1 00:00:12,210 --> 00:00:14,550 My name is Roy Pogorzelski, I’m Metis 2 00:00:14,550 --> 00:00:16,890 from Northern Saskatchewan. My families 3 00:00:16,890 --> 00:00:18,510 come from the communities of Green Lake 4 00:00:18,510 --> 00:00:21,600 and Meadow lake. I've been raised very 5 00:00:21,930 --> 00:00:23,700 culturally and traditionally into my 6 00:00:23,700 --> 00:00:26,460 culture, I'm a Metis dancer, a Red River 7 00:00:26,460 --> 00:00:29,130 Jigger. And very involved in in my culture 8 00:00:29,130 --> 00:00:34,080 as a Metis person. I'm also German. My 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:35,340 other side of the family is German 10 00:00:35,340 --> 00:00:37,410 immigrants to Canada. So I also have 11 00:00:37,410 --> 00:00:40,410 German in my identity as well. In my 12 00:00:40,410 --> 00:00:43,290 formal field of study, I'm in Indigenous 13 00:00:43,290 --> 00:00:45,330 Studies, I actually instruct Indigenous 14 00:00:45,330 --> 00:00:48,090 Studies at the University of Lethbridge in 15 00:00:48,090 --> 00:00:50,730 Aboriginal law and Aboriginal politics. 16 00:00:51,090 --> 00:00:53,250 And I've taught Metis culture and history 17 00:00:53,250 --> 00:00:58,650 at the university level. As well, I 18 00:00:58,650 --> 00:01:01,020 studied formerly in Indigenous Studies and 19 00:01:01,020 --> 00:01:03,240 human justice at the University of Regina, 20 00:01:03,570 --> 00:01:06,030 and I did my masters at the Catholic 21 00:01:06,030 --> 00:01:08,940 University of Leuven in Belgium, in 22 00:01:08,940 --> 00:01:11,190 Cultures and Development Studies, and now 23 00:01:11,190 --> 00:01:13,410 I'm currently doing my PhD in Cultural, 24 00:01:13,410 --> 00:01:15,270 Social and Political Thought. At the 25 00:01:15,270 --> 00:01:17,100 University of Lethbridge and a Doctor of 26 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:20,250 Philosophy. Some of the agencies that I've 27 00:01:20,250 --> 00:01:23,640 worked for and currently work for, I'm a 28 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:25,740 manager of learning at the Canadian Center 29 00:01:25,740 --> 00:01:27,810 for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) and formative 30 00:01:27,810 --> 00:01:31,950 that was an associate to CCDI in regards 31 00:01:31,950 --> 00:01:35,730 to reconciliation and their community of 32 00:01:35,730 --> 00:01:38,880 practice events around that. I've also, I'm 33 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:40,740 also on the Canadian Race Relations 34 00:01:40,740 --> 00:01:44,160 Foundation Board of Directors. And I was 35 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:48,390 formerly on the the Anti-Racism Advisory 36 00:01:48,390 --> 00:01:51,990 Council for the province of Alberta. Which 37 00:01:51,990 --> 00:01:53,880 I was one of the first cohort 38 00:01:53,880 --> 00:02:00,900 appointed to that Council. When I was born 39 00:02:00,900 --> 00:02:04,080 in 1982, I often make a joke that two very 40 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:05,730 important things happened in the country in 41 00:02:05,730 --> 00:02:09,060 1982. The first one was that Aboriginal 42 00:02:09,900 --> 00:02:11,880 treaty, Aboriginal rights and treaty 43 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:13,350 rights were recognized in the 44 00:02:13,350 --> 00:02:15,060 Constitution and the other one was I was 45 00:02:15,060 --> 00:02:19,770 born, but being born in 1982, you know, to 46 00:02:19,770 --> 00:02:21,990 my mother, who you know, lived in northern 47 00:02:21,990 --> 00:02:24,930 Saskatchewan and my grandma, who were in 48 00:02:24,930 --> 00:02:27,690 the schools of northern Saskatchewan, and 49 00:02:27,690 --> 00:02:30,330 being raised, my mom's an Indigenous woman 50 00:02:30,330 --> 00:02:33,000 of color. So being raised, you always saw 51 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,600 how she was treated in society, you 52 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,210 started to learn about the oppression of 53 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,600 our family members, especially post-1885 54 00:02:42,630 --> 00:02:45,150 there’s a number of my grandfather's were up in 55 00:02:45,150 --> 00:02:46,950 northern Saskatchewan, and they and they 56 00:02:46,950 --> 00:02:50,100 fought to defend Metis culture and land 57 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:51,900 rights up in northern Saskatchewan with, 58 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,000 with names that most Canadians know, like 59 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,290 Louis Riel, and Gabriel Dumont. And just 60 00:02:58,290 --> 00:03:01,020 to see the oppression that many of my 61 00:03:01,020 --> 00:03:04,230 family members had faced, and encountered, 62 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:07,470 in in Saskatchewan and throughout the 63 00:03:07,470 --> 00:03:11,070 homeland, you just start to, you're raised 64 00:03:11,070 --> 00:03:13,440 in kind of this world where you're seeing 65 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,560 overt discrimination towards Indigenous 66 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,120 people. And myself. I'm light skinned 67 00:03:21,150 --> 00:03:24,960 Metis. And with that comes certain levels 68 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,690 of privilege as well as I've, I have my 69 00:03:27,690 --> 00:03:30,270 father's paternal last name of Pogorzelski. 