I explored pages 110-114 of King’s fiction novel “Green Grass Running Water” (I know it is not 10 pages, but these four pages caused great exploration) because this part of the novel was about a dam being built on Native land and I figured King was including this topic because it must be significant. Now having investigated the issue of dams, I have discovered that there is a controversial dam that BC Hydro wants to build that affects Native people’s land as well as local landowners. In the document, Report of the Joint Review Panel: Site C Clean Energy Project: BC Hydro, BC Hydro admits: “There are 21 First Nations who assert rights under Treaty 8 that may be affected by the project” (8).

Hume of The Globe and Mail writes, “If BC Hydro’s $9-billion Site C dam is built one day, the water level would rise to cover Bear Flats below, long a sacred gathering place for the Dane-zaa people (Online). There is also enormous concern from First Nations and other local landowners about their land being flooded. They are camping out to protect the land and “While the camp has rightfully earned significant media attention, few outside the region are aware that it’s located in an area so high in ecological values that the B.C. government recognizes it as worthy of Provincial Park status, and designates it as an Old Growth Management Area” (DESMOGCANADA Online).

The article goes on to explain, “Peace-Boudreau is a place of shared heritage, archaeological richness, First Nations cultural and economic importance and incredible wildlife habitat values combined together in a unique ecosystem that has been wisely reserved from destruction for almost 50 years. It’s time to protect Peace-Boudreau forever, starting with the rejection of the Site C dam” (DESMOGCANADA online). King uses his novel to illuminate this real problem and I will look at the case in BC specifically.

In GGRW, Eli is an Indigenous man who spent most of his life away from his Reserve, but has returned after his mother’s death and is living in her cabin. Clifford Sifton is a man who builds dams, and he comes to Eli’s cabin to have coffee. Eli says to Sifton,

“Looks like you’re thinking about building a dam.”

That’s right,” said Sifton. “She’s going to be a beauty.”

“This is my mother’s house…She built it herself, log by log.”

…”Construction starts in a month” (114).

Even though the dam would cause dire consequences to Eli’s people on his Reserve, Sifton and the government are still planning its construction.

I ask myself, “How can BC build a dam if it affects people’s land and lifestyle?” I am not familiar with such matters. So I looked at Treaty 8 of the proposed Site C area. This Treaty of 1899 states:

It is further agreed between Her Majesty and Her said Indian subjects that suchportions of the reserves and lands above indicated as may at any time be required for public works, buildings, railways, or roads of whatsoever nature may be appropriated for that purpose by Her Majesty’s Government of the Dominion of Canada, due compensation being made to the Indians for the value of any improvements thereon, and an equivalent in land, money or other consideration for the area of the reserve so appropriated (Treaty No. 8).

In GGRW King suggests that there are other possible sites available. Eli asks Sifton:

“So how come so many of them are built on Indian Land?”

“Only so many places you can build a dam.”

“Provincial report recommended three possible sites.”

“Geography. That’s what decides where dams get built.”

“This site wasn’t one of them (111).

This very case is true in BC: BC Hydro had five other recommended sites in the 1950’s but BC Hydro made the decision to use this land (Panel, 8). Why was this site chosen? I am not sure of all the details, but I am concerned about our past agreements and how they are affecting people—most dramatically the First Nations people. We have some issues to be examined and King is bringing light to this. Eli responds to Sifton about the proposed construction happening saying, “Maybe it will…And maybe it’ll have to wait.”

Report of the Joint Review Panel: Site C Clean Energy Project: BC Hydro http://deslibris.ca.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ID/242527

Map https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bc+map+and+treaty+land&view=detailv2&&id=9A87AF05932C740D86A26E16BFCBFE814746DB4F&selectedIndex=1&ccid=3Cw%2fqFwl&simid=608050250890743291&thid=OIP.Mdc2c3fa85c25673319be4dfb1315a7a9o0&ajaxhist=0

Map https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bc+map+and+treaty+land&view=detailv2&&id=723394F4DA8F224EBAD279FCDBBF4CC31676A09D&selectedIndex=14&ccid=998emk7O&simid=608023690808264371&thid=OIP.Mf7df1e9a4eced7a10000937f75397109o0

Treaty No. 8 http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100028813/1100100028853#toc

