Powwow Time

this weekend is our annual powwow, and boy am i ever excited. our powwow features atlantic canadas first nation drum groups and dancers. i am safe to say that we indeed have the largest powwow in the region, and its tradional too. we have a feast of traditional maliseet cusine which features salmon, fiddleheads, moose,deer, muskrat, and of course lagugee mmm mmm mmm my favorite. this year we will be featuring a drum gruop from ontario called the Chipuwa travellers, they seem to be a world class group and i look forward to hearing them sing and our drum group blowing them away, hahahha. well every one is invited to attend it starts 1pm sharp on sturday and sunday. dont be late because you will miss the beutiful grand entry, the favorite and most beutiful part of powwow tradition and values. hope to see you all there.

the Apology

yesterday's apology by Canada's Prime Minister on behalf of the entire country seems to be all i am hearing about on the rez and in my place of work. all these years that have gone by and the leaders of this country that have come and gone, but why Harper? whats he up to is my question. the issue that bothers me is why didnt he admit to genoicde? well for one, if that was to happen it would go agianst the poloicies of the UN and we would consider it to be war crimes or crimes against humanity. indded this was a time of genoicide, and alot of people do not realize that these things were still happening during the times that many of todays seniors were just young. for instance. the last residential school closed in the late 60's. our people were treated like shit and expect us to act like civilized human beings. even thought some of my generation did not have to witness such a horrific time in history, we still feel the affects of what happened. just like an aftershock from an earthquake. this is a time of healing and it is up to us as indian people to come together and see what can be done, even though we are different nations because of our tribes we belong to, it is time that we come togther as one nation and stand united. remember the canadian national anthem and what they sing. "our home on NATIVE land.

What a month this is going to be, i mean with the elections going on and the gossip that comes with it. I am almost certian everyone in class knows what i mean. As i sit here, i think about the ways our ancestors did things in their times, what it was like for them to choose thier leaders, and did they argue and put one another down? This boggles my mind because as native people our ancestors would be so disrespected by the way we conduct ourselves through these critical times. for instance, the way in which our chief and council are elected today is totally different then it was in the days our ancestors occupied this land. the way the people brought in a new cheif and council was up to the elders in the community, they made the decision, and do you think the people complained and fought with each other over the decisions that were made? In my opinion, i would definetly have to say that there may have been disagreements, although, they were disagreements between the elders, and the people did not know or did not hear about them at all. Chiefs were choosen based on what they did as a they grew from a child to a man, whether it was being a good hunter to being a strong warrior, things were done on merit, another words you had to earn your feathers by by being respectful, diligent, and honourable in the societies that have since past. what if it was like that today? would things be different? would people veiw our time of elections as one big party, or would it be viewed as a time in which we evaluate based on deeds or merit? it is hard to say because over time these values seemed to disintergrate before our eyes or as the generations passed. this is the time of elections, and what a month this is going to be.