70 00:03:30,270 --> 00:03:32,700 So it was always interesting 71 00:03:32,700 --> 00:03:38,640 seeing how my mom navigated in community 72 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,670 with being an Indigenous woman of color, 73 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,700 and how myself I was afforded certain 74 00:03:44,700 --> 00:03:47,250 privileges. One of the biggest challenges 75 00:03:47,250 --> 00:03:51,570 became, when I would hear the truth 76 00:03:51,570 --> 00:03:53,040 from people, they would come up, and they 77 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,550 would talk to me, and they would say, just 78 00:03:56,550 --> 00:03:58,590 very ignorant, or very hurtful things 79 00:03:58,590 --> 00:04:01,110 about Indigenous people. And that always 80 00:04:01,110 --> 00:04:03,510 had a very hurtful effect on me growing up 81 00:04:03,510 --> 00:04:06,270 as a young person, because you were very 82 00:04:06,270 --> 00:04:09,420 connected to a very strong Indigenous 83 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,700 upbringing and a very strong Indigenous 84 00:04:11,700 --> 00:04:16,500 culture. So those, navigating those worlds 85 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,020 were kind of made me realize very quickly 86 00:04:19,020 --> 00:04:22,950 that I was drawn to, to social justice 87 00:04:22,950 --> 00:04:25,350 work, distributive justice, restorative 88 00:04:25,350 --> 00:04:27,990 justice processes, and that I wanted to 89 00:04:28,020 --> 00:04:30,150 make an impact on community educating 90 00:04:30,150 --> 00:04:32,490 about who the Metis people were, because 91 00:04:32,490 --> 00:04:34,380 there wasn't a lot of information or 92 00:04:34,380 --> 00:04:36,510 education about who the Metis people are. 93 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:38,370 And there were a lot of misconceptions and 94 00:04:38,370 --> 00:04:41,490 stereotypes and pre-judgments about Metis 95 00:04:41,490 --> 00:04:44,370 people. So when I was in university, I 96 00:04:44,370 --> 00:04:47,190 really started to, to realize that I 97 00:04:47,190 --> 00:04:50,010 wanted to be involved, that was in a way 98 00:04:50,010 --> 00:04:52,470 that I could contribute to the education 99 00:04:52,470 --> 00:04:54,390 around Indigenous issues in Canada, 100 00:04:54,750 --> 00:04:57,030 and then it just kept and then it kept 101 00:04:57,030 --> 00:04:59,310 spurring even more into where I started 102 00:04:59,310 --> 00:05:01,350 getting involved in anti-racism work and 103 00:05:01,350 --> 00:05:03,300 connecting with people from different 104 00:05:03,300 --> 00:05:06,090 backgrounds, cultures, ways of life, you 105 00:05:06,090 --> 00:05:07,800 know, abilities, different sources of 106 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,070 income. And when I went, my first job was 107 00:05:11,070 --> 00:05:13,980 in the nonprofit sector, doing human 108 00:05:13,980 --> 00:05:15,750 rights work and mediating human rights 109 00:05:15,750 --> 00:05:18,480 disputes. And at that point, I got to hear 110 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,080 a lot of lived experiences from racialized 111 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,530 individuals, from Indigenous individuals, 112 00:05:25,530 --> 00:05:28,830 and I got to mediate, and some concerns 113 00:05:28,830 --> 00:05:30,990 and validate some concerns around this, 114 00:05:30,990 --> 00:05:33,900 and this was back in but over 10 years 115 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:36,510 ago, and there wasn't really a lot going 116 00:05:36,510 --> 00:05:38,190 around in the way of education when it 117 00:05:38,190 --> 00:05:40,770 came to human rights work or anti-racism 118 00:05:40,770 --> 00:05:45,660 work. So I just I felt really compelled to 119 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,320 educate about who Indigenous peoples were 120 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,290 in this country, and really mythbust a 121 00:05:52,290 --> 00:05:54,780 lot of the prejudices that Indigenous 122 00:05:54,780 --> 00:05:57,180 peoples encounter. And from there, it just 123 00:05:57,180 --> 00:06:00,540 became working in, in anti-racism work in 124 00:06:00,540 --> 00:06:03,840 general. And, and that became a passion of 125 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,570 mine. And, and continued work and, 126 00:06:06,570 --> 00:06:09,120 and as you meet more people in this field, 127 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,340 and more people doing this work, it just 128 00:06:11,340 --> 00:06:14,880 becomes, it becomes it's, it's a tiring 129 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,760 field to be in. It's an amazing field to 130 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,010 be in, because you're surrounded by some 131 00:06:20,010 --> 00:06:22,620 of the most incredible and passionate, 132 00:06:22,830 --> 00:06:25,050 wonderful human beings that really are 133 00:06:25,410 --> 00:06:27,990 fighting for concrete change in systems 134 00:06:27,990 --> 00:06:31,680 and institutions. And, and just in our 135 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,080 society, in our community in general. And 136 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,540 they’re such changemakers and educators 137 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,880 around human rights work that it's so 138 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,910 inspiring, but I do recognize how tiring 139 00:06:41,910 --> 00:06:44,730 anti-racism work is. And I do recognize 140 00:06:44,730 --> 00:06:46,770 the emotional labor, the emotional tax 141 00:06:46,770 --> 00:06:49,260 that goes into it from people like myself, 142 00:06:49,260 --> 00:06:51,150 who are Metis, or Indigenous, or 143 00:06:51,150 --> 00:06:54,480 people, racialized individuals or people 144 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,330 of color, you know, when we come