When ‘Dances with Wolves’ came out, I was not one of the
huge fans of the movie. Yes, it was a great story. It had great cinematography,
though it would be hard not to on the prairies. I liked that the movie had First
Nations actors in First Nations rolls. But essentially the message was one I
could not stand. Everyone, at least White, who saw the movie identified with
Capt. John Dunbar. We were in fact the Calvary come, not to save the day, but
to destroy a culture.
There is great
injustice on the prairies again. This time, real life. A young man, fucking
around like I did when I was his age, is shot and killed. Yes, he may have been up to
no good. But in Canada we do not execute people for essentially being drunk and
disorderly. I will not go into the details of the case, as this post is not
about the case itself; it is about the fallout afterward.
There has
been a great outcry for the clearly racist themes through the case. There are
those who seek to justify the senseless killing of a young man. But most of us,
are lining up to denounce the actions of the person responsible for the death,
the actions of the RCMP, and a court system that is inherently flawed and
biased against First Nations people.
I see people
positioning themselves that they are not racist, and that those in charge, our
politicians, need to change the system. It is clear that systemic changes need
to occur. The incarceration of indigenous people in Saskatchewan is disproportionate
to their population.
Yes, we, all
of us, need to exert pressure that these changes happen within the approach of
our law enforcement community, and within the legal system. Protests, vigils,
petitions and the like are called for to push for these changes. It is going to
take more than an angry Facebook post.
But like the movie ‘Dances with Wolves’ we need to stop externalizing
the problem. The hard truth is that we, I, am responsible for the values within
our community. Especially, as I am called to be the salt and light to those
around me. I need to take responsibility for the values that are expressed within
my neighbourhood.
I live in
what appears to be an ethnically diverse community. By community I am referring
to North Delta. There are those of various ethnicities that live around me.
They are there through the struggles they have endured to make their own space.
Yet, my house is less than ten miles from the Tsawwassen First Nation. There
are not many, if any, indigenous people in my neighbourhood.
The
uncomfortable truth, is that it is far too easy to distance myself from the man
that pulled the trigger. It is far too easy for me to say, that is not me. Like
the movie, it is far too tempting to identify with whatever heroes there maybe,
when in fact, I am the villain. I am THAT racist.
If my sole
solution is to post this, hit like a few times, and copy and paste; I am part
of the problem. There are other issues that I feel passionate about. In this case,
I need to take the time, and write letters to MPs, MLAs, and others. Maybe I
need to take time from scrolling through Facebook.
But even
then, the challenge in this situation is to take time and examine HOW I am
racist. If I am serious about change, the change needs to begin with me.
His name was Colten Boushie, he was 22.
