Sunday, November 30, 2008

it was beginning winter

new ice, edge of the n. sask, nov. 28/08

dry seed-drops, banks of the n. sask, nov. 28/08

birch-curl-tendril, banks of the n. sask, nov. 28/08

5. “It was beginning winter”

It was beginning winter,
An in-between time,
The landscape still partly brown:
The bones of the weeds kept swinging in the wind,
Above the blue snow.

It was beginning winter,
The light moved slowly over the frozen field,
Over the dry seed-crowns,
The beautiful surviving bones
Swinging in the wind.

Light travelled over the wide field;
Stayed.
The weeds stopped swinging.
The mind moved, not alone,
Through the clear air, in the silence.

Was it light?
Was it light within?
Was it light within light?
Stillness becoming alive,
Yet still?

A lively understandable spirit
Once entertained you.
It will come again.
Be still.
Wait.


-- Theodore Roethke, ‘The Lost Son’

Sunday, November 23, 2008

mud & dream

late afternoon, looking over the n. saskatchewan. nov. 14/08

illuminated stick-trees, n. saskatchewan river valley, nov. 14/08

brushtailed grasses, sunset by the n. saskatchewan, nov. 14/08

"I am a weak, ephemeral creature made of mud and dream. But I feel all the powers of the universe whirling within me".
-- Nikos Kazantzakis, 'The Preparation: Second Duty'.
* * *
It is November, but I don't mind so much. There are days that are black and white photographs, even the faintest hints of sepia drained out of the frost-feathered grass, the shade of a dull magpie, but I don't really feel the usual agoraphobia of the white sky. There is a richness, a comfort: the river exhales icicles on the sand, inhales the frozen rushes, the black water of a pool. My ear to your chest, water echoes inside, calmly blooming with hot platelets of ice. The long supine sun catches in the trees for a few short afternoon hours, spreading like a bruise on the horizon, settling into a warm furnace somewhere in my ribcage, so still. I am warm here with you, brushtailed grasses soft fingers on my spine, & in this strange liminal time there is peacefulness, & there is such potentiality that touches every nerve from the inside out with light.
* * *
I'll defend my thesis this week. Such sleepless anxiety, such excitement. So strange to be mostly done; just the formalities now. & then, on...


Friday, November 14, 2008

open letter...

a wasp-nest, the river valley, today.