into this 145 00:06:57,330 --> 00:07:00,240 field, it's it can be very challenging 146 00:07:00,270 --> 00:07:02,100 when you're having conversations about 147 00:07:02,100 --> 00:07:06,690 race, and you become almost a spokesperson 148 00:07:06,690 --> 00:07:09,630 in some way on certain subjects, or what 149 00:07:09,630 --> 00:07:11,460 they call you a subject matter expert, 150 00:07:11,730 --> 00:07:14,100 when really it's about lived experience in 151 00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:17,940 this realm. And so, so for me, my identity 152 00:07:17,940 --> 00:07:21,240 has always led me because of, especially 153 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,550 looking back on my mom, and my family's 154 00:07:23,550 --> 00:07:26,280 upbringing in the background, as strong, 155 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,560 Metis people has had a very profound 156 00:07:28,890 --> 00:07:31,530 impact on the way that I navigate myself 157 00:07:31,530 --> 00:07:34,140 through Canadian society, and interact and 158 00:07:34,140 --> 00:07:39,000 engage with, with other people as well. You 159 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,450 know, if you look back on history, and we 160 00:07:42,450 --> 00:07:45,000 start having conversations about history, 161 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,880 one of my ultimate favorite stories I love 162 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,010 to tell in the classroom is of one of my 163 00:07:50,010 --> 00:07:52,440 heroes, Howard Adams, he was the first 164 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,670 Metis PhD candidate or actual full 165 00:07:56,670 --> 00:08:00,270 time Metis PhD. And he went down to the 166 00:08:00,270 --> 00:08:02,430 United States to UC Berkeley to watch a 167 00:08:02,430 --> 00:08:05,730 presentation and at that presentation, 168 00:08:05,730 --> 00:08:08,190 there was a young speaker named Malcolm X. 169 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:10,950 And as he watched that speaker, he was 170 00:08:10,950 --> 00:08:13,110 inspired. And when he came back to Canada, 171 00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:16,170 he started working to bring out Metis 172 00:08:16,170 --> 00:08:18,330 rights during that civil rights period. 173 00:08:19,140 --> 00:08:20,700 It's interesting, when we look back at 174 00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:23,310 history, we've seen so many leaders, you 175 00:08:23,310 --> 00:08:25,410 know, even in in all of our different 176 00:08:25,410 --> 00:08:29,100 realms, we've seen activists and leaders 177 00:08:29,310 --> 00:08:31,560 that are in our histories that have worked 178 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,080 hard fought hard, some are well known, 179 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,680 some not as well known in the public 180 00:08:37,680 --> 00:08:39,180 light, but there are people that have 181 00:08:39,180 --> 00:08:42,150 continued to fight against oppression 182 00:08:42,570 --> 00:08:46,020 against racism. And so coming to this 183 00:08:46,020 --> 00:08:49,770 point here in in 2020, with the with the 184 00:08:49,770 --> 00:08:52,860 tragic death of George Floyd, you know, 185 00:08:52,860 --> 00:08:54,570 which really brought out to light and I 186 00:08:54,570 --> 00:08:56,850 mean, when you look at today's standards, 187 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 the way technology has interacted and 188 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,730 engaged with the way that we see the world 189 00:09:02,730 --> 00:09:05,100 now and during the Black Lives Matter 190 00:09:05,100 --> 00:09:06,930 protests that followed that there was a 191 00:09:06,930 --> 00:09:10,140 lot of TikTok videos in and amongst the 192 00:09:10,140 --> 00:09:12,240 protests that you could watch and I 193 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,330 remember myself being glued to to TikTok, 194 00:09:15,990 --> 00:09:18,570 watching these videos on the ground. And 195 00:09:18,570 --> 00:09:20,520 the way that technology puts out 196 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,130 information and engages with information 197 00:09:23,670 --> 00:09:25,980 was something that was that's quite a bit 198 00:09:25,980 --> 00:09:28,350 different today. It's not saying that we 199 00:09:28,350 --> 00:09:32,070 don't understand the importance of history 200 00:09:32,070 --> 00:09:34,830 or that we can't go back and analyze 201 00:09:34,890 --> 00:09:37,050 movements and situations and social 202 00:09:37,050 --> 00:09:39,630 movements. But I think today mixed with a 203 00:09:39,630 --> 00:09:42,660 pandemic, and a larger movement to break 204 00:09:42,660 --> 00:09:44,700 down systemic and institutionalized 205 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:47,220 barriers. You know, this became 206 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,880 something that put the world on notice. 207 00:09:51,090 --> 00:09:53,850 Most people were in lockdown in March and 208 00:09:53,850 --> 00:09:55,950 they were sitting in their houses, and 209 00:09:55,950 --> 00:09:57,780 they were exposed to different forms of 210 00:09:57,780 --> 00:10:00,840 media that brought this to to a global 211 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,870 consciousness that we haven't seen before. 