Decolonation

 Our people like to say since time immemorial our people have been here. Ok so we all have our origin stories no matter the tribe we hear the stories or we should, right we should all have that elder or story teller that gives us our oral history.  The why and how, the who and the what. I have two thoughts to this number one this separates us from our non native counterparts and two this was the first thing that was taken from us.

Ok Ok Liz hold on what are you really trying to say right off the jump you are defining an entire group of people, by two simple factors and also pointing the finger directly at colonization for the deconstruction of our culture.

YES yes I am. 

Let's just use my people the Blackfoot people as an example of what colonization has first taken away but also without prejudice lets look at what has survived although morphed somewhat from the beginning. I am trying very hard to not sound like a professor or to lecture as I know 9 out of 10 people tune out if you try to lecture them on history. Of course I am speaking from experience,  I often use my mother as my point of reference for all things history related. This is no exemption. She spent her whole life studying and untimely protecting our culture and way of life. In my later years meeting my husband and his family I learned another way, traditionally actually practicing the things my mother taught and learned in books. I saw our history come to life saw a way of life and a sense of belonging that I didn't know existed and it felt like I had always lived this way.

Our people the Blackfoot people are now broken up into 4 distinct tribes yet we all have the same language, beliefs in stories locations most importantly we are all intertwined. From the history books it is written that we were too strong and this separation was needed to control and bend us into submission. This was the first strike in a war that continues today. Colonization on it's face no matter if it was done to the Blackfoot people or any people that was "discovered" by Europeans was done in in waves, divide them. make them dependent on the oppressors. yes I said it oppressors if you start a war with another culture and do so in the name of your leader or in most cases in the name of your god you are wanting to oppress those who do not believe or know of your leaders and gods. 

History books are written by the perceived winners. Remember that for later. 

The second wave is to starve the oppressed people. Now the history books do not begin to tell the story of what this actually entailed. From the systematic slaughter of the buffalo our only source of food to taking away our ability to actually hunt by restricting the ability of leaving the pretend boundaries they drew, then delivering food once a month knowing full well this would define us for generations, is both genius and evil. When we were not dying or bending in the ways that they deemed acceptable, the next wave of attack was unleashed. 

long before there were things like mustard gas or other tools of war the governments used viruses like smallpox to "manage" the Indian problem. One extremely cold winter the Blackfeet in the USA were not complying so they were given rotten meat, moldy flour, and the more diabolical item blankets laced with Smallpox.  This story along with so many others is not found in the history books I wonder why.

What is a people if you do not have future generations? The next wave in the attack of our people was introduced. "Kill the Indian save the Child." one of the most famous quotes was introduced. We are all aware now of the horrors of the Residential Schools and no matter what is said out loud this was a tactic of war and control. If you can control the next generation you control people. In these schools their gods were introduced, our language was forbidden, and we were taught that our culture was evil. That our parents and grandparents were Heathens, savages.

Now we can go into today with the Jail system, the foster care system and the revisionist history of our people but this is where I think we should move into how through all of this we prevailed.

Let me say that again we prevailed as Blackfoot people. Now all 4 bands are in different levels of retaining our culture and way of life but we all still have it. of every Native population in North America the Blackfoot people have been able to continue through everything listed above, to keep our annual Summer big camp going, keep our language alive, and never not once has it stopped. History books tell you different but we all know there has never been a time where this didn't happen.

Hello today were are we and how does this discussion affect those today? 

Our brothers to the south of Kainai their language was almost totally lost, to the west in Pikunii they do not have the summer camp and a lot of the culture we have is fading away, to the north the churches have a tighter hold. of the 4 tribes the Kainai have been the stewards of the knowledge and sharing this knowledge with our brothers and sisters around us. 

So what is Decolonization? At it's root it should be undoing the damage that is done to our people through the various waves of attack we have been subjected to easy peasey right?

not exactly in fact our decolonization has to take a a unique look at who we are how that has been morphed into something else and how to untangle what we are from what we have learned.

Some of us need to start at the beginning with language and culture. On the Blackfeet reservation that is where they are at. Thanks to those who are trying to bring the culture back they have immersion schools for the youth, and they have reappropriated several of their items to restart their annual big camp. This of course has been met with misunderstanding and mistrust. Like I stated earlier the dependance on the government and churches has become the real way of life and this is "evil or the Devil". Decolonization is not easy but if done the right way coming north to Kainai and learning and then in return sharing the knowledge is the key and what is being done.

This goes for every leg of the Confederacy. Each tribe has their own struggles and what needs to be done, the good news is there is a band of modern day warriors carrying out what needs to be done, however the colonizers  have planned for this and are relying on the fact that all of this will be met with internal opposition. When the government introduces things like blood quantum to tribes it ensures that we are too busy fighting ourselves to band together to keep our culture and people strong.

So what can we do? Start with the simple things like acknowledge we are one people. second celebrate those who are working to keep the culture alive, and finally identify and address our own short comings as a people so that we can strengthen those things.

For so long Kainai has been the "gold Standard" of the keepers of our culture, however in the current day we are losing things that are needed to keep it strong, language is the main issue, so many my age have not learned the language. secondly we need to be able to understand the difference between common spiritual knowledge and that knowledge that is for ceremony and prayer. Secondly explaining why these things are ok to share, and why we do the things we do, from our leaders. We also need to understand the importance of our "Indian Name" why do we need one who gives it and most importantly why each one of us should have one. From my own research these things are the beginnings of the loss of our culture, now my family is lucky my children and grandchildren have that connection. Many don't we also have a very strong Christian belief group who see what is done as barbaric and battle it every step of the way. Knowledge is power and sharing that knowledge is what is going to keep us going for the next 100 years. This duty now falls on our shoulders as we are the grown folks in the room learning from our elders and teaching our children.

Ask your self if not me then who? 

That is it in a nutshell maybe I should write more like this maybe I shouldn't we will mull that over and let you know.