Let’s Talk About The Buffalo In The Room

Let’s Talk About The Buffalo In The Room

Racism is a tough word. Harsh. Unsettling. Just call someone a racist and see what happens. But the truth is, and this is gonna take lots of … “splainin’”

as in

Lucy, you gots some splainin’ to do!

as in,

Man-splainin’

or

White-splainin’….

But the truth is that many, and perhaps most white people over a certain age, including me, are racist. OK. EASY NOW. Take it easy…. We can work through this….

I’m not taking about capital “R” Racists: Haters. White Nationalists. Users of the N word who mean it without irony (and using it with irony is problematic too…). Neo-Nazis in the streets of Charlottesville with their Tiki torches chanting “Jews will not replace us”. People who think “Injuns” have it made and just sit around drinking, and smoking, and doing drugs, and collecting welfare checks without paying taxes or contributing to society in any way…. Then there are the so-called intellectuals who camouflage their hate with ridiculous eugenics pseudo-science, or conflated theories based on one disparate half-truth mined from a mountain of true misery, suffering and oppression. These are all serious racists. Ignorant. Dangerous. People with hearts full of fear-made malice. Do not underestimate or dismiss them. There are far too many and they are emboldened by the day. Trump is no accident….

Actually, what I’m talking about are reasonable white people – good folks – sincere people who think everyone should get a fair shake. People who recognize injustice and at least nod with understanding before turning back to Netflix or the game or the wine list…. People who treat other people pretty well and have learned to accept, without a lot of arm twisting, that the “face” and fabric (and colour) of our society has changed forever and that this change, regardless of the fact that it is inevitable, is also OK. It’s fine. Welcome. Nothing to worry about and lots of cool restaurant options, eh?

But what do they say if you ask them about Colten Boushie? What is the first thing they say, if they’ve heard of him or remember? Do they say that they were dismayed and angered by the ridiculous and racist verdict, or do they say something about, or infer the subjects of, trespassing, property theft, and alcohol?

What about Tina Fontaine? Neglected and victimized by the system that was supposed to protect her, Tina, age 15,  was raped and murdered and dumped into the Red River. But the national press ran stories about autopsy reports of alcohol and drugs found in her blood….

A good number of the conversations I have had over the past couple of years have turned into a “call and response” theme song for Canada. I say “Genocide” you say “Corrupt Chiefs”.

“Genocide”

“Corrupt Chiefs”

“Genocide”

“Corrupt Chiefs”

Yea, that’s it, now everyone west of Ontario … C’mon … we want to hear you…

“Genocide”

“Corrupt Chiefs”

“Genocide”

“Corrupt Chiefs”

So who are these corrupt chiefs? And what is the difference between the types and amounts of corruption that occur in Indigenous communities versus the rest of Canada? For starters, please read Indigenous Writes by Chelsea Vowel. But I also seem to remember Prime Minister Mulroney and a manila envelope stuffed with $250,000 in cash. Anyone remember that? Didn’t Prime Minister Harper’s secretary cut a cheque for $90,000 payable to Senator Mike Duffy? And what about that little private island vacation our current PM took? But more to the point, who exactly is this group of Indigenous peoples … the vague yet infamous “they” that benefit so greatly from Canadian largess and are often invoked in the face of ugly truths to invalidate our complicity in the historic and ongoing inequities in most every aspect of Indigenous life.

It’s actually pretty simple. What’s really going on here is that most of us of a certain age and generation are racist – meaning that we have a racial bias that is, until recently, hardly ever recognized or acknowledged. Simply put, we were raised in a racist society within a racist system whether we know it or not. It’s the air we breathe, the (clean) water we drink, and all of our culture resonated (and resonates) with this unspoken consensus reality. If “racist” is too charged a word we can use “homogenous” or “white”. We were raised in a predominantly white society run by white men – many of whom believed in the “supremacy”, superiority and God given privilege of their preordained place at the head of the table – social, economic, cultural and otherwise.