212 00:10:04,470 --> 00:10:07,440 And and it really raised the spotlight on 213 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,560 just how corrupt and damaging and 214 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:12,870 oppressive that our systems are not only 215 00:10:12,870 --> 00:10:15,540 in, in United States, but also here in 216 00:10:15,540 --> 00:10:18,330 Canada. You know, when it looks at things 217 00:10:18,330 --> 00:10:21,630 like policing, and it looks at the justice 218 00:10:21,630 --> 00:10:23,490 system, it looks at the child welfare 219 00:10:23,490 --> 00:10:25,560 system, it looks at even just our 220 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,260 educational institutions. And it really 221 00:10:28,260 --> 00:10:30,030 looks at the way that these systems and 222 00:10:30,030 --> 00:10:32,550 institutions have held up very colonial, 223 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,540 and very racialized, you know, policies 224 00:10:36,540 --> 00:10:39,360 within it's, it's at this point, now we're 225 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,970 where we're, we're looking at this notion 226 00:10:41,970 --> 00:10:45,420 of how do we deconstruct how do we break 227 00:10:45,420 --> 00:10:48,180 down some of these old systems that have 228 00:10:48,180 --> 00:10:51,870 perpetuated this, this hateful violence 229 00:10:51,870 --> 00:10:54,360 towards people of color towards Indigenous 230 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,880 peoples, towards people with disabilities 231 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:01,050 towards the LGBTQ+ community. And I 232 00:11:01,050 --> 00:11:03,900 think that when it came into this, this 233 00:11:03,900 --> 00:11:06,390 spotlight, it made well, for one 234 00:11:06,390 --> 00:11:09,780 businesses and corporations and academic 235 00:11:09,780 --> 00:11:14,460 institutions, and nonprofit organizations, 236 00:11:14,460 --> 00:11:16,500 and you name it, and even just communities 237 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:21,000 in general, it made them almost feel 238 00:11:21,060 --> 00:11:23,940 obligated to respond. And it's 239 00:11:23,940 --> 00:11:25,260 interesting, because in the world of 240 00:11:25,260 --> 00:11:27,690 inclusion, or equity and diversity work, 241 00:11:27,990 --> 00:11:30,390 you know, there's always been activists 242 00:11:30,390 --> 00:11:31,800 who've been trying to push this work 243 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,740 inside of these systems. And often times, 244 00:11:34,740 --> 00:11:37,890 they get met with a lot of resistance. But 245 00:11:37,950 --> 00:11:41,040 in this time, even though there's a lot of 246 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,650 challenges and barriers, there is an 247 00:11:43,650 --> 00:11:45,990 opportunity here for a different kind of 248 00:11:45,990 --> 00:11:48,360 dialogue. And so in the work that I'm 249 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,400 doing, for example, the Canadian Race 250 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,920 Relations Foundation, people were donating 251 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,050 money to the foundation in order to 252 00:11:55,740 --> 00:11:58,200 solicit a response and also to gather 253 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,060 money so that we could put out concrete 254 00:12:00,060 --> 00:12:03,120 actions like education kits, which is what 255 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,250 we're doing at the current moment. And 256 00:12:05,250 --> 00:12:07,380 then there's also with the Canadian Center 257 00:12:07,380 --> 00:12:09,900 for Diversity Inclusion. There's this 258 00:12:09,900 --> 00:12:13,740 massive interest by organizations and 259 00:12:13,740 --> 00:12:15,840 agencies to start having conversations 260 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,720 around unconscious bias around diversity 261 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:20,700 and inclusion fundamentals around what 262 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:22,800 respect in the workplace looks like, or 263 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,060 managing bias and hiring, you know, to a 264 00:12:27,060 --> 00:12:28,500 higher level, there's a lot of 265 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:31,440 authenticity here. As well, though, 266 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,780 there's also a lot of work. And my I 267 00:12:33,780 --> 00:12:37,050 guess, my fear is that it could still be 268 00:12:37,050 --> 00:12:42,630 utilized as empty symbolism as a checkbox 269 00:12:42,630 --> 00:12:45,180 As okay, we've done this. Now, let's 270 00:12:45,180 --> 00:12:48,900 move on. And my hope. And my optimism is 271 00:12:48,900 --> 00:12:51,540 that most of these corporations, and most 272 00:12:51,540 --> 00:12:52,860 of these agencies, and most of these 273 00:12:52,860 --> 00:12:55,080 people that are that are getting this 274 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:56,790 training, this anti-racism training, the 275 00:12:56,790 --> 00:12:59,400 knowledge that is being shared and given 276 00:13:00,210 --> 00:13:04,050 by individuals or agencies, my hope is 277 00:13:04,050 --> 00:13:05,730 that they're really taking that knowledge 278 00:13:05,730 --> 00:13:08,280 seriously, and that they're really looking 279 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,860 internally to make the changes that are 280 00:13:10,860 --> 00:13:12,330 going to make their agencies and 281 00:13:12,330 --> 00:13:16,080 corporations better equipped to handle 282 00:13:16,290 --> 00:13:18,960 issues or instances of diversity and 283 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,180 inclusion within their workplace, or to 284 00:13:21,210 --> 00:13:24,120 even understand the innovation, that 285 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,310 agencies and businesses can gather from 286 00:13:26,310 --> 00:13:29,340 having a diverse and equitable workplace. 