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water

DESMOGCANADA http://www.desmog.ca/2016/02/16/area-flooded-site-c-dam-once-recommended-provincial-park

Everyone is on the move in this novel, road trips abound and in order to hit the road what do we need? — a road map. At the same time, Lionel, Charlie and Alberta are each seeking direction in life. As Goldman says, “mapping is a central metaphor” (24) of this novel. Maps chart territory and provide directions, they also create borders and boundaries and they help us to find our way. There is more than one way to map, and just as this novel plays with conflicting story traditions, I think King is also playing with conflicting ways to chart territory. What do you think lies at the centre of King’s mapping metaphor? Marline Goldman, “Mapping and Dreaming; Native Resistance in Green Grass Running Water.” Canadian Literature 161-162 (1999). Web. April 04/2013.

3:5

In King’s “Green Grass Running Water,” Alberta, Lionel, Charlie, and Eli are Indigenous people who have a lack of direction in their lives. I wonder if King put a little of himself in all these characters, since we often write from our own experience? When I heard Brad Baker (Indigenous, and a public school prinicipal) speak a couple months ago, he explained how he was afraid and ashamed to admit he was First Nation’s when he was a child. It has not been easy for many Indigenous people to live in a society where they felt misunderstood or second rate to Western ideologies. I think Alberta, Lionel, Charlie, and Eli struggle with how to live in society which is so separatist between white and Indigenous (King uses the word Indian throughout his novel.)

For some reason Alberta does not desire, or maybe is too cowardly to fall in love. She wants to have a child, but she has no desire to be married to Lionel or Charlie, even though she dates them both. As soon as one of them lean or hint in the direction of commitment or marriage, Alberta takes off. She is not getting what she wants from life–which seems to be a child. This is ironic to me as children are so consuming, and life-long–yet she does not seem to need a loving, committed relationship with a man which would help her raise her child and ultimately he should be less invasive than a child.

Lionel is a bright man but he is either very unlucky or very naïve—probably both. He had a government job and was blending in the white world, but it went miserably wrong, and Lionel has never figured out how to put his life back together. Turning 40, he looks in the mirror and cannot stand the man he sees. Lionel’s boss Bursum has made a map with the set up and design of his TV shop. Bursum has found his way and he is content, but this is not Lionel’s map and his job and life are not a reflection of his true direction.

One would think Charlie is content, but he’s not. He has a sporty car, he’s a lawyer, but he is unsettled. He wants to settle down with Alberta, yet he knows she is resistant.

Eli spent most of his life away from his family and the reserve. For personal reasons, he cannot bring himself to go back to the Sun Dance with Karen again, although she pleads with him to go. He seems to have a fondness for his family and friends from the reserve, but he resists going back. It is not until his mother dies that he returns to her home and tries to protect it from destruction.

It is as though each of them are afraid that they cannot have both lives-White or Indian–so they resist their life as Indigenous people. If Native way of knowing is through story and that is their “mapping” device (Bonnie Berthold in Goldman’s essay), then these characters will not find peace until they reconcile with their past and their heritage. King may be suggesting the map these characters need is found at the Sun Dance, in spending time with their families, is being in their communities, and is in embracing their Native roots, and especially their stories.

In an interview King explains that creation stories are made to help explain life, and that we assign our own truths through them. Alberta, Lionel, Charlie, and Eli will benefit from spending time with the old Indians and their own families listening to the stories so that they will find their own truth.

The Metis people were not white, so there was not a chance they would be recognized as a “third founding nation” of Canada. Two white countries struggled for the Dominion of Canada and the British won; but they did allow the French to retain much of their nationalism since they were powerful, civilized, and white. To think that the government ever considered the Metis requests for recognition of being a unique people and nation is not realistic due to the racism of the colonizers. Canada was much too racist and ethnocentric to consider these “half breeds” worthy.

The white immigrants to Canada were deemed civil and acceptable and those with dark skin were considered “…unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada (section 38). Immigration from outside Northern Europe was actively discouraged until the middle of the twentieth century.” Chinese people were only welcome if they could pay a head tax that “…was levied on Chinese immigrants in 1885, 1900, 1903, and culminating in the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, commonly called the Chinese Exclusion Act.” Exclusion policies included preventing Indians from India to enter Canada and this “…led to the Komagata Maru incident in 1914, where a boat with over three hundred Indian citizens (all British subjects) was turned away from Vancouver, after sitting in the harbour for three months, and forced to sail to India.”

