From one Raven's Eye

Page 7

Ahneen, hello and how are you? So how have things been in your neck of the woods or in your neighbourhood these days?

From where I am sitting, gobs of snow swivel down from a pale gray sky. Those gobs turn to drops on budding trees and greening grass, though, so not to worry. The rodeo, powwow and surfing seasons are just a clear patch of sky away.

On days such as this it's tough to centre your mind in one thing for very long. Doesn't it seem sometimes that your attention gets just like a horse grazing out in a field. Thoughts are like sweet tufts of grass growing in patches out there. We are along munching our way from one patch to another until when we finally do look up we are a long way from where we set out to be.

Now sometime, at work, at school we have to rope ourselves in and get our minds back on what needs doing. Isn't it good, though, when we can just shrug our shoulders, flare our nostrils a little and go back to aimless wandering and wondering. Well let's just go ahead and do that this week. Let's just talk about this and that and whatever else comes along because, well because it's just that kind of day.

There are two shows on CBC that feature Indians. One is The Bachcombers, of course, and the other is Spirit Bay. The episode of that new show I saw was about burial grounds and museums. The good thing about both of these is that they show us in a modern and positive say. To really get the non-Native audience's attention what we should have though is our own soap opera. Set it on the reserve and call it Indians Affairs, or Search for Wahbung.

Did you know there is an Indian trivia game being sold now? Here is a question you probably won't find in there. What is the name of the Lone Ranger's Indian companion and what does that name mean in Spanish? Give up? Well the answer is Tonto and it means fool.

Do you figure we'll ever have a national Indian organization again? Do you care? Maybe it just wasn't mean to be, for us to unite on that large a political basis. Look at the list of great Indian leaders from the past who've tried and couldn't do it.

There are eleven Native people who are university trained medical doctors in Canada. Pretty good, eh? There are also quite a few Native lawyers as well these days. How come doctors and lawyers always say they are 'practising' medicine or 'practising' law? Don't they ever get around to actually doing it? Maybe they say that just in case they make a mistake. "Oh, sorry about that, I was just practising." This is not to knock those Natives out there who have the brains, do the work and get where it is they wanted to go.

They say if a person doesn't know a thing about computers in about ten years they'll be considered illiterate. That's like being unable to read and write in English these days. The last time I typed my stuff up on a computer disk the thing went nuts and erased everything. I don't know about you, but a machine with a personal opinion sounds like a dangerous thing. In any case, video games are as space age as this Ojibway intends to get.

Well, so far we've talked about history, sociology, demography, technology, trivioloy, and teeveeology, now how about a little geography.

All set, okay...where do Japanese people come from? How about the Chinese, where are they from? And what about the Hawaiians? Now, here's the tough one? Where do Indians come from? My dictionary says India. Later on it says, "can also be found in the West Indies and in North and South America." When a person says Indians then that can mean anything from a Black person in the Bahamas, an Asian or a Dogrib or a Patagonian. Isn't it about time we had a unique and a specific name to identify us as the Native types living here in these Americas? Now Anishanabe, which is the traditional name for Ojibways, would do must fine. It's got a nice sound to it and would look real good on a t-shirt. What's that I hear? Rumblings of disagreement already. Hmmmmmm...well I just was just idding you anyway. However, a name to correct an historical mistake and one which would identify us as unique would help us further along the road to doing things our own way again, wouldn't it?

Remember me telling you what kind of gambler I am? Well, we have this hockey pool going on over here. Each person pays twenty bucks then we take turns choosing twelve players from teams involved in the playoffs. Whoever's players come up with the most points at he end of the Stanley Coup trails wins what's in the entry fee pot. Well, of the twelve players yours truly picked only three are still left in it. Do I feel bad? Nah, I sort of expected it. The other thing expected was to have some fun, and that came true too.

A young person wrote me with an idea for a yellow pages, directory type deal to help people get in touch with other people who provide what you might call "guidance" services, if you know what I mean. I don't know but it seems we get where we need to go for a reason, and if we don't get there, there are reasons for that as well. Her idea comes from good and kind thinking, and I would agree with her plan if I could.

Also, I haven't forgotten her original request either, and do intend to follow through on that one. Writers, however, are pretty much like what wagamese means in Ojibway or at least the two versions I've been told it meant. Some say it means a small pond and others tell me it's a slow creek. The kind that winds back forth taking its time to get where its going.

Speaking of arriving places, where we have arrived is at the end of another one of these. Time to rein in the wandering mind and get this to the office before my deadline. More importantly, it's time for me to thank you for sitting around and sharing your kind attention and a little part of your day with me. meegwetch.