On the stepe of the Chugach Mountains north of Anchorage. I’m still trying to figure out Alaska. When i was here in 2002 I was up in Fairbanks, working largely with non-Native people doing peacemaking work in the school system. Fairbanks struck me as an interesting place, one in which you defintely had to have a deep intention to live in. I enjoyed the people and the land – which is incredible – and I liked the feel of the town, which in all of its glory and ugliness, felt like northern towns everywhere. Anchorage is a different beast. There …
From a man I have long loved and admired, Chief Robert Joseph, who spoke these words on receiving an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of British Columbia in 2003. He is a leader in advocating for the rights and dignity of residential school survivors and a deep and passionate advocate of the work many many people are doing to decolonize the child welfare system here in British Columbia. Here is some very good advice from him: I have traveled far and climbed many mountains in my life’s journey. I have seen the darkness of my own abyss. From …
[Working today and yesterday with a group of indigenous political leaders on reducing Aboriginal child poverty in British Columbia. In a little strategy session today we were talking about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, the fact that Canada has refused to ratify it, and how, with the world coming to play here next month during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, that this is a good opportunity to let the world know that a global agenda item remains unratified in this country. So here is is my letter to global visitors joining us for the Games…] A …
Today, the new moon rises, a time of aupicious beginnings, especially coming so close to the winter solstice. These are important moments in Nuu-Cha-Nulth culture, and the times are important in Nuu-Chah-Nulth history. Last month, five Nuu-Chah-Nulth tribes won a landmark court case that gave them the right to sell the fish that they catch. Not on an industrial scale mind you, but on a scale big enough to create small local commercially viable fisheries for communities that desperately need both the work and the reconnection to the sea. Moreover, the courta case declared this as an Aboriginal right, a …