The area of Toronto I grew up in was white, and white men were (and still largely are) the figures of authority. I would suggest that most white Canadians (let’s say 30+ years) were likewise raised with an innate bias that we must all now recognize, unlearn and dismantle. White supremacy is all we’ve ever known. And while I’m at it, let’s really name it: white male dominated supremacy. As a Jew, (Jew-ish as my kid sis likes to say), and a man, I sneak in the side door – mostly white enough today with the correct genitalia – sans foreskin. Not so 50 years ago in not so cosmopolitan Toronto. When I was a kid, I didn’t see many people of colour. There was one black girl at Allenby public school. The black faces I saw were on TV portraying gangsters, pimps and prostitutes, unless, of course, they were catching, hitting, or dunking a ball, or maybe dancing in a perfectly synchronized line of powder blue tuxedos … “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone…”.

And the largely non-existent “Indians” had only two Savage options: Noble, or Blood Thirsty. (with the odd hottie Pocahontas thrown in – loin cloth miniskirt – played by an exploited Hispanic, say … Rita Moreno… aye aye, woop woop …).

So let’s unpack “white supremacy” in the context framed above. It means that our culture and society, our economies and our rules of engagement have been white-male dominant since their inception: mutton-chopped men at the helm of industry, politics, religion, media and policing. And, hopefully, for the most part, they did the very best they could. They were true to their values and beliefs. Trouble is that some of those values and beliefs carried, and carry with them, inherent biases that were simply accepted and asserted as “the truth” – truths that we all now know are anything but self-evident: that men were superior to women, that whites were superior to blacks, browns, yellows and reds (especially reds), that homosexuality was a choice and a crime, and that the Americas were “discovered” by Europeans and that the lands were empty for the taking.

Every single institution that we rely on for our governance, education, financial security, news, entertainment and well-being is a product of these (and many more) out-dated and incorrect assumptions that were, and are, asserted as objective truth. “A priori” as the philosophers like to say….

But things have changed, and things are changing. Unfortunately, you don’t have to scratch the surface too deeply to see the living legacy of these failed systems of thought. To state it plainly, all our white male dominated government, financial and educational institutions are inherently racist, misogynistic, and homophobic. And the far-reaching results of this can be seen throughout the echelons of our society and culture, and most importantly, the socio-economics of our nation and the western world. This is the “white supremacy” that we all, unwittingly or otherwise, participate in. This is the privilege we must check and dismantle. And by the way, it will be dismantled whether you like it or not. Sorry, Donald.

Ok. Take a breath. It’s not all our fault. We too have been colonized. It’s how we were raised. It’s what we were taught. It is a poisonous pedagogy and the rules (spoken and unspoken)  were drilled into us at every opportunity: the “other” is inferior in practically every way and is to be feared, avoided, shunned and demeaned. Their religions, their customs, their foods, their colour, who they love….

But hey, isn’t it great that in 2019 we know that that is all buffalo bullshit. So why is it so hard for Whitey to admit it? It doesn’t mean we didn’t work hard. It doesn’t mean we didn’t earn what we have. It just means that our race (being white, or white-ish) has never been an obstacle to getting what we wanted and that it is, and has been, a big obstacle for people of colour and for women, but slightly less so for white women. And the more we fuss and argue about the existence of this bias, and our inadvertent, or happy to be on the winning team participation, the more time and space we take away from those who at best we unintentionally marginalize, and at worst believe in their inherent inferiority.

But don’t listen to me. Listen to Donyae Coles because she lives it every day:

“Here’s the thing: All white people are not actively racist but all white people live in a culture of white supremacy and their actions potentially help to uphold that culture. Taking up space to talk about how non-racist you are upholds white supremacist culture and centers whiteness. Placing your offense, your hurt feelings, before the discussion of the racist issues centers whiteness and upholds white supremacist culture. These acts stifle discussion, silence education and uphold white supremacist culture.”

So let’s really get down to it. We live in a society that has normalized racism and white supremacy. And things stay this way because this normalization and assimilation produces predictable, loyal citizens who tow the line. This was the goal of Residential Schools – rescue the godless children and indoctrinate them with white ideals and ideology. It also keeps the money and power in the hands of those who have always had it, which is great for them, (us, gulp), not so much for everyone else struggling to get by and facing obstacles created by the system that then blames and shames them for not rising above it.