The following is a letter I wrote to the author of this article. I wrote it two weeks ago, when the offensive piece first appeared and sent it off immediately -- to feelings of slight catharsis. But now I find that I'm still really quite angry about the whole thing. Frankly, I'm still in disbelief that it was even published. The Globe & Mail had nothing to say for themselves; they missed the point about what exactly it was they had done by publishing that piece of irresponsible, racist opining. It upsets me how blind many people, especially those in the media, are towards the structural violence still present in Canadian society. And perhaps what scares me the most is how many people refuse to learn, to open their minds, even when given the opportunity.
So this is what I wrote to the author. I highly doubt she actually read it, considering the volume of mail I am certain she received that week. (However, I'll leave it here. If she ever Googles herself, maybe this will pop up & she'll get another chance to see it.)
* * *
Dear Ms. Wente,
I am writing in response to your recent column, 'What Dick Pound said was really dumb – and also true'. I am sure you've received a lot of mail recently regarding this piece, but I just wanted to add a few of my comments on your piece, as well as clarify a few points for you. In this letter, I hope to illuminate some the issues I have with your argument and suggest some facts that you might consider. I was appalled by the statements you make in your piece. The comments you make display a distinct lack of research on, and understanding of the subject of Aboriginal cultures in Canada.
You criticize other authors and experts such as Ralston Saul for not citing any sources, yet you only consulted Frances Widdowson, who also does not provide any background or proof for her statements. You include slanderous and also unsupported statements such as "homicide was probably rather high". How can you back this up? This is completely un-academic and unacceptable journalism. Firstly, using a term such as 'neolithic' (Stone Age) as a cultural descriptor is inappropriate because 'neolithic' refers to a temporal period used in some describing histories of the world, not a way of life. To suggest that any culture in the world today is 'neolithic' is absurd, since we no longer live in that time period. It also makes the fallacious assumption that culture does not change, that the cultures of Aboriginal peoples are somehow 'frozen in time' and the very nature of a culture – any culture – is that it is dynamic, flexible and adaptive. However, the fact that cultures change does not mean that they all change uniformly. To quote statements of Widdowson's such as "We all passed through the stage of neolithic culture" is problematic, because it relies on this notion of linear progress as well assuming that the 'stone age' can persist out of time.
You should understand the necessity of small-scale kinship groups, especially in Northern Canadian Aboriginal societies. Groups were generally kept small in order to not overuse a particular hunting territory, and needed to be dispersed simply to keep resources from depleting too quickly and disrupting the ecological balance of a harsh landscape, and making starvation a risk. As for contributions to modern Western medicine, don't forget Aspirin; this widely used painkiller is derived from salicylic acid, which is found naturally in willow bark, a traditional pain remedy used by Aboriginal people all over the continent. If you are searching for "broader laws or institutions" you need look no further than the Iroquois Confederacy, which united six different tribes and formed multiple democratic councils. Regardless of whether it influenced the Declaration of Independence or not, you cannot deny its organizational sophistication and the role it played for the tribes involved. Smaller groups of people, such as the Blackfoot (Siksika, Piikani and Kainai peoples) of Western Canada also had a number of complementary societies whose members planned military strategies or looked after economics or division of labour. Today, the internal justice systems of many First Nations are inspired by their previous traditions, in the creation 'sentencing circles' to deal with offenders in their communities.
You also make the unqualified assumption that 'written' language is necessary for laws, or "evidence-based" science. You don't get much more "evidence-based" than the directly observational ecological knowledge that has been preserved orally for hundreds of years. Your flippant dismissal of traditional knowledge and your ready acceptance of Ms. Widdowson's weak example that deems traditional knowledge to be just "a heap of vague beliefs and opinions that can't be verified or tested" is nothing but ignorant. It certainly can be tested, and there is a reason why governments, ecologists and other researchers wish to learn of this knowledge – because it is absolutely vital, most especially due to our current issues related climate change and increased immediate environmental damage due to industry (e.g. the Tar Sands). A life that is lived intimately in a particular environment for thousands of years (and yes, this knowledge has been and is still often passed down orally) yields a wealth of knowledge that originates from direct, constant experience and observation, and is extremely valuable for understanding what is currently happening within ecosystems across the globe. Knowledge regarding wildlife populations has successfully been implemented in a number of co-management programs for a number of years, such as in beaver population management agreements under The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975 or the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board in the 1970s. Currently, many Aboriginal groups in the North are contributing to studies regarding animal movement and receding sea-ice patterns occurring as a result of climate change. Combining these insights with Western science seems to be the most productive method of understanding what is currently happening regarding the shifts in climate and weather patterns. As Dr. Franklin Griffiths of the University of Toronto noted at a recent Royal Society of Canada meeting at the University of Alberta, "Southerners need Aboriginal thinking […] We need this wisdom, and I think they need some of our wisdom, to generate new intellectual capital for us to be able to move ahead with a better understanding of what our situation is and who we are".
It is somewhat understandable that one may have trouble with the 'vagueness' of some statements concerning traditional knowledge. To understand this knowledge and appreciate its full value, statements must be analysed in the context of that culture's own epistemology. This 'knowledge' must be taken in context, and often an understanding of other cultural symbols is crucial so we can assess a statement according to its own internal logic. This is no different from a non-scientist trying to read an academic paper full of jargon. Yet, we do not dismiss a scientist for writing something we as non-scientists or non-experts, do not immediately understand.
It really should not be necessary to point out that First Nations, Métis and Inuit people across the country do participate in "vastly complex late-industrial capitalist culture" – consider just a few of the housing developments, casinos and other successful businesses (both large and small) that are owned and operated by Aboriginal peoples – these range from service stations in small towns to diamond polishing comparies (Deton' Cho Diamonds) to vast management corporations (e.g. Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership of the Lac La Ronge Band, Kativik Regional Corporation in Nunavik, Québec) Other businesses, such as Däna Näye Ventures, an Aboriginal Capital Corporation based out of Whitehorse, has been aiding Aboriginal small business owners in the Yukon and Northern British Columbia for the past 20 years. To suggest that Canadian Aboriginal peoples do not participate economically in Canada and the world is a clearly misinformed viewpoint that reflects profound colonial ignorance. Furthermore, many of these businesses, while participating in a wider capitalist market, are organized and run according to Aboriginal philosophies and ethics. The work of countless Aboriginal people combines their own cultural beliefs with the norms and standards found in wider Canadian businesses; this displays the dynamism and adaptability that is characteristic of all cultures.
You go on to discuss how First Nations have been romanticized and idealized, but then make statements regarding how these beliefs "doom hundreds of thousands of native Canadians and their descendants to lives that remain isolated from the modern world, without the skills and aptitudes they need to make their way in an increasingly complex society". This comment itself is deeply paternalistic and reveals your own idealization of First Nations peoples as helpless and naïve; it falsely assumes they are unable to make their own choices and decisions about their lives, because their culture is not 'complex' or 'advanced' enough. The way you are speaking about Aboriginal peoples ignores their will and fundamentally denies them agency. Not once do you quote or refer to an Aboriginal person regarding how they feel about their lives and cultures. It is not a matter of what Aboriginal Canadians should or should not do. All individuals in this country must have a choice on how they want to live, and have a right to their own specialized, sophisticated lifestyles and life-ways – which are contemporary, advanced, and flexible – just as they do have a right to participate in the business market or politics or any other sphere of Canadian life. As Chief Dan George of the Tsleil-Waututh stated in his 'Lament for Confederation': "Like the thunderbird of old I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man's success-his education, his skills- and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society".
Lastly, you speak of others who refuse to see reality, when it has become clear to me that you remain wilfully blind to the continued reality of colonialism. Every criterion you use to illustrate the "savagery" of Aboriginal societies is compared directly with Western industrial society – an argument that rests on the belief that one culture is superior. This is nothing but a profoundly ethnocentric, ignorant standpoint; the insult is compounded by the fact this culture you deems 'superior' is the one that decimated Aboriginal populations and continues to oppress them. Frankly, this is racist. You cannot make excuses for this.
I could certainly provide you with a reading list if you would like to learn more about the examples I am presenting here. I hope that this has at least made you question or reconsider some of the beliefs and ideas you hold and have put forth in your piece.
Sincerely,
Jenanne F.
Edmonton, AB

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

fever dreams.

cow-parsnip, last weekend, riverlot.


skeleton of fireweed, riverlot, last weekend.

upsidedown trees/sky dendrites, riverlot, last weekend, photographed by jason.

these are some much beloved songs of late, my unconventional lullabies (mp3s are both living here for your listening pleasure):


cursed sleep -- bonnie prince billy (the letting go)

lullaby for grown ups -- ane brun (changing of the seasons)


'tis all for now.