“Love is the Movement” - Tar Sands Healing Walk 2014

By Dulce Maria Gonzalez Ramirez, 2nd year MDP student

The weekend of June 27-29th was the fifth and final Tar Sands Healing Walk in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Manna and I joined, hundreds of First Nations, environmentalists, activists and other folks from across Canada, the United States, and far beyond to walk together along the Syncrude Loop. This was not a protest or a rally but a different way to connect the issues and mass environmental destruction that has been affecting people, land, water, air and other beings.

On Friday they held a series of workshops emphasizing the litigation processes, the violation of rights such as the lack of free prior and informed consent/consultation, violation of treaties, the environmental and health issues such as rare cancers and lupus. It was very interesting to listen to Dr. John O'Connor as part of the health panel talking not only about his research but also about the harassment from the government stopping him to publish his findings and chasing him away from the province. Then, we all questioned, if civil disobedience the option? Well, in the United States marches and unity helped to stop war in Vietnam.

On Saturday, after a pipe ceremony we were guided by elder women around the Syncrude loop. The caravan stopped in four main points to pray and put down offerings. These were powerful collective moments of reflection and prayer.

As part of the landscape, we saw how the company has guns going off and scarecrows looking like workers all around tail ponds. Still the birds are attracted to them because they look like small lakes from above. In 2012, due to extreme cold weather a flock of birds flew down into the water and all died. The company was taken to court, but the verdict was that the birds were at fault! It seems that the law is made to protect the companies more than the environment. 

In some First Nations communities like Fort McKay located along the banks of the Athabasca River, there are reaping some benefits such as building new resource centers. However, they eventually will need to be relocated because the water is becoming unusable and filled with chemicals that cause cancers. Water needs to be brought in to the community. Even after hundreds of years, the chemicals will stay in that land, what is the “great legacy” for the next generations?

After the weekend, it was clear to me that rallies or other movements can raise awareness, but issues keep growing while government keeps claiming “development.” At the same time, I questioned my own role, commitment and responsibility: 

Dulce Gonzalez Ramirez

I'm here not solely because I’m a development practitioner or in solidarity for the disastrous devastation of other's land, but because we all belong to Mother Earth we all have responsibilities. I'm here to acknowledge devastation, to stand up for the earth. I’m here to pray for the healing of “Pachamamita," for healing for the affected communities, for healing  myself and for all beings that inhabit this earth because it is truly needed.

Many First Nations and allies are fighting NOT to get a bigger share of the economic benefits, but to avoid the devastation. Gitz Crazyboy (Dene/Blackfoot), a youth worker working against the injustices of development, in his first big protests said that frustration, anger and other feelings will go away but love will remain. Through all this is the recognition of the love for their people and their land because “Love is the movement.”

Lessons from the West

By Lisa Dixon, 1st year MDP student

As I sit in my room writing this last blog, I’m feeling very reflective. While going into the placement I certainly had learning goals, I don’t think I necessarily had clear expectations. I’m fairly certain though, that any expectations I did have were exceeded. I’m grateful for the mish-mash of experiences I received during a jam-packed 12 weeks. Since my last post, there has been lots of work and even more events and I cannot believe I’ve been able to participate in as much as I have. 

Since my last post, Margaret and I began work in Saddle Lake Cree Nation, a community with almost 8,000 Band members. It has been a learning experience working in the community. The people have been fantastic but the issues the community face are staggering. There are times Margaret and I have been talking and both get frustrated because there are things to be done but nothing seems to be moving. But these are the realities in many communities and a 12-week field placement is not going to give us the time to see project/initiatives really move along. However, with that, I’m really happy to have had the experience working in Saddle Lake because the experience was invaluable and the lessons learned about working within community/political systems was something you have to experience.