287 00:13:29,670 --> 00:13:31,680 You know, one that it that isn't having 288 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:33,450 those barriers, one that isn't based on 289 00:13:33,450 --> 00:13:35,670 cultural fit, you know, where you got to 290 00:13:35,670 --> 00:13:38,100 fit the culture of the agency, or, you 291 00:13:38,100 --> 00:13:40,140 know, there's a quick out for you, you 292 00:13:40,140 --> 00:13:42,330 know, the or the ones of the unwritten 293 00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:43,950 rules, you know, where you walk into a 294 00:13:43,950 --> 00:13:45,690 corporation, and there's the "unwritten 295 00:13:45,690 --> 00:13:48,360 code" that you must abide by, these are the 296 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,910 type of systems whether informal or 297 00:13:50,910 --> 00:13:53,070 formal, that we have to start to address 298 00:13:53,070 --> 00:13:56,100 and tear down. And even now, when I see 299 00:13:56,850 --> 00:13:58,530 the TikTok videos, and I hear the 300 00:13:58,530 --> 00:14:01,320 information about the the Mi’kmaq fishermen 301 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:01,650 out in 302 00:14:01,650 --> 00:14:03,810 out in the Maritimes at the East 303 00:14:03,810 --> 00:14:06,810 Coast, and the discrimination and direct 304 00:14:06,810 --> 00:14:09,240 overt racism that they're facing from non- 305 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:13,260 Indigenous fisheries, the lack of response 306 00:14:13,260 --> 00:14:15,270 from the Royal Canadian Mounted, Royal 307 00:14:15,270 --> 00:14:17,550 Canadian Mounted Police, and even the 308 00:14:17,550 --> 00:14:21,060 government's in-action to want to intervene 309 00:14:21,060 --> 00:14:23,760 in defending treaty rights to that area 310 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:25,710 treaties that were signed in this country. 311 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,150 So, you know, at that level, you know, 312 00:14:30,150 --> 00:14:34,110 this whole COVID-19 pandemic has rocked 313 00:14:34,110 --> 00:14:36,120 the way in which we do things, the way we 314 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:37,950 interact with each other, the way that we 315 00:14:37,950 --> 00:14:41,040 communicate. It's changed the way we do 316 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,260 things, but it's highlighted a lot of 317 00:14:43,260 --> 00:14:45,270 barriers, gaps and inequities in our 318 00:14:45,270 --> 00:14:47,070 community, especially when you look at 319 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,370 anti-Asian racism that stemmed out of 320 00:14:50,370 --> 00:14:52,560 COVID-19. When you look at anti-Black 321 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,840 racism, and you look at the tragic death 322 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,300 of George Floyd, and then even there was 323 00:14:57,300 --> 00:15:00,660 that, the names of that young runner who 324 00:15:00,660 --> 00:15:02,820 was just taking a run and got shot while 325 00:15:02,820 --> 00:15:04,800 he was running, these things have been 326 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,580 highlighted, continuously perpetuated by 327 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:10,920 how the media kind of puts it out there 328 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:12,810 and how that then their old bias and 329 00:15:12,810 --> 00:15:15,990 stereotypes in reporting, but it also 330 00:15:15,990 --> 00:15:17,880 showed the inequities of Indigenous 331 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:19,830 communities in Canada, their access to 332 00:15:19,830 --> 00:15:21,780 health care, their their 333 00:15:21,780 --> 00:15:25,050 inadequate housing, this pandemic has 334 00:15:25,050 --> 00:15:27,720 brought up so many of those issues I think 335 00:15:27,990 --> 00:15:31,110 Canadians need to be concerned and alarmed 336 00:15:31,110 --> 00:15:33,690 about. And this is where education becomes 337 00:15:33,690 --> 00:15:36,900 a valuable and vital piece of how we do 338 00:15:36,900 --> 00:15:39,540 this, because we have what I like to refer 339 00:15:39,540 --> 00:15:43,380 to as historical amnesia. You know, we, we 340 00:15:43,380 --> 00:15:45,210 sit here in our country, and we don't 341 00:15:45,210 --> 00:15:47,910 remember all the things of the past, we 342 00:15:47,910 --> 00:15:50,430 don't know what an Indian act is, we don't 343 00:15:50,700 --> 00:15:53,460 understand that there was moments in 344 00:15:53,460 --> 00:15:55,020 Canada where people were fighting for 345 00:15:55,020 --> 00:15:56,580 their rights, we don't understand that 346 00:15:56,580 --> 00:15:58,920 there was head tax back in the day or 347 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,170 selective immigration based on pseudo 348 00:16:01,170 --> 00:16:05,910 scientific racial, racial theories. You 349 00:16:05,910 --> 00:16:08,460 know, we we have to remember and realize 350 00:16:08,460 --> 00:16:10,590 that this was very real part of our 351 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:13,230 country's existence until we can accept 352 00:16:13,230 --> 00:16:16,620 the truth of colonialism in Canada, you 353 00:16:16,620 --> 00:16:19,170 know, we'll never truly be "post-colonial" 354 00:16:19,170 --> 00:16:20,730 because it's still going to be embedded in 355 00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:23,160 the systems that are prevalent and 356 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,190 apparent today. And so, I think, you know, 357 00:16:26,220 --> 00:16:28,380 one thing that this has done is is it, 