Among my people, children and young people are the most tune to the spirit world because they are so new to this world it's easyer for them to connect without much training. Thus our children are the most protected and also at many times, listened too. At our ceremonies, we always call a young person to whitness the work taking place. In the forest and spiritual territories children have told of hearing songs in the tree's and drums.

I remember when I went to go feed my grandmothers spirit mask (skwenilitch), I could see hundreds of my ansestors standing around in white mountian goat wool blankets. When I see or hear the ansestors, they are telling me somthing, showing me somthing or blessing me. Tonight I was having a family meeting with my grandmother, and she mentioned how a relative of mine was with her daughter last tuesday. They were walking over Burrard St. Bridge around 2:30ish. Anyways, her daughter, who's really young, said she could hear singing with loud drums coming from somewhere. Her mother couldn't hear anything but her daughter could hear it. She looked over the bridge into False Creek and could see lots of canoes full of people in it. They were canoe pulling along and singing songs. It's amazing to feel but let alone hear of things like this happening is amazing.

What is more amazing is the fact of when and where it was. This was going on around the same time the Soilidary with Six Nations march in downtown Vancouver was going on. The march, I felt, was so successful in many ways I was glad it took place. Hearing of my ansestors coming forth like this shows me, what we did was the right thing to do. My skwxwu7mesh-ulh ansestors were with us in support of our solidarity. I pray for the Six Nations people and their continual struggle, the minds and hearst of the negotiators (on both sides) and the families of everyone around the situation. u siyam

There is no abandonment; there is self-discipline.
There is no procrastinating; there is commitment.
There is no assimilating; there is de-colonizing.
There is no prejudice; there is understanding.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no absolute; there is balance.
There is no panic; there is serenity.
There is no fear; there is courage.
There is no uncertainty; there is faith.

- OldManRivers, (I Am A Confident Determined Man Who Gives Breath To The Noble Way As A Humble Emissary)

I was asked this question recently and after much research I am able to come up with an anwser. Life is about the journey not the destination. If we loose our morals along the way for the ends, then we have become what we do not want as Indigenous peoples. It is because of these morals, principles, and values that make us Salish, Kwakwaka'wakw or Nu-Chan-Nulth. We have already been roped, and raped of many of our values that were deeply woven into our lifestyles, what little we do have left we cannot bargan or trade off for more materialistic wealth. Ownership is not worth more then our real power, which is our way of life.

Realizing this has also insighted me in how our current leaders think, act and work. They figure they can bargan our values to create benifits for the people. I guess this is what our anscestors thought our leaders of the future would be like. By trading, very little of what we have (our values, morals and principles), we can get benifits. But it will never be worth it.

The Week of Wednesday 12th

Do you think we are in a state of war?

Yes... next question!


I kid, I kid.

War (w�r)
n.

1. 1. A condition of active antagonism or contention: a war of words; a price war.
   2. A concerted effort or campaign to combat or put an end to something considered injurious: the war against acid rain.

�Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.�

Dale Carnegie

Battle, struggle and at odds plague our leaders, followers and people. As the days go by, the young people start to becoe more educated and fight for values and truth while our leadership is in the past, fighting for the future. This has created a battle among our own people over right and wrong, this way and that way, comprimise and commitment. Along with this, even the young people are split. The leadership has become split. But we still continue to fight under prejudice and judgments. Our judgments of people, their intentions and how they care hold us back. It's almost the point where we sabotoge ourselfs because we don't deserve it. Even with radicals, politicans, and co-dependants we split and become so diverse it means nothing to be "one', not that 'one' is the desired wish. But what is it that creates this fustration. Why havn't we been able to succeed as a red people. And where does this ancient value of ''understanding" come in.

Our people have become so diverse with our culture, politics and economy. Some have no, or a sham, or a strong culture. Some follow a more traditional sence of goverment or some have become so assimilated they can't see their ansestors ways anymore. Some nations are spoiled stinking like shit rich and others dirty poverty striken poor. In our idealogies, idea's and action plans we have split ourselves where it becomes adversarial. A vs. B (and even vs. C) has become the outcome our hundred years of assimilation. Our goverment, leagal system and policial system has become us verses them. And where does this come from, well I think we can all figure out a certain colonial empire that shoved this down our throat. Not that I want to play the blame game. There is a fine line difference between blame and taking responsability. And it's about time we took responsability.

Have our youth become so hungry for the ancient knowledge but our leadership so stuck to not share it. But yet the leadership is taught in a old dialect of leading it does not work for us anymore in the long term. This idea of "comprimise through negotiation" to succeed in our battles. Is it wrong our leadership is automatical put on a pedistle known as "tribal council" that they can't see the grass nor the roots any more. And do we blame them because the system they follow does not support this? I think for us to really start taking responsability we have to start realizing our fears and our weakness'. Our people are no way near benevolent in our awesome power, but not far away for it to be out of our grasp.

What is also to be realized is people care about the same things in different ways. Although my goals and objective may be to bring down everything "Chief Jacob" works in and for, he is still doing a work we have yet to fill. And untill we strike down the draggon with out sword...actualy, let me re-word that. And untill we strike down the two-headed spirpent with out pitch spears, we as just as guitly as them for not being true indigenous people. But the fact remains they are working for a possible better future. We may not agree with it, but they are working towards it. And it is up to us, it's because of us, that we must create that change. Understanding they are working for a better future, somthing we also want, but in a differernt way will start to neutralize this "us verses them" status-quo. The problem needs to be addressed, and only through meaning dialogue and discussion can action be outputted, and that the imput must come from all sides if we are the solve and fix these issues and problems. No more can we start thinking, one I suplunt them, I can continue on, because that would be the same as them sacrificing our indigenous values through means to recieve the milk and honey ends.

If we can start to be more understanding in our struggle, we will have become more indigenous and decolonize, but it's our fear that holds us back. Can you be more understanding to the people, leadership, radicals, and co-dependants? If you can, then we are moving forward. (In a small but still, in a way)