I am sure Asian countries did not easily assimilate white people either. There were and still are huge cultural differences between people in the world. As we globalize, Canadians accept diversity more, but we have been a racist country from the start. Canadians enjoy a reputation that says “we” are kind and accommodating–and we may not realize that early colonization of this country was clearly from the perspective that whites were superior people. Superior enough that they moved right into settled land and claimed it for their own. History shows “the discourse of race is colonialist, racist, and capitalist. Also obscured in critical race scholarship is how the contemporary colonization of indigenous peoples could and should inform an analysis and politics of “race,” racism, and empire” (3 Race Racism and Empire).

When the Hudson’s Bay Company discontinued in Metis territory, the government of Canada sent surveyors to divide the land. The government started surveying and dividing land that the Metis people had already sectioned. The Metis people opposed this takeover, “But the government did not feel justified in discontinuing its system of surveying, because the ignorant Half-Breeds were unable to comprehend its scientific and practical value” (Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1, March 1887).

Riel did get some response from the Canadian government when he spoke for the Metis, but there was not a chance he would ever secure a nation in itself. Riel was not fully Metis nor Indian, but most importantly, he was not fully white and therefore not a significant “Canadian.” He did get some positive action from the Canadian government, like scrips and patents re-distributed. In Saskatchewan, the government observed that many of the Metis were taking scrip instead of patent, then would sell their scrip for cheap, or some Metis were double dipping because they had already received scrip in Manitoba–so the government just stopped awarding scrip to them. There was not a great deal of respect for the Metis people–The Hudson’s Bay Company had used them to strengthen their business–not because they saw them as equals.

History proves over and over that at the root of everything is material and power. Canada has become less racist but we are certainly not innocent of racism and the “contemporary colonization of indigenous peoples could and should inform an analysis and politics of “race,” racism, and empire” (Empire) The Metis did not stand a chance becoming a nation of Canada.

It took Canada a long time to welcome people with out white skin. Canada changed their policies only when it meant improved economics or power:

“The end of the nineteenth century saw a wave of immigration after the completion of the CPR. The government saw a need to populate the prairies, especially the land near the railway line. They offered land grants of 120 acres each for suitable immigrants, including British, Scandinavian, Icelandic, Doukhobor, Mennonite, and Ukrainian farmers, among other groups (including those fleeing persecution before and during the Russian Revolution of 1917)”

Extra Notes Below…

All from peer reviewed and scholarly sites.

Must edit bibliography.

Further, new immigrants from non-English or French speaking cultures were also expected to assimilate to the ideal of white (British) civility.

As a result of the construction of the white British settler as the ideal Canadian, early racialized settlers and later immigrants were seen as less worthy, and therefore less Canadian. The word immigrant can carry a negative charge when it is applied to some incomers and not others. An account of a speech given by Louis Riel in 1884 comments that

Assimilation was sought through legislation such as the Immigration Act of 1910 that

http://canlitguides.ca/canlit-guides-editorial-team/nationalism-late-1800s-1950s-canadian-immigration-and-war/

http://canlitguides.ca/canlit-guides-editorial-team/nationalism-1800s-loyalism-and-nation-building/gemony

Political Science Quarterly

Race, Racism, and Empire: An Introduciton

I think Carlson is saying that Indigenous stories are no less authentic and relevant than the white man’s stories. Although at the time of European settlement, the First Nation’s people were not writing their stories using an alphabet per se, Native people are well known for their ability to pass down stories and information from generation to generation, and it was and is their way of literacy. Carlson explains how elders in the Salish communities do not earn respect lightly, and stories would not be passed on to future generations unless the elder believed the story with his or her whole heart.

How can I presume to know how Salish people thought and think? Clearly it is not in my paradigm, and I can only try and understand their ways of telling. I can only listen and be willing to learn from the voices of the past and the voices today. There is no doubt, European arrival has affected much of Salish language, culture and practices–but there are truths in Indigenous story telling that remain despite traumatic effects of European entitlement of land and residential schools.

