Indigenous Realities of a Bush Métis | Blake Desjarlais | TEDxUAlberta

[Music] so I actually want to talk about something that's you know it's always in the papers it's always on the news every time you turn it on but I often think it's scrolled by you know given the kind of reaction most Canadians seem to have to the kinds of experiences of indigenous people I kind of just want to talk about a few numbers quickly and then I'll bring those numbers into context right afterwards so there's four percent of indigenous people in this country there's four percent and of that four percent there's even smart smaller numbers within that four percent that make up the nations that are indigenous to this country the meaty population which is divided amongst you know other other maintained Asians within it just the meaty population together is just over a million started just below a half a million and of those half a million I'm just one of them and there's 96% of Canadians and ninety-six percent of Canadians may never have even experienced or met an indigenous person or even have heard their story but I think it's important because to call oneself Canadians to understand what it means to be Canadian and to be Canadian you have to understand the history at which we're allowed to call yourself Canadian so there's a big history in this country we're celebrating 150 years some of us are some of us are celebrating other things indigenous people were celebrating 150 years of resistance of survival and I just want to talk about children for a second and when I mean survival today right now there's 7% of indigenous children in this country we make up the largest grain population simultaneous to that 46 percent of us are within the custody of the state we are dramatically over-represented in the social services and Children Services systems and programs at this car and the the Kanan government has created and we're not unfamiliar to that indigenous people we're not unfamiliar to the pains and losses of our children being apprehended or taken and it's a very very difficult conversation to have it is hard but it's necessary especially given the Truth and Reconciliation Commission we've waited a long time for the truth to come out for our stories to be heard and I think that's today I think after 150 years it's time to really understand those stories in a really real way and I'm going to put into context by sharing my experience and I just want to preface that experience firstly with that it is a hard one to hear and it involves my childhood and intergenerational trauma so I from fishing Lake I may not have been from fishing like that is the reality as a new genus person growing up that as a child we are our most vulnerable to scary scary world to live in especially if you're a parent to know that you know your child could be apprehended because the government has failed to uphold its obligations to indigenous people to our rights to provide clean water to provide proper infrastructure health care education in the absence of those services then social services and Children Services get involved and say well why is there no clean water and we say we're trying our best to get clean water we've been waiting 150 years for much longer even they said well that's done you know that's too bad we're going to go ahead take your children and that's happens today Sidney Blackstone for example as a leading activist in Ottawa who works with child and family services and is huge advocate for this and she touches a little bit about the sixties scoop and the 60s scoop maybe many of you may be unfamiliar but it's touched the lives of almost every indigenous person alive today in my experience with that has been intergenerational trauma lives in in us something we inherit indigenous people we inherit a very heavy burden and that burden as generations go by hope fully lightened that we pan to our next generation not so much pain so what that means is what did I inherit is the question so my grandparents wants residential school they survived that one of the scariest times in this country's history the apprehension of children - from their homes to faraway place to kill the Indian in the child they said kill the Indiana child that was the policy they survived that my grandparents that generation well what was to come next with the 60 scoop my grandma my parents my mother is grazed Edgeley my father's will endure surely my biological mother is a woman named Brenda Brenda's the sister of my mother Grace she was apprehended in the 60s school and she's not a survivor of the 60s coupe what that means is that she tried her hardest and she did what she was taught to she chipped she was taught not to be loved she was taught that she wasn't allowed to be in this world she was apprehended for my community a fishing lake or that's what her home community is she's apprehended a different community but that's where her family's from and she was taken to a non indigenous family that was the policy put them in non indigenous families so that we can eliminate their language and eliminate their identity so when that happened she was taken to this home and she was abused emotionally physically spiritually sexually and she after that upon the age of 18 was released from the custody of the state with a child and she was brought into the world and here in Edmonton actually where she lived her life she lived in the streets of this city she became addicted to drugs became a heavy drug user she didn't know how to love herself or to love others and eventually lived on the streets the prostitute much like many indigenous women today and actually had children I'm the youngest of those biological children those other children were lost to social services as well I've never