358 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:30,450 the opportunistic point of view is it's 359 00:16:30,450 --> 00:16:34,200 created an opportunity for dialogue and a 360 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,840 meaningful and an engaged and important 361 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,480 dialogue. And that's my optimistic side of 362 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,790 things. And I hope that we do see some 363 00:16:41,910 --> 00:16:47,760 concrete and sincere changes. You know, 364 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,340 for a number of years, we've been at the 365 00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:53,460 stage of talking. And we've talked for a 366 00:16:53,460 --> 00:16:55,620 while, and we've talked about instances, 367 00:16:55,620 --> 00:16:58,860 we've had inspiring presentations. And and 368 00:16:59,010 --> 00:17:01,170 it's always amazing when we get together 369 00:17:01,170 --> 00:17:04,110 and have these conversations. I've been 370 00:17:04,170 --> 00:17:06,780 now doing this work for over 10 years, 371 00:17:06,990 --> 00:17:09,330 directly involved in this work. And I 372 00:17:09,330 --> 00:17:11,700 never thought to myself that I would ever 373 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:14,610 look back and say, wow, it's been over 10 374 00:17:14,610 --> 00:17:18,870 years, of educating of pushing policy 375 00:17:18,870 --> 00:17:23,130 change, of confronting the myths and 376 00:17:23,130 --> 00:17:25,530 stereotypes and prejudice and confronting 377 00:17:25,530 --> 00:17:27,750 bias and learning about bias and educating 378 00:17:27,750 --> 00:17:31,170 about bias. There's, there's a lot to do. 379 00:17:31,530 --> 00:17:34,920 And it can seem very overwhelming to 380 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,840 people that are just coming into this 381 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,980 Space. Where I want to, to, to give kind 382 00:17:40,980 --> 00:17:44,550 of a micro level action is is in it's 383 00:17:44,550 --> 00:17:47,580 something that my grandma once told me, 384 00:17:47,580 --> 00:17:49,290 it's some of the best advice that I'd ever 385 00:17:49,290 --> 00:17:52,890 received as a young person. And when I was 386 00:17:52,890 --> 00:17:55,770 going into university, I read my mom's 387 00:17:55,770 --> 00:17:58,860 journal about all the treatment that she's 388 00:17:58,860 --> 00:18:00,990 faced and what she's encountered in her 389 00:18:00,990 --> 00:18:04,890 life. And it made me very angry. And I 390 00:18:04,890 --> 00:18:06,570 remember talking to my grandma, and my 391 00:18:06,570 --> 00:18:09,030 grandma always told me that, you know, 392 00:18:09,030 --> 00:18:11,430 sometimes in life, when we go into spaces, 393 00:18:11,430 --> 00:18:12,870 or we're around new people, 394 00:18:13,170 --> 00:18:15,360 it's important that we listen, that we 395 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,300 listen to them, that we observe and listen 396 00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:21,810 to their experiences. Before we before we 397 00:18:21,810 --> 00:18:23,940 come in and speak because our words are 398 00:18:23,940 --> 00:18:27,030 important, they're impactful, and what, our 399 00:18:27,030 --> 00:18:29,610 knowledge and our wisdom is so valuable to 400 00:18:29,610 --> 00:18:31,980 any situation, that you want to make sure 401 00:18:31,980 --> 00:18:33,540 that when you speak, you don't want to 402 00:18:33,540 --> 00:18:35,580 speak for just hearing your own voice for 403 00:18:35,580 --> 00:18:37,680 the sake of hearing sound. You want to 404 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,200 speak because your words have meaning. 405 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:41,670 You've thought about them, they're 406 00:18:41,670 --> 00:18:44,370 impactful, and they're gonna contribute to 407 00:18:44,370 --> 00:18:47,340 the conversation or the situation. My 408 00:18:47,340 --> 00:18:49,170 grandma always said, the best thing you 409 00:18:49,170 --> 00:18:51,990 could do is listen, listen, listen, listen 410 00:18:51,990 --> 00:18:54,690 and practice patience. And the more you 411 00:18:54,690 --> 00:18:56,370 listen, the more you observe, the more you 412 00:18:56,370 --> 00:18:58,080 will learn from people you will learn from 413 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,030 their lived experiences, you will, you 414 00:19:00,030 --> 00:19:02,730 will learn about who they are how they 415 00:19:02,730 --> 00:19:04,290 observe the world. And you'll learn 416 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,110 different things about about the world 417 00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:08,790 that you never thought you could learn by 418 00:19:08,790 --> 00:19:12,870 just practicing active listening. So 419 00:19:12,870 --> 00:19:16,380 growing up, I use that in my, in my 420 00:19:16,380 --> 00:19:18,960 education, I use that in my business 421 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:21,870 meetings. I've used that in anything that 422 00:19:21,870 --> 00:19:24,570 I've done, since, if I go into a new 423 00:19:24,570 --> 00:19:28,020 room, I really listened to people. I want 424 00:19:28,020 --> 00:19:29,970 to listen, I want to hear their stories, I 425 00:19:29,970 --> 00:19:33,630 want to understand their experiences. The 426 00:19:33,630 --> 00:19:35,850 problem in our country is we haven't done 427 00:19:35,850 --> 00:19:38,700 a good job at listening. And we haven't 428 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:40,710 done a good job at really actively 429 00:19:40,710 --> 00:19:43,170 listening, where