Category: We Are All Treaty People

Pretendianism

Baiting The Left We Are All Treaty People 25 Comments

In an era where being the biggest victim brings you more power & attention, it’s no surprise that some people fake their heritage:

The best known recent pretendian case involves Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, widely regarded as one of Canada’s most successful and honoured indigenous scholars and legal professionals, who for decades claimed to be of aboriginal ancestry through her putative Cree father William Turpel. According to an October 12 CBC exposé, she even referred to herself as the “first Treaty Indian” appointed to the judicial bench in Saskatchewan history.

The CBC asked Turpel-Lafond how her father, William Turpel, could be Cree when his parents were British. “She refused to answer, only hinting at family secrets and shame, saying ‘I will never call anyone out’ … However, in a public statement days after the story was published, Turpel-Lafond declared that her father had been adopted.”

h/t James MacMaster

Pot O’ Gold

Protected Class The Tolerant Left We Are All Treaty People 25 Comments

Follow the rainbow;

NEW🧵: @PrideToronto exploited Cree artist Kent Monkman’s name on yet another federal grant.

This $1million @FedDevOntario grant was not included in Pride Toronto’s apology and KPMG review earlier this year, current leadership must be held accountable for this cover up.

Since 2019, this is the third federal grant that @PrideToronto used Kent Monkman’s name without permission.

This is the fourth federal grant where Pride Toronto promised benefits for Indigenous artists and communities that were never delivered. This now totals $2,850,000.

The grant required that @PrideToronto submit authorization from the Board of Directors, this enabled staff to administer the project funds. Pride Toronto submitted to @FedDevOntario forged signatures of the Board.

Documentation here

Fauxcahontas

Cancelled Media We Are All Treaty People 26 Comments

I knew about Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s “status” at least 15 years ago. It was an open secret within Saskatchewan media and political circles.

Earlier this week, CBC reported that details of Prof. Turpel-Lafond’s where she grew up and her academic accomplishments are inconsistent with publicly available documents, casting doubt on her ancestry.

The CBC report cited dozens of media reports that stated that Prof. Turpel-Lafond was born and/or raised on the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, while public records and yearbooks suggest she was born and went to school in Niagara Falls.

In her statement, she did not state where she grew up. She wrote that “there may be occasions when public statements about me may have been incorrect. I can only be accountable for confirming the qualifications that I provide to my employers and clients are correct, which I do. … My credentials have been vetted at the highest levels of our country.”

The CBC report is by Geoff Leo, who had have known for at least as long as I have. Why now? is the question.

Fly The Angry Skies™

We Are All Treaty People 36 Comments

Please remain seated until the seatbelt sign goes off and you’ve apologized to your crew members;

The agreement inked between Iskwew Air and YVR will allow the organizations to share best practices and knowledge in marketing and communications, operational innovations and sustainability.

“Together we will decolonize and decarbonize our skies for the next seven generations,” Iskwew founder Teara Fraser said at the Monday signing.

I Want A New Country

Shiny Pony SKExit We Are All Treaty People 20 Comments

Let’s kick this monstrous mess to the curb and start fresh.

On Thursday morning, while catching up on the news about last weekend’s massacre on (and around) James Smith Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan, I ran across a truly remarkable Globe and Mail headline: “Saskatchewan suspect’s case draws new scrutiny to statutory release.” I hardly knew whether to laugh or cry at this exercise in the journalistic privilege of agenda-setting. The crimes of Myles Sanderson, who died mysteriously in police custody Wednesday after stabbing 18 people and killing ten of them, ought to “draw new scrutiny” to about a hundred different things about the Canadian state and its philosophy of criminal justice. One hardly knows where to start with the list-making.

It’s short and it’s brutal. Go read it all.

He Was Turning His Life Around

The Tolerant Left We Are All Treaty People 62 Comments

“To your benefit, you do seem to have maintained sobriety, obtained employment, engaged a therapist, were engaged in cultural ceremonies, had obtained a home for your family, and appeared to have been making good progress on reintegration,” the Board wrote.

“It is the Board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released on statutory release and that your release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law abiding citizen,” the decision read.

Emancipation Day Canada

We Are All Treaty People 49 Comments

A sober reminder of historical injustice.

Slavery in the Pacific Northwest developed at some point between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, long before European contact, and at contact, slaves were clearly set apart from the existing tribal ranking system and prestige-seeking in the region. Early indigenous peoples also possessed other practices that predated contact with the British and Europeans: cannibalism and the killing of slaves, the latter of which also occurred and for a variety of reasons: funeral feasts, the building of a new home, a new title, the erection of a totem pole, or as part of the ceremony at potlatches. A Russian Orthodox priest recounted how in one Sitka ceremony where a new clan chief was appointed, four slaves were strangled as part of the ritual.

On another occasion, among both the Mowachaht and the Clayoquot, a slave was killed to celebrate the first whale kill of the season. In Tlinglit folklore, a memorial potlatch was necessary so fellow spirits in the village of the dead would not despise the newly deceased. The memorial included the murder of a slave. Among the Nuu-cah-nulth, a wolf dance also occasioned the taking of a slave’s life. Lastly, in one account of a ceremony at Fort Rupert, British Columbia, two female slaves were burnt as part of a ceremonial display, though they volunteered in the belief they would be resurrected four days hence. The regional slave trade was numerically smaller in absolute terms, though similar as a proportion of some local populations, ranging from almost nil to as high as 40%; the average was 15% of the local population.

I, Pocahontas

I, Napoleon Moonbats We Are All Treaty People 52 Comments

At the University of Saskatchewan choosing your gender is science.

The school’s board voted Tuesday to ban discrimination based on a person’s gender identity, two-spirit identity or gender expression.

Also, race is a social construct.

A significant policy change at the University of Saskatchewan is going to implement a documentation verification process to confirm the membership and citizenship of people with Indigenous heritage.

Thus concludes today’s Ways Of Knowing* update.

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