I didn’t explain why the community walk felt like I was walking through somewhere wartorn. We walked along the river, tent city. It was full of debris. The neighborhoods were boarded up. Buildings were burned down. People were digging through garbage for food. Inside the shelter, I felt like I was inside a refugee camp. In case we don’t know what I am talking about, I volunteered to do a community walk and feed the houseless.
The volunteers were yelling hello in Ojibwe along the riverbank where the houseless live. We are just assuming all the houseless are my people, eh? Is what crossed my mind. They weren’t exactly wrong. There were other ethnic groups but the majority were Anishinaabe. Why does it suddenly feel like we are at war within Canada?
We leave reservations and come to the cities for many reasons. Healthcare and education are the main ones. There are reservations that only teach up to grade 9 so kids come to the cities to complete their education. They are vulnerable when they come to the city. Vulnerable to gangs, violence, trafficking, etc. What does it mean to be urban indigenous? Is the question my organization asks a lot. We don’t know. I just know that we measure wellness by how well we adapt to this profoundly sick society. Where nobody lives in a natural way or thinks natural things. Most of what we identify with does not exist in reality.
My organization has a lot of programs for the urban indigenous. This includes education. We have a 24/7 safe space for women. We have a drop-in center for kids to play. We have programs that sponsor families of missing and murdered Indigenous women. A sexual wellness lodge, etc. My office is where all the youth programs are. My youth program is for boys ages 8-12 who are in conflict with the law. Some of them committed crimes they were too young to be charged with. My boys are sweet kids but have adult-size problems which breaks my heart. We have a female version of our program. We have a program that is co-ed for older kids. Then we have one that helps young adults transition out of Child Family Services. The program for the older kids I adore. We don’t have churches or temples and so these kids come so they can stay connected to culture. When they’re together, it’s so beautiful to witness them make our office their second home. My heart grows two sizes every time I hear them do drumming and singing. I have two boys in my program who drum and sing with their father at powows. It’s their favorite thing in the world. Also watching their fathers braid their sons hair, I find it very touching.
Anyway, I needed to air some of this out. I’m still not in a good headspace. The weight of what we are doing, I was feeling it all week. My team was sick and absent. They’re back to work so I can share some of the burdens again.
Loading comments...