Inclusion and Identity
As we head into the month of June, I’ve been contemplating some matters that impact me as an artist, as a woman, as an Indigenous person and as someone who lives in Canada.
Inclusion and Identity.
June. June bugs, although really are there any? Make no mistake, there are bugs, but are there really any of the dreaded “June” bugs that come in large numbers like a plague and crunch underneath your feet, and do they come in June? Why am I afraid of June bugs? I haven’t seen one since I was a teenager. The underlying question of fear and reality is part of Inclusion and Identity, and part of the month of June. June also carries the promise of summer. Indigenous History. National Indigenous People’s Day. Pride Month. Celebration. Inclusion and Identity.
For the first time, the YYC Music Awards have an Indigenous category. That’s pretty darned exciting. Way to go Calgary Arts community and YYCMA’s!
What does it mean? How is an Indigenous artist defined? How will the Buffy St. Marie story that broke last year impact broader support of and for Indigenous artists and how will they be impacted by lateral violence that seeks an opening for no good reason? How do we ensure that the intent of inclusion is honoured, respected and upheld and walk that good red road that the elders speak of?
People are afraid to say the wrong thing and so say nothing. Some non-status people are afraid to claim that they are Indigenous in some circles. Some Metis people are being asked to provide DNA evidence to demonstrate that they are descendants of their Red River Metis ancestors. Birth certificates that have incorrect information on them are difficult to challenge and time consuming to correct. Some organizations are stating what Identity needs to include and excluding some people who are definitely Indigenous but cannot “prove” it within the parameters that have been laid out. Perhaps others are afraid too. Why? Is it because of the non-Indigenous people who are taking advantage of economic or other opportunities afforded to Indigenous Peoples as we seek to find ways to achieve equity in Canadian society? Is it that the society we live in is largely a competitive environment?
At the same time, Indigenous artists who without question can (and do) easily provide proof of their ancestry and their involvement in community are being accused of being (prepare for an ugly word now folks) “pretendians” and listed on a “registry” available through social networks. Why? How much damage is being done to these incredible heart centred artists by whistle blowers with an agenda of what …. shaming and defaming someone they don’t like? Getting media hits? Once the tarnish is applied it’s very difficult, if not impossible to remove. We humans don’t seem to want to look at supportive evidence. There are no repercussions for those who falsely accuse. What would the Elders do? What would they say? What do they say?
Sometimes they have said to pay no attention, not to feed the negativity. Sometimes they’ve said that some folks haven’t grown up in the ways of the People, and don’t know the difference between destructive and constructive anger. Sometimes they say to pray and to forgive. Sometimes they say to remember to smudge, to obtain protection in ceremony. They say to be kind, always to be kind. These are all good and very important things.
Speaking of Indigenous artists, what might Robbie Robertson have said? A 2017 article by Karen Bliss in www.samaritanmag.com talks about his experience with racism and anti-semitism. Here’s an excerpt from the article. Karen - Did you experience racism or anti-Semitism at all? You wrote about when you down South and the cops drove you guys out of town when you were eating with black musicians — racism you witnessed — but you don't talk about whether you experienced it.
Robbie - I experienced it in more of an undertoned way. And when I went from Canada down to the Mississippi Delta and I joined a group, Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, they were all from the south. And they could not hardly comprehend somebody in this group of a heritage that was Jewish or North American Indian. That was surreal. So they just kind of let it go, but then there was, as I write it in the book, Ronnie Hawkins at one point says, “God, it was bad enough that we thought Robbie was a redskin; now we find out he’s a damn Jew on [chuckles] top of that.”
It didn’t prevent much, but there was an underlying tone. It just lived there. It didn’t get me in any trouble. But when I was a young kid in Toronto and going to school, after that I didn’t talk about it anymore. I didn’t talk about it for years. I just became Canadian and that's as much detail as I can give you. Thanks Robbie. “I just became Canadian”
Pride. I know of an organization who feels that their team of almost 2000 employees are not ready, in 2024, to participate in any Pride month activities. I don’t know what to do with that. How can we help those who don’t know how to step into this really important opportunity for education and inclusion? I find it very interesting and exciting that Pride month and Indigenous History month are both in June. It’s a month of newness and excitement here in the northern hemisphere. Appropriate n’est pas?
We’ve seen some really unkind actions towards Indigenous Peoples and towards the LGBTQ2SIA+ community in Alberta this year. Let’s be MORE kind. Let’s be MORE inclusive. We can only teach through our actions ultimately, and so let’s incorporate action inclusion into our thinking, being and doing.
We can choose to be collaborative rather than competitive, and we can always choose to be humble and kind. Let’s continue to be curious to ask deep and discerning questions so that we can uncover answers that don’t feed an algorithm, but feed instead, as we celebrate our differences, our humanity and our souls.
On that note, check out Chantal Kreviazuk’s “Wannabe” and maybe do a bit of a dive into where and how that song came to be. You won’t be disappointed.
