No Longer Idle...now what? Transforming the energy of "IDLE NO MORE" into real change for communities with Wab Kinew

Dynamic speaker, Wab Kinew, exceeded my already high expectations with his hour long presentation sponsored by the University of Winnipeg at the Selkirk Street campus yesterday.

Charting the chronological unfoldling of the grassroots origins of "Idle No More" to the present day lower profile, "less newsworthy" yet significant actions of the movement, Wab demonstrated an unwavering deep devotion to the movement and to teaching others to work towards a timely resolution. Weaving humour into his intelligent and well organized PowerPoint presentation (all the while holding a sacred eagle feather) the time went by very quickly.

Key points were:

 ~"Idle No More", despite support/favour from political parties or other groups needs to remain non-partisan.

~The treaties were created in good faith with the Crown (Governor General) and Federal Government and that is who First Nations leaders want to continue dealing with in matters relating to all treaties.

~The Indian Act should not be abruptly removed (as has been proposed by the Federal Conservatives). A well considered transition to a more inclusive way of living while honouring treaty rights needs to come to pass so as not to inflict further culture shock on recovering generations of First Nations peoples.

~The effect of culture and language loss due to modern forces such as communication technology and media is a roadblock in efforts to heal and reclaim lost culture.

~One proposed solution to find a way out and to begin to heal the multigenerational problems and abuses that have become a consequence of the residential schools was presented. Wab cites teachings from the book, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, as being a tool to break the cycle of the many insidious abuses and high suicide rates of his aboriginal brothers and sisters.

i.e. Cue/routine/reward being the basic cycle of emotional pain. Nothing can be done to prevent a cue  from occuring (a trigger which causes the hurt) nor can the need for reward be changed. Only the routine or "habit" can be altered to affect a more positive, life giving individual change in order to create collective change.

Wab shared a small piece on the issue of the residential schools. He told us that the effects from the residential schools have, by some, been likened to the intended goal of the Neutron bomb. This bomb was designed to make all the inhabitants of a place disappear while leaving the land and it's resources intact and untouched. This metaphor served as a stark reminder of the unthinkable human violation that was imposed on First Nations families. One native elder who was present spoke up and said that "they didn't ever really win" and that her mother never gave up remembering..."she died fighting". 

In closing, Wab shared his personal Declaration Of Dedication that outlines his commitment to healthy living (physically, emotionally and spiritually) every day in order to be his personal best. He encourages aboriginal youth to value themselves in the same way. He then sang a wonderful song, first in Ojibway then translated to English...happy and loving, infused with some very articulate rap :)

Four members of our Just Living group attended (Cori, Mike, Amanda and Karla). We were all in agreement that the heartfelt presentation was not only informative, but powerful. 

I felt privileged and was very thankful I was able to attend.

Wab sings/raps his message

Submitted by Karla W.