So yea…COLONIALISM …. We now know what happened … and we now know how… and deep down we always knew why: LAND & RESOURCES. And we know that it is still happening – in all the determinants of health and well being for Indigenous peoples: child welfare, mental health, domestic violence, sexual and physical abuse, education, MMIW, incarceration rates, drinking water, housing, stalled land claims, broken treaties…. So why don’t we care?

I mean really care. Care enough to do something. Care enough to demand that OUR government provides the proper and fair amount of resources that the treaties promised and allow Indigenous Peoples to govern their own Nations in their own ways as part of a real federation. It will take decades. It will be nearly impossible. The solution will not be perfect or static. But it is the only just way forward.

Part of the answer to why we don’t care is very easy. But I hope it’s a small part. Because part of the answer is that some people are racist and actually believe that Indigenous people are inferior. Nothing you put in front of them, including the corpses of children, can make them understand that they are blaming the victims and that our system of society is the primary perpetrator. They say “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, just like I did!” The only problem is they refuse to recognize that the dominant culture they live in, earn their livelihood from, and amass their wealth from, snuck into every Indigenous longhouse, tepee, igloo, tent, cabin, trailer, farmhouse, motel, hotel, shelter, apartment and home, and stole all the boots (often with feet still inside them).

But what about the rest of “US”? Why don’t the rest of “US” care? I’m starting to realize that we don’t care – I mean care enough to jump in with both feet (in or out of boots) – because we can’t care. We can’t care because we are numb. Numb to avoid our own pain and dis-ease: self-medicating with drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, sex, shopping, social media, film and television, sports, our jobs, our hobbies, and the ridiculously absurd pursuit of money-fuelled unhappiness. We are mostly all broken and few are willing to talk about it. Look at the environment. I just read a report that said by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish…. Look at our political discourse and the rise of populism around the world…. Look at the rise of anxiety and mental illness within “normal” privileged society – especially the young. And then there’s the opioid crisis. We are popping pills at an alarming rate because so many are suffering and in pain…. This Disney fantasy ride of happily ever after through the magic kingdom of materialism is making many of us very sick. And, in the words of Jiddu Krishnamurti: “It is No Measure of Health to Be Well Adjusted to a Profoundly Sick Society.” Money is not medicine. Love and understanding is. But we’ve forgotten how to love and understand our own true nature and so we don’t know how to love and understand anyone else’s either. We are so disconnected from what makes us human that we are losing our humanity.

In his book, Lost Connections, Johann Hari presents Nine categories of disconnection that he asserts are the underlying causes for so much unhappiness and disease (anxiety and depression) in today’s world and it’s pretty compelling:

Disconnection from other people

Disconnection from meaningful values

Disconnection from the natural world

Disconnection from childhood trauma … just to name a few.

Our parents fucked us up because their parents fucked them up and we fuck up our kids except now we post the video. Look no further than the transgenerational trauma of Colonialism and Residential Schools to see the most anguished edges of this continuum. But maybe, just maybe, this can be the starting place for part of the answer too….

“We” Canadians didn’t go to residential school, but maybe you, or one of your parents, was, or is, an addict. An alcoholic, workaholic, rage-aholic, God-aholic…. What is your family dysfunction? What traumas have you all suffered and survived? What is your pain? What are your struggles and difficulties? What about the driver that cut you off on the on ramp the other day and then flipped you the bird when you leaned on the horn with indignant outrage? What is she going through? Are her dreams and aspirations much different from yours? To live well, in peace, with good health for her family and friends, with as much comfort and ease as possible given the significant daily difficulties life presents. Is there really any difference between us and them… between you and me? If you can take a few deep breaths and calm yourself for just moment, if you can just STOP.