met them one of them as a matter of fact has passed away in Vancouver on the streets in a similar life I myself however have been fortunate enough very very very lucky I'm one of the very few indigenous people and children who get to survive the 60 scoop and in judicial intergenerational trauma my mother grace - Lee and father William Desiree took me and took me home to fishing Lake and they said no we're bringing this one home we're going to build our communities it's maytee family's building mated communities we've been resisting for 150 years and this is an act of resistance to reclaim our children to bring them home so that they may learn the language they may learn the land they may learn what is proper to them their inheritance that's what I inherited the conversation of reconciliation is a conversation of what did you inherit what do Canadians inherit that make them make it so possible to build great cities beautiful infrastructure hospitals education and why is it that an imaginary line that there's a reserve line or a settlement line says that we don't get them this is reconciliation is a two-way street so the 4% of the population has been resisting for 150 years what is the 96% of the population doing that's an important question to ask when we're talking about healthy communities if we want healthy communities we have to be able to understand that indigenous people are part of the land or part of the water you drink we're part of the air you breathe we're from here we can't go anywhere and that means that reconciliation is necessary if we want healthy communities for both of us so it's four percent we've trying our hardest we're absolutely trying our hardest and it's brilliant it's actually amazing to see young people coming up from our community this doing what it is they were meant to do in this world and helping to achieve a betterment for our people it's amazing and we're not given enough credit I don't think for the this just a basic survival and above and beyond survival but I'm asking that the 96% of the population understand where they come from as we have to as well but the 96% of the population asked Canada where am i from how did I get here by what virtue and by what treating by what clause am I allowed to stand here today and how do i inherit those rights that some people do not enjoy it's an important question it's a question that as a non settler I can't answer reconciliation if it took dumby to be done properly is a conversation of I think three steps first of all recognition recognition of the problem I'm here to say I have to be extremely blend with this it is not an Indian problem we know how to get a job we know how to do these things we're smart people we have souls we have spirits were strong so it's a recognition of what the problem is it's a Canadian problem the Truth and Reconciliation Commission tells us that and it also brings about over 100 recommendations that Canada's failed to uphold and it pursues ways to increase those those efforts but it requires the work of the public requires the work of Canadians required to work of communities and as the great treaty sixth seal shows two to two persons coming together shaking hands and understanding even 150 years later I feel as though we haven't quite reached the recognition of each other so that's the first step the second step is deconstruction by what virtue or what systems are are allowing these things to happen why is it that First Nations and métis communities aren't provided clean water I'm provided proper healthcare aren't provided education even though that was something we our ancestors my grandfather's and yours both agreed we would share why is it that were not allowed those things those the questions Canadians have to answer as well not only that the second the last step to all of this is the reconstruction that's the beautiful part it may not be in our generation it may not be the next but we have to ensure that our children can live together in prosperity that we don't take from one another that isn't happening this last 150 years that we don't anymore we can reimagine a future where indigenous people are proud across this country from sea to sea to sea and that requires a respect of their self-determination we've respect to Canadian self-determination for a long time mostly by force often now it's Canadians turn to understand that we need the same recognition of self-determination we know how to help our communities we know what where communities need my parents did that for me and I hope that I can do that for my communities and that Canadians can stand beside me and support indigenous people in their journey to self-determination recognition and full participation in this global community because we've a lot to contribute I think I really do and they're beautiful stories beautiful people and that being said those are the steps but of course if you remember it's a long journey that journey is going to involve a lot of pain as it has for my people and Canadians are going to have to share in that pain it's going to involve guilt it's going to involve shame but nothing we can't work together at we can come to a position where we can all call ourselves we can all be proud to be stand together and really share in what it means to be here for 150 years 150 years of Canada and 150 years of resistance thank you very much hi hi Marci [Applause] [Music]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 7,087

Rating: 4.9172416 out of 5

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Canada, Global Issues, Children, Community, Future, Government, History, Recovery, Social Change, Social Justice, Truth

Id: KDxZFiEAj2o

Length: 13min 30sec (810 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 21 2017