THE SWORD

Come! Take my hand, we must travel back many generations if you are to understand and to know where you came from and who you are. Soon you will see how important culture and heritage can be, as it has always been, and always will be, the very life Blood of First Nations People. To know this will give new meaning and pride, a feeling within that you may never have experienced before. It is a good feeling, for to know your Ancestors is to know yourself.

Come, let us walk down the beach together, see how clean the sand is, how fresh the air is as gentle breezes waft the scent of a profusion of wild flowers. It's early summer now and the sun is warm and the waters calm. Listen to the ravens scolding the eagles as they fish for the many salmon that are returning home to spawn. Look out to sea and you can watch the salmon splashing everywhere, Orca, the mighty Killer Whale, is feasting on what appears to be a huge run of all kinds of salmon. It looks like this year will be a time of plenty and soon the Tsimpsean will start the winter harvest. See where the river comes out of the forest, see the huge trees, untouched by people. Hear the ripple of clean pure water that already has the odd salmon heading upstream. Listen to the wolves deep in the forest, they are not hunting at this time of day, they are calling to each other. There is a summer camp here that is used for harvesting salmon, with racks to sun dry the fish and a place to smoke. Hush! We must be quiet, there are people here already, they are going down to the beach to meet a large cedar canoe that has just returned from fishing for Halibut. Everyone is helping to beach the canoe and to carry the halibut up to the drying racks. After the work is done the people will gather and there will be feasting to night as well as story telling, even the children will listen attentively as all the days events will be relived and stories of days gone by are told to carry on the Tsimpsean ways. The tide is out now, and you can see the gravel bars exploding with the squirts of untold numbers of clams. There is much to be done before winter comes and soon this will be a busy place.

Legend tells us there were times when the salmon runs were not so plentiful, this told of the coming of hard times, but herein lies the secret of the inner strength that beats deep within the hearts of all First Nations Peoples. The ability to survive under the most difficult of times is the teacher and giver of many attributes. The appreciation and love of all that is nature, the respect for all living things and the proper management of these gifts of nature will ensure survival. To walk as one with Mother Nature is reserved for only a few, but must somehow be taught to other peoples of the world. As we walk forward in time you will see just how important these inner strengths have served the indigenous people of this land.

Come, quickly, we must remember what we have seen in the past as we travel ahead to the time strangers appeared from across the ocean. They came in mighty ships and were different in looks and dress. They seemed friendly enough as they came ashore and were made welcome. They were offered a cookie from the jar of friendship and were invited to take warmth from the fires that take away the chill of the night. It was now evening, the time before the darkness of the night, as the sun set the strangers took the whole jar of cookies and the fires as well, it was now truly night time. The darkness was to last a long long time. This time of darkness was to be the start of a long and perilous journey that threatened the very existence of First Nations People. As we travel slowly back towards the present you can see the injustices and atrocities, all the deprivations and heartbreak that were to be the sad lot of generations of your forefathers.

Whole villages were gathered and moved to parcels of land that were designated as Indian Reserves. Generations of culture were stifled and alien forms of religion were introduced, all as a pretense for preservation of an indigenous people. Residential schools were used as a means of erasing the old way of life that had lasted and endured for many thousands of years. The separation of children from their parents, where the influence and change of language and lifestyle could go unchallenged. There were many rules and regulations, some almost laughable, for example, First Nations People were not allowed to go into beer parlors or buy liquor, unless of course, you did not want be a First Nations Person anymore, in which case you became enfranchised and could do anything the non First Nations Person did. In other words, although nothing changed and you looked the same, you were not a First Nations Person anymore. There were many of these weird, absurd, even asinine rules. If a First Nations male marries a Non First Nations woman, then the Non First Nations woman becomes a First Nations person, if a First Nations women marries a Non First Nations male, then she is no longer a First Nations person. These examples are a part of the past but must and should be remembered and questioned.

While all of these devious methods, we now recognize as assimilation, may have appeared successful on the surface aided in the wholesale theft of First Nations lands and resources, it is all on record and this is most important. All through these hours, days and years of darkness, the indomitable spirit and the fierce determination within the hearts of elders was being passed on. When this torch of justice heritage and culture, the very essence of a way of life, became too heavy to carry or too dim to see, it was always passed to stronger people who did their share to keep this fire of life burning and alive. Today this torch has become a bright light for the future and in reality has become a sword, in truth, a double -edged sword.

Come back to the present with me and watch the sun coming up over the horizon, it is the beginning of a new day, and as First Nations people walk into the future you can see a huge sword being lifted high, pointing up into the sky, but it will take many strong arms to hold it aloft and wield it's mighty power. The sword is new and must have both edges honed sharp and this can be done only through wisdom. One edge of this sword must be sharpened by heritage and culture, those precious ways preserved by the Elders. These ways must be researched and revived , it will not be an easy task to do properly. Most culture and heritage has been lost by Non First Nations peoples in Canada, which is all the more important to hone this edge of the sword. It is the children of today who must be the honers of the sword for tomorrow. It must be the parents of these children and the elders who must lead the way and direct the younger ones to a better way of life and to the importance of sharpening this blade.

If there is no change in attitude lifestyle and teaching, then there is a real risk that all of the deprivations and suffering of all of those brave people of the past, who carried the torch, will be for naught. It is their sacrifices that have made this sword of a better life possible. In all honesty, can they be ignored and forgotten. No! They are, then so will you be. The other side of the sword lies in education, this is equally important, the more education the sharper will be the blade. There can be all sorts of land claims settlements or whatever, but without the ability to compete in today's market place this edge of the blade will soon dull. To compete is a must, and at a much higher level than ever before, if history is not to be repeated. The cookie jar is being returned and there are still a few cookies left, the jar must be kept this time and the fires must be rekindled.

If they so choose, First Nations people have the ability and sense of justice to use this new found sword in ways that will serve all people, a way to bridge discrimination and foster understanding, to make this world a better place for all peoples. The way is not through vengeance or recrimination, this has been tried by many people and has never worked, the end result is relegating oneself to the same stature of the wrong doers. Non First Nations People should be given the opportunity to understand First Nations ways, where respect for all living things, not only people but all living things, maybe the only way to save Mother Earth for the future.

If there were any words that are meaningful, and rich in good advice for the Non First Nations community, it would be these. When offered a cookie from the jar of friendship, please take only one, it will taste much sweeter, and when warming by the fire, help by adding more wood when needed.