I believe there is truth to Indigenous stories, as there are truths to most stories. It does not mean the stories have not changed. I told the story of my sense of “Home” and if I were to ask my sister to read it and tell me if it is correct, she would probably have a different perspective of my life. But my story is still true. I also have stories of my children’s births. They are true to me—I was there, but if my husband (who was in close vicinity) told the story, it would be different. However, we are both right and the birth of our child is a sacred story; it must be passed down with truth. It might be from different perspectives, but there will be truth represented. I think this is what Carlson says about Salish stories—they were sacred. It was their way of literacy—and it must be received with honour and respect. However, there is no doubt the consequences of colonization and residential schools affected their stories in different extents.

Brad Baker is a district principal for North Vancouver, and his life has been deeply affected by residential schools. He was the first Indigenous teacher in North Vancouver’s district—and he is an advocate for First Nations people. Baker’s father Harry Baker is a survivor of residential schools, but it is something he rarely speaks of: “He does talk about heading down to his grandfather Willy’s house to learn about their Squamish culture, but Harry doesn’t have much to say about why those lessons didn’t always stick. What he does say, however, is chilling.”

‘Me and my two sisters, after school we would go down to his house and he would teach us the Squamish language…Then we’d go to school and get it slapped out of us.’

Harry then goes silent again. (Prest)”

The impact of colonization and residential schools In First Nations’ lives is great, but with determination they are insisting their voices be respectfully heard. First people being made to live on reserve land has had dire consequences for them and is not a proud part of Canadian history, but many First Nations people are living happy healthy lives, and they have a community that insists and ensures their language, cultures and stories be told. Shonfield writes of a visit to a reserve: “I went to Gull Bay First Nation Reserve, two hours North of Thunder Bay…I was surprised and amazed by the generosity of the strangers I met there. There were so many people on the reserve that were working diligently to make their community a better place” (Shonfield, Graham).

This solidarity and community is also shown in Baker’s life:

Those who know Harry aren’t surprised at the path his son has taken. Around the Reserve the elder Baker is known as Uncle Harry. Young Squamish Nation members feel comfortable coming to him for counsel, or just to joke around. Brad sees that — he visits his parents’ house every single day — and he realizes where his own charisma and compassion come from. He also knows why he’s chosen this path in life (Prest).

“I wanted to make our elders — my dad — proud of us as people (Baker).

Let all people’s stories be told, for there is truth and meaning in every story.

http://www.lifeonthereserve.ca/about.html

http://www.nsnews.com/news/carving-a-new-path-in-education-1.1588261

Searching for Connection and Meaning in Story Telling

When I first read of Coyote and his twin, I thought of Cain and Abel from the Old Testament, as these sons of Adam and Eve seem to represent good and evil, just as Coyote and his twin do. Cain was the evil brother, and he was similarly banished from his land. This is how the Bible explains two different branches of people entering the world. Coyote is brown and his brother is white; Coyote is good, and his brother is dishonest. Coyote’s brother steals an important piece of paper, and as a consequence is banished from North America, and this explains the two different races of people (Native, and white) being separated until colonization.

Robinson’s story of Coyote and his twin and the bible story of Cain and Abel both have a message of good versus evil, and leave their scholars intrigued and mystified. A biblical scholar writes, Abel who is killed by his brother is “a gap in the story withholding both his name and his identity and creating even more ambiguity as the narrative progresses…is he somebody and therefore of importance to understanding the story? The use of chiasms and alternation of the brothers strengthens the impression that the order and thus the outcome of the story are yet undecided” Vermeulen, 41). Abel represents good, yet he dies; Cain is evil, and like Coyote’s twin he is banished. Abel’s brother Seth is born later, and propagates Abel’s branch of the human race. Scholars explore and investigate to unravel the stories of the Bible, just as Wickwire searches for connection and meaning within Robinson’s stories.