STOP FOR JUST A FEW MOMENTS

STOP THINKING

STOP DOING

If you can just STOP for a second, or at least be momentarily aware of what you’re thinking, you would see that all this struggling, right fighting, striving, grasping, securing, asserting, defending, pretending, accumulating, is largely a result of our own incessant and often neurotic ruminations. “We have mistaken our thinking about everything and everyone for everything and everyone (Adyashanti).” We are trapped in a not-so-fun house of our own ego-focussed frailty. We are asleep at the wheel. We are WAY off course. The canary is long dead.

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately…. It started in 2015 with the release of the TRC’s report. Then my Dad died on Dec 31 of that year. Then last May (2018) I left a secure, well paying and challenging job that I had grown into over twenty years of significant effort with a group of people I care for deeply. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I thought I was awake. WOKE in the vernacular. What I realize now is that I am awakening. It is ongoing. A process and journey that is an end in itself. And in searching my soul, I have started to rediscover my Spirit. What really is when the noisy nonsense of self-concern, self-regard, self-aggrandizement, self-doubt and self-derision fall away and there is only the moment and the experience of it. Being. That thing we all have inside us. That thing that has always been and will always be. That thing that is in every single human creature.

In the words of Elder Dave Courchene*

“Who you are, [is] defined by Spirit: our integral, everlasting Spirit. We were created in Spirit first before we were given human form. Our universal challenge is to live our true spiritual destiny. Strong Nationhood is about living one’s free Spirit. Our Nationhood, as a collective, is determined by each individual of the Nation who is expected to be a self-governing individual, following the duties and responsibilities as guided by our dreams, visions and ceremonies, and by the knowledge keepers: the grandmothers and the elders who have become the holders of laws, duties and responsibilities of the People. As human beings, each of us comes into the womb of our mother as a free and independent Spirit. It is that free Spirit that is at the root of our sovereignty as a People. As we enter into the human world the Spirit is challenged to maintain that free Spirit. Human beings have created the world that is repressive to that freedom. A free and independent Spirit requires living and taking responsibility for one’s life. One is never to turn over one’s responsibility of living and being true to one’s Spirit to anyone else. The Spirit has come to live within our being to bring love into this world. Love is the essence of Spirit. Love cannot be owned, possessed, controlled by human laws, its systems or its institutions. The Spirit must be free.  All of the laws of Nature and of the universe support that free and independent Spirit.

Colonization has robbed that free Spirit and created dependency through its institutions. We have allowed institutions to enslave us because it is so much easier to turn over your duty and responsibility to something and to someone else. How we suffer because of it. Sickness sweeps across the land and overwhelms our lives. The mind is diseased as much as our bodies. Our emotions are reflected in anger, fear, sadness, grief and loss of hope. We live in a constant state of negative, which is contrary to the Spirit. The Spirit needs to be nurtured by the positive, and the most powerful energy of positive is love. The Spirit needs to give in order to stay alive.

In our human life, our human existence, we must support our Spirit to be free and independent. A free and independent Spirit is filled with the truth that defines who we are as human beings. In living our truth we have known that the earth, the sky, and the spirit world are all one. We have understood that Gitche Manitou (The Great Mystery), placed all things in the world for a purpose, and that our purpose is to live in balance with all things seen and unseen.”

There’s a buffalo in the room all right, but racism is just one of many symptoms. The sickness is deep and it’s spreading. The good news is that the cure is in plain view, always has, and will always be. It is our true nature and the true nature of all things.

The Anishinaabe have seven sacred laws to guide their lives and governance.

Elder Courchene*:

“The seven laws have reflected a clear understanding of our connection to the natural world. It has always been recognized that the animals keep us rooted to Mother Earth. The natural world gives guidance and direction to the human world, also forming the framework for our governance and Nationhood. It is, it was, with close connection with Nature and the animal world that the people have been able to receive signs and teachings. As a people we see ourselves as participants in a great natural order of life, related in some fundamental manner to every other living species. It is believed that each species has a particular knowledge of the universe and specific skills for living in it. These are our seven sacred laws:

RESPECT – represented by the Buffalo. Our Nationhood is about Respect. To continue to be a giving and sharing people, first and foremost, following the example of the Buffalo, who gave its whole being for the life of the people.

