I can’t believe how much things have changed in my First Nation

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Drew Hayden Taylor is an Anishinaabe playwright and humorist.

Many winters ago, what once was … was changed to what many thought should be, by an act of Parliament and a functioning alcoholic. Then some time later, what is changed back to what once was, though filtered through 150 years of colonization.

It gets confusing.

There was a time everything vaguely Indigenous was being stamped out. Now, it’s being actively promoted. I’ve heard the reasoning for its revival described as HR on a nationwide level.

Events in my community are a good example. It was a busy month here in Curve Lake. While, as a whole, we were tolerating the summer flood of MUDs (Migratory Urban Dwellers), otherwise known as cottagers, there were lots of things to keep the community occupied, much of it reflective of our Anishinaabe culture.

First of all, it was election day. Time to choose another Chief and eight counsellors to pilot the Good Ship Curve Lake through the turbulent “white” waters (see what I did there?!) of Canadian society. Every two years, as mandated by the Indian Act, we are called to the community centre to decide which cousin will have jurisdiction over our lives. In some communities it can get fierce and ugly. Luckily here, we’re pretty cool about it.

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As a demonstration of that very coolness, the very next day there was an Elder’s barbecue which is self-explanatory, except for the fact I went to sleep when I was 31, and when I woke up the next day, I could legitimately attend this barbecue as an Elder. The blessing over the food was given in Anishinaabe. When most of these Elders were children, they were not allowed to speak our language. Now the hot dogs and potato salad are marinated in aboriginality. We relish it.

Then, tragically, there were two funerals. Both were held in a Christian church, but were proceeded by a sacred fire. A hundred years ago, any Indigenous person hosting a sacred fire would be doomed to burn for all eternity in a different kind of fire. Ironic, isn’t it? Where’s Alanis Morissette when you need her?

Then came the inauguration of the new Chief and council at the powwow grounds on a beautiful summer day. Somebody did a land acknowledgment, though ours starts off something like “WE acknowledge this land was once drooled over and sought after by the French and English, and don’t get us started on the Vikings who…” and so on. It loses something in the translation. Several speeches and prayers were made, many in Anishinaabe, before the officiating began.

One after the other, the counsellors and Chief were asked to deliver a speech, talking of their desires and aims in serving the community. Each was given a choice to hold the Bible or an eagle feather as they spoke. Almost all chose the eagle feather as a sign of commitment to their words, except one. She held both the Bible and feather.

As I watched speech after speech, I sat there amazed at how things had changed. A hundred years ago, the two dominant books that governed how Indigenous people were to be treated by Canada at large sat on every Indian Agent’s desk: the Bible and the Indian Act.

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The Indian Act is still around, though somewhat weakened. (The Indigenous lawyer-wolves keep circling it like it’s a wounded moose.) This election is the byproduct of that book. Practically all Indigenous communities had their own hierarchy of leadership that had been practised for thousands of years.

Then suddenly, this concept of a democratic election was thrust upon us, originating in ancient Greece where only a small percentage of the population was allowed to vote, mostly men who were land owners. It’s been and continues to be gradually fine-tuned since then. (Does anybody wanna talk about proportional representation?)

In today’s world, Indigenous communities can still have different forms of traditional governments, though they frequently can come into conflict with elected governments. But we’re working on it.

Some of our politicians prefer the ways of the dominant culture. One man who lost the election for Chief has decided to transfer his membership to another First Nation and try running for Chief there. Isn’t that what political leaders do in mainstream Canada today?

As for the whole Church thing, that too is a work-in-progress. It doesn’t seem to be as much a mentality of choosing “either/or” as it once was. I know many who started out in the Church proper, who now regularly participate in sweat lodges and sacred fires. I’ve heard such people referred to as BAPs: Born Again Pagans.

At the end of next month, it will be National Truth and Reconciliation Day. The conundrums will continue as truth is subjective and reconciliation is a six-syllable word that’s very difficult to define. Maybe, to make life easier, I’ll just take a week off from thinking about it and go to the cottage …

Oh wait.