Robinson’s stories of Coyote and his twin, and Coyote’s visit to the King both involve important papers, yet Indigenous people were not writing their stories at colonization, but passed them down orally. The paper in Robinson’s story reveals how the two cultures have intersected over time, and colonization has seeped into Indigenous story telling. Which leads to a question? Did the white inhabitants adapt and broaden their stories to reflect the culture and beliefs of the Indigenous people. It seems to me they did not, and this attests to the lack of flexibility in Christian based societies. First Nations people seem to be the ones who have broadened their beliefs, probably because their spirituality is (often) not as rigid, but has a natural flow with nature. Lutz says, “Indigenous people here had no gods that they worshipped. Instead, they were aware of a wide variety of spirits that could take human form” (36).

Christianity and its paradigms have been at the root of colonization, and First Nations story-telling has not been a significant part of education until recently. In British Columbia, the government has (in 2015) embedded Indigenous culture and study into our curriculum. White people have taken a long time to be willing to blend cultures with First Nations people, and perhaps the decrease of Christianity in Canada is the reason for more open mindedness. During my twelve years of grade school education in British Columbia, Canada, Indigenous cultures, stories, or people were not discussed.

King writes two creation stories: one Indigenous, and one Christian. He says, “In the Native story, the conversational voice tends to highlight the exuberance of the story but diminishes its authority, while the sober voice in the Christian story makes for a formal recitation but creates a sense of veracity” (23). Writing the Christian creation story rigidly, versus King’s story-telling version of the Indigenous creation story emphasizes the irony of how Western people thought (think) their story was (is) so much more believable.

What makes the Christian story more believable than any Indigenous creation story? As a former Christian, I taught Sunday school, and when teaching the creation story, children never failed to inquire, “But who made God?” to which I would have some pad answer (while puzzling in my own mind). The Pentecostal sector of Christianity, which I grew up in, is rigid. Like many other religions, they believe their way is the only way to salvation, and anyone else that does not agree will die and go to hell. God is the authoritative boss in the sky, and he must be served and obeyed.

Although there is still much rigidity, many Christian churches are evolving. Vosper is a Reverend of the United Church, but she is at risk of being fired because she claims to be an atheist –she no longer believes in the rigid god of the bible. She says, “the idea of an interventionist, supernatural being on which so much church doctrine is based belongs to an outdated world view” (Perkel).

We are beginning to show respect for Indigenous story-telling, and I look forward to the day when Bible stories will be taught in school—not as literal and factual, but like myths, fairy tales, and Indigenous stories—full of truth—yet full of mystery. Bible stories and Indigenous stories of North America (and many other cultural stories) are full of wonder and truth, and should be celebrated and passed on.

Works Cited

Cain-Abel jpg. http://middleagedmormonman.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Cain-Abel.jpg Accessed 7 Oct 2016.

King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Peterborough: Anansi Press. 2003. Print.

Lutz, John. “First Contact as a Spiritual Performance: Aboriginal–Non Aboriginal Encounters on the North American West Coast.” Myth and Memory: Rethinking Stories of Indigenous-European Contact. Ed. Lutz. Vancouver: U of British Columbia P, 2007. 30-45. Print.

Perkel, Colin. Atheist minister fighting United Church’s effort to fire her. The Globe and Mail. 2015. Web. Accessed 7 Oct 2016.

Robinson, Harry. Living by Stories: a Journey of Landscape and Memory. Ed. Wendy Wickwire. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2005. Print.

Vermeulen, Karolien. “Mind the Gap: Ambiguity in the Story of Cain and Abel.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 133, no. 1, 2014, pp. 29-42. doi:10.15699/jbibllite.133.1.29

Dear Diary:

6 years old

My teacher doesn’t like me. I got dragged to the office today. I was sad and scared. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I’m not sure anyone in my class likes me, and I’m not sure how to make friends. My baby brother is so cute. He just got home from the hospital. I want to hold him so badly, but my mom says not to touch him. I sure would like to. He’s real cute.  My dad and my new mom had him. My real mom died. I don’t know anything except she died. I bet she loved me a lot. I bet she was the prettiest lady in the world. I bet she’d never get mad at me. My big sister is so much older than me. She’s seven. I try and get her to play with me, and I try to make her laugh.  We have the same dead mommy. But our dad didn’t die. He married my new mom. She wants me to call her mom. She has a nice son named Chris. He has a different daddy. He has red hair and he is kind. I like him. He plays with me. I love our house in Armstrong. I wish my new mom would hug me and play with me. My daddy is funny, but I think he loves my big sister more than me. He bought her a shirt that said “Daddy’s little girl,” mine just had a picture of a kitty on it. I really wanted him to give me a shirt like hers. My dad can get super angry. I’m going to run outside and play. There is a corn field right by my house. I love to play in it, and there is a big cement parking lot I run on, and drag my wagon and Chris pretends to be the horse, and he pulls the wagon with a skipping rope.

