February 4, 2012 Thanks for sharing! I loved this video. It actually has renewed my support for my son to grow out his hair. He is almost 11 and he started to grow it out a year ago after he became a part of our family. I am really open to my kids doing whatever they want to thier hair but lately I am deeply missing seeing his eyes (we are at that point of growing it out). This video has inspired me to better support him and stop complaining that I never see his face 🙂 Thanks!
February 14, 2012 Megan, have you heard the stories from Carol via dad about the stuff this guy talks about? I used to be very sympathetic to the plight of Native Canadians but hearing things straight up really balances my view. It’s like the Quebec sovereignty thing. There’s only so much I can take before I get fed up and say enough is enough. The ironic truth is that people think it’s Christianity that got the Natives into their present situation, but it’s true Christianity that is their only hope of getting out of it.
February 14, 2012 I totally agree that there are many, many people who don’t take the opportunities offered and sink lower into addiction, poverty, etc. Mom told me some nasty stories too. But the thing the 8th Fire series really opened my eyes to was the impact of the residential schools. Two whole generations of kids were taken away from their families, leaving them with very little of a model to follow when raising their own kids, finding and keeping a job, paying bills, getting married and staying faithful to a spouse, etc., etc. The current generation of parents (my age) is the product of one of those generations. I think many have done amazingly well, but many also have not. I think if we’re to provide support we need to do it in the form of $$ for elementary and high school education (when did a last white kid ever have to fight for a school?), addiction support and recovery, and even allowing families to own their own land on reservations. What’s the point in earning money to take care of a house that doesn’t really belong to you anyway?
It’s sooo hard to escape the system once you’re part of it. And just like any other demographic that finds themselves trapped in the system of welfare and government support (teen moms come to mind), we need to work towards ways to encourage those trapped in it to get out of it. And, we need to do it in a way that doesn’t strip First Nations of their culture and identity. Everyone needs a sense of who they are and where they’ve come from to give them a sense of where they’re headed and what they need to do to get there.
My thing is for the kids, we need to give them opportunities to escape the cycle.
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February 4, 2012
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I loved this video. It actually has renewed my support for my son to grow out his hair. He is almost 11 and he started to grow it out a year ago after he became a part of our family. I am really open to my kids doing whatever they want to thier hair but lately I am deeply missing seeing his eyes (we are at that point of growing it out). This video has inspired me to better support him and stop complaining that I never see his face 🙂 Thanks!
February 14, 2012
ReplyDeleteMegan, have you heard the stories from Carol via dad about the stuff this guy talks about? I used to be very sympathetic to the plight of Native Canadians but hearing things straight up really balances my view. It’s like the Quebec sovereignty thing. There’s only so much I can take before I get fed up and say enough is enough. The ironic truth is that people think it’s Christianity that got the Natives into their present situation, but it’s true Christianity that is their only hope of getting out of it.
February 14, 2012
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that there are many, many people who don’t take the opportunities offered and sink lower into addiction, poverty, etc. Mom told me some nasty stories too. But the thing the 8th Fire series really opened my eyes to was the impact of the residential schools. Two whole generations of kids were taken away from their families, leaving them with very little of a model to follow when raising their own kids, finding and keeping a job, paying bills, getting married and staying faithful to a spouse, etc., etc. The current generation of parents (my age) is the product of one of those generations. I think many have done amazingly well, but many also have not. I think if we’re to provide support we need to do it in the form of $$ for elementary and high school education (when did a last white kid ever have to fight for a school?), addiction support and recovery, and even allowing families to own their own land on reservations. What’s the point in earning money to take care of a house that doesn’t really belong to you anyway?
It’s sooo hard to escape the system once you’re part of it. And just like any other demographic that finds themselves trapped in the system of welfare and government support (teen moms come to mind), we need to work towards ways to encourage those trapped in it to get out of it. And, we need to do it in a way that doesn’t strip First Nations of their culture and identity. Everyone needs a sense of who they are and where they’ve come from to give them a sense of where they’re headed and what they need to do to get there.
My thing is for the kids, we need to give them opportunities to escape the cycle.
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