At first it felt like a dagger: Buffy Sainte Marie's Indigenous ancestry being questioned. When I first learned of the CBC Fifth Estate investigation, like many Indigenous people, I felt betrayed. But it was not Buffy Sainte Marie I felt betrayed by. It's the fact that we still have a law in this land called the Indian Act that allows the Government of Canada to tell Indigenous people "how Indigenous they are." This is a question I myself get asked daily. However, as a proud Metis person, I am also of French-European descent, but I do not believe I have ever been asked how French I am or how European I am.
However, my initial anger over the whole Buffy Sainte Marie situation which already is causing division and strife among Indigenous communities quickly turned into acceptance - acceptance that I can still love Buffy Sainte Marie's music and her message no matter what has resulted in this CBC Fifth Estate investigation. Buffy Sainte Marie's music has gotten me through some rough times and her piece, Power in the Blood, will forever remain one of my favourite songs of all time.
So as Niagara's Indigenous community and Indigenous nations across the country process this news, let this not divide what is a strong Indigenous collective here in Niagara, but let us come together, continue to grieve our trauma, and continue to walk together in the path of Indigenous reconciliation.
I have been proud to see Niagara's Indigenous collective recently come together on the push for an Indigenous mobile mental health crisis unit pilot project which also has recently gained the attention of the Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. The unit will be focused on emergency (and culturally relevant) mental health care for Niagara's Indigenous population. This will be nothing short of a game changer for Indigenous reconciliation.
In closing, Niagara's Indigenous community has much to celebrate. We have many causes (like the unit or creating an Indigenous housing and homelessness plan through Niagara Region's Office of Attainable Housing) to unify under. So let us focus on these great feats to come as a community.
As Pelham Town Councillor for Ward 1, Wayne Olson would say..."We are all agreed that Indigenous reconciliation is going to happen, because it needs to happen."
It is perfectly okay that as a community, we do not completely agree on the path to reconciliation, but what matters is we stand united as a community, we have those conversations peacefully and peaceably, we hear each other out, we work together with fellow Nations and as community; and we continue to push for balancing the scales for all Indigenous peoples in our country.
It is imperative (as a survivor of intergenerational trauma and childhood sexual abuse myself) we continue to support one another in our healing, we continue to support the calls to justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGTBQI+ people and we continue to advocate for the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Now is the time for Indigenous unity, not division or strife.
Steven Soos
Welland
