Gary Trew

I am a single parent, currently looking after my two teenage twin daughters. Anja and Gina were cognizant that their dad had been working on his Indigenous Perspectives course (SOCW354). I had been creating a presentation in Keynote which involved the use of images and music by one of their favourite artists (for the Closing Circle). Yesterday, they texted me from school, and briefly told me that they had been greatly impacted by a movie that they had watched in a Social Studies class; basically stating that it had made them feel 'depressed.' When we arrived home later that day (them from school, me from work), they were keen to see the movie that I had made for school. They also couldn't stop talking about the film about Residential Schools that had made them feel sad earlier on during the day. They quickly found the trailer on YouTube and played it to me; it was called 'We Were Children.' The movie certainly had an impact on them, and I was curious to find out why they felt 'depressed,' having viewed it. They explained that they felt sad that white people could be so cruel to Aboriginal children, and that they tried to put themselves in some of the RS girls' shoes, and felt nauseated. They said that they loved their dad so much  and that to be taken away from him, and have all of their British culture, language, heritage, way of life, even their Christianity (including Christian events like Easter and Christmas) taken away from them, was too hard to imagine. I acknowledged that the individual perpetrators of this crime against humanity were disgusting, but that it was also worthwhile to consider that it was also the system of white colonial domination and oppression that was to blame, and that it is still transpiring today. The girls watched the movie that I had made and agreed that images and sound were more impactful than any traditional explanation via words. We also discussed that the Indigenous way of learning, which is different from Western way of learning. We then talked about the Medicine Wheel, Indigenous health and poverty. It was a really good conversation with my daughters, and I guess it marks the beginnings for us as a family, in our respective journeys of how to become allies to Indigenous people. Paulette Regan (2006), writing (at the time) as a PhD candidate, mentioned that the occasions when she was profoundly enlightened, were also the times when she felt very ill-at-ease and challenged by Indigenous issues. My daughters were very disturbed by the movie that they watched, but it led to an 'aha' moment for them. Our collective discomfort as a family, did actually facilitate an intense learning moment for us all.

Reference

Regan, Paulette. (2005). A Transformative Framework for Decolonizing Canada: A Non-Indigenous Approach. Presented at IGOV Doctoral Student Symposium, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Jan 20, 2005. (Readings Package)

As I enter the last week of SOCW354, I have been contemplating the Closing circle, and what I was going to submit. As a Settler, this particular course has been very challenging to me. I work in Social Services and currently have the privilege of dealing with people that are fleeing from abusive relationships, and desperately need financial support in order to escape or begin their life free from the clutches of the oppressive abuser. Many of our clients are First Nations (as the Ministry of Social Development refers to Indigenous peoples). I do want to become an ally, so the focal point of the Closing circle (becoming an ally) is actually very relevant to me, both for my current work, my future work as a social worker, and in my own personal life.  I will address this in my Closing Circle entry for 354, suffice to say that I have taken the opportunity to be creative, to think outside the box, and I will present something that acknowledges aspects of my learning during the last few weeks, via a medum other than just the written word. I'm looking forward to doing this :)

Please feel free to take a trip on my 354 Assignment 3 'brainstorm', via my Prezi, which will endeavour to take you on a journey, linking together 4 of my chosen subjects via the hand of oppression. I have included a few short videos (2 x Residential Schools and 1 x Poverty), and a mixture of images and texts, so as to help facilitate the process. The hand of oppression is a word cloud formed from Kelm's (1998) work in the Indian Health Service. Words used in the cloud, like Residential Schools, Settlers, Oppression, Poverty, Conquest, Domination, Indian Agent, Tuberculosis and the like, all link the 4 topics together. Each topic is introduced by aspects of the hand of oppression; i.e. the hand of history, the hand of 'education' (irony), the hand of 'provision' (or lack of), and the hand of 'healing' (irony). I have included a short video of the trailer of a movie about Residential Schools that my daughters were very impacted by (see later journal entry). I also attempted to link a Nazi propaganda movie about a death camp next to the Colonial propaganda movie regarding Residential Schools, but the Prezi would not link the YouTube movie, so I have embedded it (death camp) on my home page.

Reference

Kelm, M. (1998). Acts of Humanity: Indian Health Services. Colonizing Bodies, Aboriginal Health and Healing in BC, 1900-50, Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, pp. 100-128. (Readings Package)

Becoming an ally is no easy task. Bishop (2002) offers some basic guidelines. For example, I must always remember that I am a Settler, and my Settler group is the oppressor group. Therefore, I must recognize that I am very much part of the oppression. Bishop exhorts the reader to 'unlearn' oppression. I'm to 'unlearn' colonization, and become a decolonizer. Being a part of the oppressor group "doesn't make me a bad person" (p.113). But I must take responsibility, and accept that it's my new role to challenge colonization.Looking through a critical lens helps me to practice self-reflection, and I must remember that as an oppressor, I cannot see my oppressive practices and idiosyncrasies, unike an Indigenous person can. I must be open and give permission for the oppressed to speak into my life. First things first, as the conclusion of my Prezi suggests, with a sincere heart, I say that I am very sorry!

Bishop, A. (2002). Becoming an ally: breaking the cycle of oppression in people (2nd ed.). London: Zed Books

Again, a common thread could also be Tuberculosis (TB), which was introduced by the settlers to the Indigenous population. Many children that were in Residential Schools died of TB. TB is particularly prevalent in poverty stricken Indigenous communities, and continues to be a serious health hazard today.

The vicious cycle of oppression is portrayed in the Prezi, which can be viewed in the pages that I have made, The 4 units cover History, Residential Schools, Poverty and Health, which make 5 pages in all including the hand of oppression page, with the Prezi). The propaganda movie about the Residential schools can also be viewed on the Prezi. Incidentally, the Nazi movie is situated on my profile page, and it's about Terezien and is entitled 'Compare & Contrast.' The masking of genocide appears to be synonymous with both of the propaganda videos. Word clouds were used for each of the 4 units. As one takes a journey through the Prezi, the hand of oppression is the artifact that links the 4 topics together. The arrogant 'superiority' demonstrated by white settlers was caused immense damage, hurt and pain to the Indigenous peoples.

The brainstorming continued, images collected, word clouds made, and articles were read. I decided to try my hand at making my first Prezi, as we were using Prezi in another assignment;  I had volunterred with Natalie, to create the Prezi for the large group. The theme that linked the 4 topics together, and that was a kind of 'watermark' that cut through each unit of the 4 topics was the handprint of oppression. The colonialist handprint appeared everywhere. I decided to not use fingerprints, as they, in themselves, can be there, but not really apparent. A handprint is way less subtle. A handprint is an open hand, an outstretched fist. I made a word cloud and used Photoshop to give it dominating colours: yellow and red.