LOVE – represented by the Eagle. Our Nationhood is about Love. Loving Gitche Manitou (The Great Mystery), loving the Land, loving ourselves in the way we were created, loving each other in the highest way possible. The Eagle brings vision that is always based on Love.

COURAGE – represented by the Bear. Our Nationhood is about Courage. The courage to live from the heart. The courage to be ourselves, and the courage to do the right thing for the sake of the children – the way a mother bear would die before seeing harm come to her child.

HONESTY – represented by Sabe (wild man, Sasquatch). Our Nationhood is about being honest with ourselves, and speaking and living our truth from the heart. Refusing to lie, or engage in gossip about others – simply, to be true to our words. 

WISDOM – represented by the Beaver. Our Nationhood is about Wisdom. Using the gift Gitche Manitou (The Great Mystery) gave each of us, to serve and build a strong family, community and nation. Our gifts do not belong to us as individuals, but belong to all people to serve the good of the nation. 

HUMILITY – represented by the Wolf. Our Nationhood is about Humility. Showing gratitude for life received from Gitche Manitou and the Land. Never overstepping the gifts that keep us connected to the spiritual realm. Knowing that we are all equal in the eyes of Gitche Manitou. Those who have studied the Wolf have noticed that in a wolf pack, the first three are the elders. The elder wolves give pace to the entire pack. If it were the other way around, they would be left behind, losing contact with the pack. Following the elders came the strong ones, the front line. In the centre are the rest of the pack members, followed by the five strongest wolves in the rear of the pack. The last wolf is alone. It is the Alpha. He leads everything from the rear, from a position where he can see everything and decide the direction the pack moves according to the elders pace, and help each other, and watch each other. There is so much we can learn from the Wolf. The teaching of Humility was especially important for the leaders of the Nation.

TRUTH – represented by the Turtle. Our Nationhood is about living the Truth. By having the seven laws as the foundation, our Nationhood means living in the spirit of Respect, Love, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility and Truth. It is written, it is within our sacred lodges that the seven laws of our Nationhood are lived and modelled, and that Nationhood can be practiced in our daily lives, no matter where we find ourselves.”

Are you still with me? If so, can anyone really argue with the ideals and values of Respect, Love, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility and Truth? EVERYONE would agree that these are important things in our society, but in reality what laws and values are we really living by today? What are they? Materialism? Individualism? Me, Myself, and iPhone? Where are we heading if it isn’t towards environmental disaster? Think about how pissed off you get sometimes at the slightest delay and annoyance. What will happen when we’re lining up for food and water? What is happening to wages and the working poor? What is happening to the weak and marginalized and mentally ill? Can we not see that the fabric of our society is frayed and unravelling?

Now imagine if instead we tried to live by the seven laws and their values. Really tried. Every day. If we did, we could only ever want the well being of everyone as much as we would want it for ourselves. Our family, our Community, our Society, Our Nation, our World. Your well being would be my well being. Their well being, would be our well being …. And if we ever felt this way, it would mean that our hearts are filled with love. And if our hearts are filled with love, then we are living our true nature, true to our Spirit, because Love and Truth and Nature are one.

So hey…. Let’s just try. Let’s try to be a little bit better. Better people, better partners, better parents, better children, better siblings, better friends, better citizens, better listeners. Let’s try to walk a mile is someone else’s moccasins, or sandals or boots. Let’ try to live with open minds and open hearts and realize how blessed and fortunate we are, and that we have a sacred duty to one another.

I’ll give the final world to Elder Courchene*:

“Being a Nation is not an entitlement. It is a responsibility.”

 

 

* The words of Elder Dave Courchene were taken from an Indian and Cowboy podcast posted in February of 2016. I have listened to this episode many many times. I use it as a kind of meditation on the Spirit. It is worth a listen. The portions that I use here are not complete and in some cases do not appear in the same order here as they do in the podcast. I struggled with re-arranging them as the entire recording is enlightening and profound. I hope the small portions I have included, and the way I have included them, do justice to their original intentions.