 

Joe Stern (L), Winston Lapatak (Saddle Lake Economic Development Director), Margaret and Lisa

Prior to my placement I had hoped to learn more about the realities of the oil industry.  Up until my time in Alberta I had only read about the affects of oil development on the Indigenous communities in Alberta.  Like many people I was profoundly affected by the experience of communities like the Lubicon Cree.  Well I can certainly say my goal of learning more about the realities of this industry were met. In Alberta, oil is never far from the conversation. One event that I was really sorry to have missed out on was the Healing Walk that took place in Fort McMurray. There was not a week where there were not news stories about oil spills in the region. In July, Cold Lake, which is about an hour and a half away from Blue Quills, has been dealing with oil spills that have continued to do damage to the land.  Oil is also a particularly prominent topic in terms of Indigenous development in Alberta. For many people, this is viewed as the only real opportunity for development.  But there are those at Blue Quills that have the “radical” idea that there is development outside of oil. I was happy to be around people who had a similar view of oil development that I did. Some communities have done a lot of good work from revenue from oil development but it has also destroyed other communities.  This can’t be the only answer for Indigenous development and it was nice to see many were looking outside of oil for development options.

I had an absolute blast during my time at Blue Quills First Nations College and while leaving was without a doubt hard, I am comforted with the firm believe that one day I will be back!

Margaret (L), Lana Whiskey Jack (C) and Lisa (R)

Alberta Adventures

By Lisa Dixon, 1^st year MDP student

It’s been an exciting and busy first half of my summer field placement at Blue Quills First Nation College in St. Paul, Alberta.  It began with many new faces and names to remember as everyone at Blue Quills has welcomed me fully.  The first few weeks were filled with meetings, research, grant writing, and meeting a lot of new people.  Everyone has been great and gone out of their way to include me in campus and community events. 

But without a doubt the highlight so far has been the Annual Blue Quills Cultural Camp that took place May 27-31.  The week was full of people, ceremony, art, music, dance, food, and teachings.  Most of the work we were doing was put on hold, so Margaret and I could fully participate in the events of the week.  The usually quiet campus swelled, with well over a 100 extra people either staying in the dorms or camping on the Cultural grounds.  The highlights of the week for me were the ceremonies and the people.  I was able to meet a lot of different people over the course of the week, people who came from very different backgrounds.  But I learned something from every person I met; I was even reunited with someone I worked with in Winnipeg 3 years ago! There were several big ceremonies over the course of the week along with smaller teachings and other activities.  The first ceremony that I got to participate in was a Horse Dance.  On Wednesday there was a Bear Lodge ceremony.  The Bear Lodge is a type of a Sweat with four lodges, and one of the lodges was solely for women.  It was a beautiful experience hearing the teachings from a respected Elder in the community and a Past President of Blue Quills surrounded by strong women.

 

On Thursday, there was a gathering, The 4th Annual New Sun Gathering: A Call to Arts.  There was a Pipe Ceremony to start and then addresses from the two honored guests, Blackstone Actress Michelle Thrush and Alberta artist/writer Aaron Paquette.  Both Michelle and Aaron were fantastic and gave emotional and inspirational speeches about art in their own lives and how that has inspired activism and action.  Both have been involved in Idle No More, with Michelle involved in protests and organization and Aaron providing quite a bit of art work for the movement.  In the afternoon, Michelle gave a performance of her one-woman show, which was moving, funny and beautiful.  In the evening I participated in a Chicken Dance ceremony. The Chicken Dance went well into the night and resumed Friday morning and went into the afternoon.  We had a bit of break to rest up for the final ceremony of the Cultural Camp, a Yuwipi Ceremony that took place starting at dusk.  The ceremony began with a Sweat Lodge and following this we entered an area that was covered completely in order for the room to be completely dark.  The ceremony lasted about three hours and was extremely powerful.  This ceremony was the highlight of the Cultural Camp for me.  

Some may wonder what this Cultural Camp has to do with development, but there are different principles of development that are displayed on one of the walls here at Blue Quills and one says, 

 “Authentic Development is Culturally Based: Healing and development must be rooted in the wisdom, knowledge, and living processes of the culture of the people.”

Participating in ceremony is the basis for development and I was lucky enough to have participated in multiple ceremonies and learned from dozens of people about the foundation of Indigenous development.

Lisa Dixon (L), Michelle Thrush (C), and Margaret Lewis-John (R)