we take that moment to 430 00:19:43,170 --> 00:19:47,190 sit back, listen, observe, understand and 431 00:19:47,190 --> 00:19:50,760 collect and really build that trust and 432 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,300 relationship around our lived experiences 433 00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:55,560 in this country. And that's such a 434 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,380 valuable piece to it. So I really credit 435 00:19:58,380 --> 00:20:00,510 my grandma with teaching me that at a very 436 00:20:00,510 --> 00:20:03,360 young age, because it's done well for me, 437 00:20:03,630 --> 00:20:07,920 it's it's made me observe and think, and, 438 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,380 and critically examine things and 439 00:20:10,380 --> 00:20:14,130 situations that I'm in. So as as an action 440 00:20:14,130 --> 00:20:15,990 and recommendation that I tell a lot of 441 00:20:15,990 --> 00:20:19,110 people, it's time to to listen, it's time 442 00:20:19,110 --> 00:20:20,940 to hear the stories of Indigenous people. 443 00:20:20,940 --> 00:20:22,050 when we talk about truth and 444 00:20:22,050 --> 00:20:24,420 reconciliation. It's time to hear the 445 00:20:24,420 --> 00:20:28,260 stories of of racialized individuals in 446 00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:30,630 Canada or immigrant populations that have 447 00:20:30,630 --> 00:20:32,670 come here that are telling their stories 448 00:20:32,670 --> 00:20:35,220 or refugees that have come to resettle in 449 00:20:35,220 --> 00:20:37,830 Canada who are telling their stories. It's 450 00:20:37,830 --> 00:20:40,890 our time, it's our time to listen. And 451 00:20:40,890 --> 00:20:43,020 it's so important that we understand that 452 00:20:43,020 --> 00:20:46,440 our systems are not perfect, that even 453 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,530 though we come from a multicultural 454 00:20:49,530 --> 00:20:52,680 pluralistic society that has that is 455 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,470 viewed as a human rights nation, that 456 00:20:55,470 --> 00:20:59,490 internally here we have issues of racism, 457 00:20:59,490 --> 00:21:03,600 we have issues of oppression, we have 458 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,760 issues of systems that are still very 459 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,730 colonized systems. And we have to 460 00:21:08,730 --> 00:21:11,700 recognize that one of the other actions 461 00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:13,320 that I always tell everybody is you got to 462 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,050 start reading, or watching documentaries 463 00:21:16,050 --> 00:21:18,390 of things that are that you're not used 464 00:21:18,390 --> 00:21:21,300 to. And you have to diversify your in 465 00:21:21,300 --> 00:21:25,170 group, you if you're going to the same for 466 00:21:25,170 --> 00:21:27,180 people with all the same problems in the 467 00:21:27,180 --> 00:21:28,830 same information, you're going to get the 468 00:21:28,830 --> 00:21:31,350 four same perspectives coming back at you. 469 00:21:31,830 --> 00:21:34,380 This is where it's important to go and 470 00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:36,990 expand your circle, expand your in group 471 00:21:36,990 --> 00:21:39,420 and have different perspectives that you 472 00:21:39,420 --> 00:21:41,850 can talk to about these situations so that 473 00:21:41,850 --> 00:21:44,460 you're having conversations at your 474 00:21:44,460 --> 00:21:47,010 community level. And you're understanding 475 00:21:47,010 --> 00:21:49,020 some of the the conversations that are 476 00:21:49,020 --> 00:21:52,170 going on. But we live in the time of tech. 477 00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:56,820 So everybody has access to Google. So you 478 00:21:56,820 --> 00:21:59,550 can Google it! You know the bet, I guess 479 00:21:59,550 --> 00:22:02,640 the biggest verb now is "I've googled it, 480 00:22:02,700 --> 00:22:05,790 or I've googled," you know, you can go 481 00:22:05,790 --> 00:22:07,950 on there, you can find anything you want 482 00:22:08,010 --> 00:22:11,490 on the internet today. And you can learn 483 00:22:11,490 --> 00:22:13,050 about anything that you want to learn 484 00:22:13,050 --> 00:22:16,200 about. It's always inspiring to hear from 485 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,810 speakers, and it's always inspiring to get 486 00:22:18,810 --> 00:22:21,030 different, unique perspectives on things. 487 00:22:21,390 --> 00:22:23,070 But if you're not reading literature, 488 00:22:23,070 --> 00:22:26,070 that's different than how your bias 489 00:22:26,070 --> 00:22:27,750 functions or the way that you see your 490 00:22:27,750 --> 00:22:29,430 worldview, then you're never going to 491 00:22:29,430 --> 00:22:32,340 expand or change your perspective on life. 492 00:22:32,610 --> 00:22:35,280 And I think that that's where this change 493 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:36,450 is going to come because it's an 494 00:22:36,450 --> 00:22:38,430 uncomfortable space for us to have 495 00:22:38,430 --> 00:22:41,010 conversation. You know, and we know that 496 00:22:41,070 --> 00:22:43,230 talking about race and talking about, 497 00:22:44,010 --> 00:22:47,490 about inclusion, discrimination, all those 498 00:22:47,490 --> 00:22:50,340 things can be challenging. A lot of people 499 00:22:50,340 --> 00:22:51,720 are scared that they're going to make 500 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:53,520 mistakes with language, or they're going 501 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,460 to be called out on certain