Dear Diary:

9 years old

We moved to Prince George, and I am going to a new school. It is the meanest school I could imagine. Today the kids on the monkey bars screamed at me to get off and go away. Big girls were scaring me. I have been here for months, and I don’t have any friends. My teacher can’t stand me. She sends me into the hallway almost every day. I have to walk home every day. Today I had to go to the bathroom so badly, and I peed my pants running down the road. My house is kind of scary right now. My dad lifted it up, and he’s making a basement. We have to walk across a narrow bridge to get inside, and sometimes the house shifts while we are in it. It was my birthday a few days ago and my step mom didn’t make me a cake. My sister tried and it fell all to pieces. I cried, but no one even cared. My dad was screaming and yelling last night, and I stayed in my room. He spanked me today because I lied. He spanked me with the belt. I was super scared. I hid in the corner of the bedroom, but he kept lashing the belt at me. I don’t think he loves me. I will try to help him love me. My family goes to church every Sunday. Sunday mornings are usually grumpy in our house because we are all trying to get ready. My mom and dad fight a lot, but when we get to church my mom looks happy. We have to play outside a LOT because mom likes to clean the house. We have a very clean house. And she likes to cook us good dinners. I would love to go in the house sometimes, but we have to stay outside and play until supper. The neighbor boy caught me and Chris on his land, playing in the forest, and he told us to get off his property. I hate this place. There’s a boy at school that hates me. His name is Rob. I keep telling on him, but no one does anything. He scares me. I am going to tell him to watch out because my dad will be so angry and talk to his dad if he doesn’t stop. My dad used to be a Sherriff. My dad is not scared of anything.

Dear Diary:

16 years old

Sweet 16. My dad and mom are split up (which is a relief). My dad moved out, which is good because he scares me so much. He smashed a lot of things before he left, and now he’s mad at us kids. I just want the fighting to stop. Mom is super depressed, and she is out a lot. Chris moved away to live with his real dad—I miss him. Is he really my brother? I really thought he was. He’s the best. M        y little brother is driving me crazy. Last night when he was asleep I slipped into his room and whispered in his ear that he will be kind and good from now on. It didn’t work. I am home alone with him. Mom leaves me a lot of chores, while he drives me crazy. I don’t know what to do. I am relieved we don’t have those horrible uncomfortable dinners when dad and mom fight and then dad gets super mad. I got a part in the Drama Club Play at school and my mom says she doesn’t like the changes she sees in me. She thinks I should quit. No way! I’m sad. I like my small bedroom downstairs. I wish my sister had more time for me. We aren’t allowed to talk at bed time. I wish I could visit her in her room and talk to her more, but mom says to go to our own rooms. I put up my real mom’s picture. I don’t care if my step mom doesn’t like it up in my room. My real mom gave birth to me; and I don’t care anymore if it hurts mom’s feelings. I want my real mom’s picture up!

Dear Diary:

47 years old

I’ve made so many mistakes, and I have gone through agony; but I have learned from the pain. I have learned that too many rules are horrible and unnecessary, I’ve learned I need to stop being so angry, and start letting lots go. I value love now more than ever. All the rules, rules, rules and religious laws are a thing of my past. Now I realize that life has natural consequences. I will reap what I sow. I still make mistakes, but I am better. My dad disowned me years ago. I tried all my life to get his love, finally I realized he is not a father. My step mom has become my friend, and I have grown in forgiveness towards her. I appreciate her instilling the value of good meals and a clean home, but I will never be as clean as her. My sister is my rock. My little brother is wild as ever, but we love each other. Chris will always be my brother. He’s still kind as ever. I live far from all my family. I have moved and moved and moved. Home is now having a happy, grateful day of peace, and I try to have as many as possible. (I am not always successful.) I value love enough to (more often) refuse to fight over little things. I appreciate love, because I have lost many loves over the years. Home is my work which I love. Home is just me being happy day by day.

