I thought I should take the responsibility to post this and remind everyone about what today is.
National Day For Truth And Reconciliation
Both my parents are survivors of the residential school era and my family have had to live with this horror all our lives ... whether we knew it or not.
For me the day is not to shame anyone or lay blame on those around me.
But rather to let everyone know about this history and never allow anything like it to ever happen again.
Now that the day is past, today I saw in the news what each candidate was doing yesterday. What's the story behind Á'a:líya Warbus being a Conservative candidate in Chilliwack?
I'm not surprised to occasionally see LGBTQ+ folks joining hands with conservatives because there's one thing that usually threads the needle there: class warfare. I can also understand the poor working class that votes conservative: rugged individualism and "traditional values". But I still can't understand indigenous voters going conservative... Rustad is clearly an enemy!? 🤷♂️
That's the thing about native politics .... we are just as susceptible to propaganda, media spin and outright lies as much as anyone else.
I know plenty of Native people in my circle of family and friends who all banter around the mantra 'Fuck Trudeau' and say how much they hate Trudeau but can't really point to any specific reason why other than to repeat whatever stupidity they read on social media.
Not everyone is politically literate, educated or even moderately informed about most things that happen in the world .... it's a normal part of society in the world ... and it's the same with Native people.