactive while punishment is reactive. Through
discipline we teach our youth natural consequences and responsibility.
It helps control their behavior through inner values and affirms
positive reactions and thinking.
Through punishment we teach arbitrary, adult-imposed consequences
and obedience when authority is around. It controls behavior
through threats and rules and teaches that psychological and
physical punishment is acceptable. Independence can be achieved
through empowerment. We can allow youth to discuss what they
believe their disciplinary action should be when they have done
wrong. Empowerment also occurs when the community values youth,
uses youth as a resource, and allows service to others and provides
a safe haven.
Generosity
Every individual needs to feel they are a good and capable human
being. Through acts of kindness and generosity, youth can begin
to feel they are giving back. This is accomplished through constructive
use of time, achievement through creative activities, youth programs,
spiritual community and time at home.
It's our responsibility
By Keith Matthew
Raven's Eye Columnist
Here it is the spring
of 2000 and after almost two centuries of illegal occupation
by foreigners in our territories we still have to prove that
we have lived here since the beginning of time.
As a First Nations person from the Shuswap Nation it would be
easy to get discouraged and say, "I've got a good education.
I can get a good job" and forget about our struggle and
leave the messy business of sorting out our problems to someone
else. That would be very easy indeed.
As First Nations people we have heard of the prophecies that
our Elders tell us that we are the chosen generation to solve
a lot of our problems. (Boy, is that a big load on our shoulders
or what?) When you look back at our history you will see the
systematic oppression in the form of laws, the forced assimilation
in the residential schools, the absolutely devastating impacts
of losing our language and culture and you are tempted to say
"why us?"
That is the path of least resistance and a major league cop-out.
One of the leaders that I look up to in Indian Country is Satsan
(Herb George). He is cool under pressure and is a noted statesman
and academic. He is also the architect of a measured approach
to solving the land question. After successfully helping both
the Gitxsan and his own nation the Wet'suwet'en win the Delgamuukw
decision he successfull set out to prove Aboriginal title still
exists in this province called British Columbia.
At the Delgamuukw National Process website (www.delgamuukw.org)
you will find a plain language guide that is invaluable in laying
out concepts of the Delgamuukw decision. (It really was a monumental
job but it is done and very useful). Some of the finest legal
minds in Canada have been hired by Satsan to define in plain
language the most incredible legal tool available to us to use
in proving our title.
The plain language guide says:
The Supreme Court laid out a number of principles relating to
the following issues:
· Use of oral history to prove Aboriginal title.
· The test for proving Aboriginal title
· The content of Aboriginal title
· Government's ability to infringe Aboriginal title
· The province's ability to extinguish Aboriginal title
· Government's duty in negotiations
It is up to each of us and our governing representatives to breathe
life into these words.
Another part of Satsan's strategy is to help tribes like the
Interior Alliance here in the Interior of B.C. or the Northwest
Tribal Treaty Agreement get together and lay frameworks for working
together. The Northwest Tribal Treaty Agreement includes representatives
from the Tsimshian, Haisla, Gitanyow, Gitksan, Haida, Wet'suwet'en,
Lake Babine and Tl'azten First Nations, and they recently agreed
to work on common issues and support each other on individual
issues.
"The Working Committee and the Northwest Tribal Treaty Group
will focus on such key issues as the development of a strategy
to deal with treaty-related shortcomings and implementing the
opportunities made available from the Delgamuukw Supreme Court
decision," says a recent press release from their working
group.
These agreements between the tribes is real power the federal
and provincial governments have no influence over and signals
the end of the divide and conquer strategies that have been successfully
used against us in the past. Sounds simple but you have to overcome
millenniums of mistrust between the tribes and that is not an
easy thing to do.