Kim Bellwood

Every time I told my story it changed a little–not the impetus of the story, but details. If I continued to tell the story over and over I am sure I would embellish in different spots and edit in others. I was trying to convey that fear is what brought evil into the world, and this occurred between husband and wife and spread throughout the world. It is like a fairy tale as it revolves around marriage, as many fairy tales do. Anyone who has been in a relationship can relate to how fear (disguised as insecurity, jealousy, criticism, etc) often deteriorates the foundation of a relationship and can lead to destruction. I wanted to convey evil happening in a most simple way. A relationship destroying the purity of the world seems so simple, yet in it’s simplicity seems profoundly plausible. In the Christian story Lucifer brought evil into the world by his pride. I wanted to try and convey that fear is even deeper, and arguably the root of all evil. I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes which happens to be from Star Wars.

This blog will be a commentary of Chamberlin’s last chapter, “Ceremonies,” from his book, If this is Your Land, Where are your Stories?” I will examine spiritualism while exploring Chamberlin’s ideas of borders, where suddenly two different beliefs seem to unite and make sense together.

When I first read of the Gitksan’s story of the grizzly Mediik who ran down the mountain in protest of the people’s deteriorating respect for their lands, I was reminded of Moses running down the mountain in rage because his  people had begun worshipping idols, rather than the God of the Jews. Mediik and Moses both were spiritual instruments that brought destruction in order to teach their people. Moses, in his fury smashed the tablets he had painstakenly waited for, and the people had dire consequences of continuing to live an uncomfortable life in the desert. The Jewish God is believed to have continually brought destruction to teach lessons and punish people. Just a few examples are the earthquakes, turning people into salt, sacrifices,  famine,  plague, and the flood.

I was brought up to believe these stories from the Bible were true. They were not metaphors, but actually literal stories.  Chamberlin brings up the idea of myths and whether the Greeks believed them.  He explains: “Yes and no.” I have embraced that kind of belief. Are biblical stories true? Yes and no. Similarly, are indigenous stories true? Yes and no. I am convinced there is truth within every belief system, but there is also the limitations of this physical world. We are not fully spiritual, but we do touch upon the spiritual realm. Do all religions and beliefs? I think so. Are they all true? Yes and no. I am happy to rest on the gray side. This resting place has allowed me to be more accepting of diversity, although at the same time it is very difficult to eat a dinner with someone who eats their peas from a knife.

Watching my friends and family still embrace a literal belief of the Bible is like that awkward dinner, as I want them to have an epiphany (as though I know for certain) and realize that  Christianity  is a belief system weaved together by time and culture, and not literal (or so I believe).  The belief I embraced for 36 years (born again Christianity), now is absurd to me. I look at my family and friends and wonder how such educated, intelligent people can believe in a God that demands praise and worship, a God who destroys those who do not follow his commands, and a God who will eternally destroy all those who do not believe the ideals of the New Testament. I am left to simply accept that their beliefs are real to them, and I have no business arguing with them or discrediting them. There are truths in what they believe; I believe there is a spiritual realm they reach in their beliefs, and throughout the world humans connect with this spiritual world through varied religions. Many stories of the bible truly move me, and propagate a message of faith and love that is very beautiful. Am I comfortable with exclusivity of religion? No. Do I like that ultimately they believe I am not saved and will spend eternity in hell. No. But then I just accept that it is their truth and I am thankful for the stories (even from the Bible) which teach us all.  Chamberlain puts it well when he says, “We need to keep this contradiction alive when we think of other people’s stories as well as our own, and be careful not to discredit either the yes or the no”(236).