things. But I 502 00:22:56,460 --> 00:22:59,430 think that this is a moment 503 00:22:59,910 --> 00:23:02,790 where we have an opportunity now to read 504 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,930 amazing literature coming out from from 505 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,710 Indigenous, Indigenous peoples coming out 506 00:23:10,710 --> 00:23:13,560 from Black writers, you know, coming out 507 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:17,430 from, you know, people of color, like we 508 00:23:17,430 --> 00:23:19,980 there's large contributions in literature 509 00:23:19,980 --> 00:23:22,410 now, even more so than when I was studying 510 00:23:22,410 --> 00:23:24,870 20 years ago, where we have a real 511 00:23:24,870 --> 00:23:27,900 opportunity to, to engage with unique 512 00:23:27,900 --> 00:23:30,480 literature watch amazing documentaries 513 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,670 that are coming on live streaming things 514 00:23:32,670 --> 00:23:35,340 like Netflix and Amazon Prime, were 515 00:23:35,340 --> 00:23:38,700 exposed to, to the change. But when we 516 00:23:38,700 --> 00:23:41,100 watch a documentary, we can't just cry 517 00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:43,350 because of the ending, we have to analyze 518 00:23:43,350 --> 00:23:45,990 and ask ourselves, why did that happen? 519 00:23:46,230 --> 00:23:48,480 What in the system allowed that to happen? 520 00:23:48,630 --> 00:23:50,670 And what can we do to educate about 521 00:23:50,670 --> 00:23:52,830 changing these systems so that it doesn't 522 00:23:52,830 --> 00:23:55,590 happen again. And I'll leave with one 523 00:23:55,590 --> 00:23:58,830 example. I was sitting in in a pub here in 524 00:23:58,830 --> 00:24:01,920 Lethbridge. It was a couple years ago, and 525 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:03,600 I was sitting there listening in and it 526 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:05,250 was in northern Saskatchewan and it was 527 00:24:05,250 --> 00:24:08,490 the Colton Boushie trial. And I remember 528 00:24:08,490 --> 00:24:10,200 sitting there alone, and I was reading 529 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:11,970 online, I was watching my phone and the 530 00:24:11,970 --> 00:24:15,180 verdict came out that he was not guilty of 531 00:24:15,180 --> 00:24:18,510 murder of Colton Boushie. And I remember 532 00:24:18,510 --> 00:24:21,960 this sinking feeling in my in my chest and 533 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,000 my gut at that time. And I'm, I was a 534 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:25,530 professor of Aboriginal law. I was 535 00:24:25,530 --> 00:24:27,600 teaching a class that semester. And so I 536 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,610 knew and I was also director of Indigenous 537 00:24:29,610 --> 00:24:31,290 Student Affairs at the University at that 538 00:24:31,290 --> 00:24:34,500 time. And so I knew full well, that I was 539 00:24:34,500 --> 00:24:36,060 going to have to engage in these 540 00:24:36,060 --> 00:24:37,920 conversations on campus that I was gonna 541 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,100 have to provide a safe space for students 542 00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:42,570 on campus who weren't going to feel 543 00:24:42,570 --> 00:24:44,520 welcomed walking into their classrooms. 544 00:24:45,030 --> 00:24:46,920 And I just had this sinking feeling that I 545 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,580 could not believe at this time. When you 546 00:24:50,580 --> 00:24:52,800 look back at this Neil Stonechild cases 547 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,300 are all the cases that we have here in 548 00:24:54,300 --> 00:24:56,370 Canada that I was studying in my 549 00:24:56,370 --> 00:24:58,740 undergraduate degree. I could not believe 550 00:24:59,070 --> 00:25:00,930 that that had happened. And that was 551 00:25:00,930 --> 00:25:06,810 heartbreaking. And it just, it just, it 552 00:25:06,810 --> 00:25:09,330 just, it just almost brought up this 553 00:25:09,330 --> 00:25:11,310 feeling that Indigenous lives don't 554 00:25:11,310 --> 00:25:13,350 matter. That's the area for which my mom 555 00:25:13,350 --> 00:25:16,230 is from up in northern Saskatchewan. So we 556 00:25:16,230 --> 00:25:18,180 had to support our students and we had to 557 00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:20,760 have these conversations. But it always 558 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,730 takes an incident like this for us to have 559 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,070 difficult conversations, when we should 560 00:25:26,070 --> 00:25:30,450 really start making those changes. So I 561 00:25:30,450 --> 00:25:33,210 always I always ask people, you know, it's 562 00:25:33,210 --> 00:25:36,570 about reading, understanding, learning, 563 00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:39,240 and just trying to be a really good and 564 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,400 supportive ally along the way or a co- 565 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,490 conspirator. And hopefully through some of 566 00:25:44,490 --> 00:25:47,850 those easier, lower micro-level actions, 567 00:25:48,090 --> 00:25:50,400 you know, we can start to see some 568 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,440 important changes in our society and in 569 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,890 our community. And those are my my 570 00:25:55,890 --> 00:25:59,580 optimistic hopes, in order to get to this 571 00:25:59,580 --> 00:26:02,550 notion of concrete change.