Those of you who know me have heard that I lived in Canada for a time, specifically Quebec. I was an undergraduate student at the time trying to finish up a French degree, but I was looking forward to learning something about the world that I hadn't known before. As a child, I had been aware of Canada's existence and location. I even knew how to spell Saskatchewan (wait, did I really get that right on the first try? As they say in Canada, easy to draw, hard to spell: Saskatchewan). Going to Canada was something like what I expected and somewhat not. One item that was briefly mentioned in my art and culture of Canada class was the situation surrounding First Nations people of Canada. My class studied this topic one night over a 2-hour class period, and then promptly forgot about it.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the audiobook mentioned above, and I discovered that it was written by a woman of the Sto:lo nation who has a few things to say to Canadians about the difficulties that have been forced upon her, her nation, and other tribes throughout the Americas. I imagined the book would have something to do with Canadians; I wasn't expecting to be placed in an immersive artistic and passionate retelling of the injustices that blanket the globe, but particularly apply to the First people of what is now North America.
The book is written in 13 parts, some over an hour long, and some just five minutes. Each piece is directed at a misunderstanding that Maracle has found herself addressing over and over again as a speaker, author and artist. I've seen people asking just how much protesting and awareness-raising there has to be. Obviously as much as it takes until these injustices are corrected. As I write this, there are still protests across the United States spurred by racially-fueled police violence. In many ways, it's discouraging to see the same sorts of racial injustices perpetrated by the "nicest colonizers" in Canada.
Maracle's voice joins many others in an attempt to alert others that things are not okay. While her message itself is not unique, her voice is powerful in its poetic and personable elegance that stands tall on a backbone of ownership. Lee Maracle is not taking this lying down.
Will Rogers once said that everyone is ignorant, just in different subjects. Debby Irving has said that you don't know how much you don't know. I say that we can't afford to continue being ignorant about the human rights that continue to be at times unknowingly stolen from people. People whose only difference from me is the color of their skin. People who want to preserve their culture and traditions. People who have had everything stolen from them and are still fighting to get it back hundreds of years later.
The long story short is that this book is going on my list of "art" books because it moves me. Maracle's words bring me to the brilliant highs of culture and power and hope as well as the lows of confusion, helplessness and loss. Although the message calling for awareness and understanding is not new, the avenue of semi-poetic prose stands out as one of the more remarkable pieces on human rights that I've experienced so far. Maracle isn't pushy, but she is determined and passionate. Her assertations are clear and powerful. Her way of smoothly including her own perspective isn't so much an argument as an unshakable truth. I would love to see this book in the hands of Canadians and Americans and anyone else who wants or needs to know what respect for human life and culture looks like.