Why should I be careful not to disregard the beliefs of others, even though they are strange and different? Because, as Chamberlain explains, there are borders which occur and show humans that we and all our stories are united (222). This summer I had a born again friend question me about my lack of belief in the religion I was brought up in. I reluctantly entered the conversation, and warned that it may make her feel less close to me if I were to really share my feelings. She wanted to talk anyways, and I treaded carefully through our discussion, knowing that her belief was as firm as my disbelief. We reached a border moment near the end of our talk, when she implored of me, “Didn’t you ever have an encounter with God?” That was a tricky question. Of course I have, but not from her paradigm. There is something in this universe that is amazing, but I simply cannot define God, nor do I even know what I mean by God. I told her I believe she touches upon a higher power, and I also believe that how people get to this enlightened place is not important, but that we are stay open to love in the universe. These borders occur in nature, when ones heart fills with appreciation and a sense of wonder bordering on worship. The borders are revealed when we look at a honeycomb or a spiders web and see their intricacy. This sense of border moment (or intersection as penned by Paterson) occurs when we rise and sing a national anthem, sensing that the ceremony has helped us reach a magical border place of unity. Chamberlain says, “…Them and Us is inevitable. But choosing between is like choosing between reality and the imagination, or between being marooned on an island and drowning in the sea. Deadly, and ultimately a delusion”(239).

Canada and more specifically BC embraces indigenous teaching in schools. There are videos and books called Raven Tales that my young students watch and enjoy. Last year I had children ask me if the stories in the videos were true. Did Raven create the world, and did the first humans come out of a clam shell? I was a little bit unsure how to answer! Should I say no? Do Aboriginal people think their stories are literally true? A fairy tale has so much truth in it. Is it true? Is Santa true? ( I could never say out loud that he is not). I think indigenous stories are embraced because the First Nations people do not push their beliefs on others. I have known many Aboriginal people, and they have never come across as believing their stories are the only way to truth. Perhaps that is why we are telling them in school. This is why we allow fairy tales. One day I hope the wonderful, captivating stories of the bible are told in public schools, but that may have to wait until minds are broadened and less dogmatic.

Works Cited

Goodsalt.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016. Image.

Raven’s Tale: The Haida Creation Story.  www.yodigo.tv/lesson/view/12. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.

Hello everyone!

My name is Kim Bellwood. I have just set up my first blog ever. Slowly I am starting to understand the technical lingo, for example: blog, vlog, hyperlink, and tons more! From what I have read about this course, and watching Erika’s vlog, I believe this course will strengthen our ability to think critically about the stories we have been told, the ones we haven’t been told (and why), and the stories we hope for in our future (Canadians in particular).
I grew up in British Columbia, and started in college in 1987 taking classes toward my Education degree. I ended up finishing my Bachelor of Education (two years) at the University of Saskatchewan. I convocated in 2002, taught for three years in Saskatchewan, and I am currently in my eleventh year teaching in British Columbia. I tell you this to explain a huge difference I noticed between the two province’s curricula.

In Saskatchewan it was mandatory to take three credits in Native Studies. Without this, one cannot complete an Education Degree (this was 16 years ago and still is required). The only course the university offered was six credits, so I took a full year course exploring First Nation’s people in Canada. When I started teaching, Aboriginal information was embedded throughout the curriculum. This link I am highlighting is from the Saskatoon school board and states that Indigineous awareness and education has been a part of Saskatchewan schooling for over thirty years.

I had never learned so much about Aboriginal people as I did learning and teaching in Saskatchewan. As a matter of fact, I do not remember ever learning about indigenous people while going through all my twelve plus years of schooling in British Columbia.

When I moved back to British Columbia in 2006 and started teaching high school English and Social Studies, I was surprised to learn how little information was taught and how little students knew about the Native people of Canada.

Last year, in (2015) British Columbia announced a new curriculum which has a tremendous increase of focus on First Nation’s people. Here is an article from the Globe and Mail addressing BC’s changes.

It is vital that indigenous people’s stories be told in Canadian history. As in the timeline seen above, for too long Native Canadians have been largely left out of the Canadian story. I am sure this course will provoke me to understand and think about Canadian literature with a broadened mindset.

Canadian History Events Timeline.britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/.a/6a00d8341c464853ef017d42b6dc54970c-400wi.

Dirk Meissner. New BC Curriculum will have Aboriginal Focus. The Canadian Press, 17 Jun. 2015, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/new-bc-school-curriculum-will-have-aboriginal-focus/article25003962/. Accessed 12 Sep. 2016.

Why do we include First Nations and Metis Content and Perspectives? Saskatoon Public Schools, 04 Jan. 2013, schools.spsd.sk.ca/curriculum/blog/2013/01/04/why-do-we-include-first-nations-and-metis-content-and-perspectives/. Accessed 12 September 2016.