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Definition: Cultural appropriation is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of a different cultural group, specifically the use by cultural outsiders of a minority, oppressed culture's symbols or other cultural elements. Wikipedia

It’s that season again……….you know, the time of year in which people feel compelled and justified to slip into culturally inappropriate clothing and party down; or worse, slip their children into culturally inappropriate clothing and send them out door to door.

“The Government will move forward to introduce legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples before the end of this year.” [1] 

As I listened to the speech from the throne on September 23, 2020, I was interested to hear a renewed promise from the federal government to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Before the end of this calendar year. That’s an admirable goal, but one I am not sure we will see reach fruition, given that the world is engulfed in a global pandemic and nations are struggling to stimulate economic growth and get their citizens safely back to work and their children safely back to school.  Still, I have my fingers crossed. 

This year, 2020, has seen some difficult moments in Indigenous relations in this country. But, I don’t think it has been so dire that reconciliation can be deemed dead, as some naysayers are declaring. Do they have the right to make that declaration? What is to be gained by declaring reconciliation dead? Why would anyone want to give up at this point? What is there to gain from giving up? And those who make this declaration, do they have an alternative option? Something better that is going to effectively change the status quo faster?  

This article includes a video of a conversation I had with my father Chief Robert Joseph O.C, O.B.C, about his first day at residential school and how he felt when he took his children to school. 

The return to school in September fills some with great glee and others with a pit of dread in their stomach. This year, under the shadow of COVID-19, teachers, parents, and caregivers, alike share a common theme of deep concern and anxiety about how safety measures of physical distancing can be managed in classrooms, during recess and lunch breaks, and during sports activities in order to protect the students. 

96This article has been viewed by 96,000+ people who want to learn about Orange Shirt Day. Thank you for your interest and contribution to recognition of Ms. Webstad's initiative, and for bringing awareness to the residential school legacy. Your interest and actions are helping change the world!

Orange shirt day is a movement that officially began in 2013 but in reality it began in 1973 when six year old Phyllis Webstad entered the St. Joseph Mission Residential School, outside of Williams Lake, BC. Young Phyllis was wearing a brand new orange shirt for her first day of school – new clothes being a rare and wonderful thing for a First Nation girl growing up in her grandmother’s care - but the Mission Oblates quickly stripped her of her new shirt and replaced it with the school’s institutional uniform.

First and foremost, on behalf of myself and my father, Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, O.B.C., O.C, I want to give my condolences to the Gosnell family and the Nisga’a Nation for the loss of a great leader, Mr. Joe Gosnell. We would like to express our gratitude and admiration for the work that he did. We believe that the nation was better because Joe was here. 

We have over 700 articles on our blog so decided to see if we could put the blog to the test of having an article that applied to every letter of the alphabet. Well, with a wee bit of leniency, at the very least, we have articles that apply in some way from A to Z. We really struggled with the "x" and "z".

Here are our ABCs of Indigenous Awareness:

The COVID-19 pandemic could be the single greatest threat in this generation to the continuity of Indigenous cultures and preservation of languages. The danger of infection has put on hold countless cultural activities and collective ceremonies around the world. Indigenous peoples in both urban and rural locals account today for over 476 million individuals spread across 90 countries, accounting for 6.2% of the global population, according to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “Indigenous communities are nearly three times as likely to be living in extreme poverty, and thus more prone to infectious diseases. Many indigenous communities are already suffering from malnutrition and immune-suppressive conditions, which can increase susceptibility to infectious diseases.” [1]  Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

• Indigenous Peoples And COVID-19

Recent events in Canada have shown that resource development projects can face extensive resistance with the affected Indigenous communities if consultation efforts are not meaningful, comprehensive, address the concerns of Indigenous Peoples and not just the legal requirements. With all of the court cases on the books defining title and the duty to consult, all the examples of how not to conduct engagement, and all the examples of how to effectively and successfully engage with a community, it is surprising that at this point in our history that we are still climbing the learning curve.

There have been watershed moments in the history of Canada in which Indigenous leaders, outside of the courts, have stood up for their rights to the federal government and actually forced a change in policy direction. We’ve written about a couple of them in our blog Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples®

• Elijah Harper The Man with a Feather Who Changed the Course of History
• The Constitution Express and Its Role in  Entrenching Aboriginal Rights