Dear Editor,
Racism is alive and well in St. Paul and that is no longer appropriate or acceptable. Read my letter as I speak from personal experience. This issue has been on my mind for some time. With the celebration of 150 years of Canada and millions of dollars being spent to put on a big show for the world, the majority of people in Canada, including St. Paul, need the true history lesson of how the Europeans came to be the majority peoples in St. Paul. It all started with the government, the Roman Catholic Church and the settlers, mostly of the French culture. What was the full name of St. Paul before it was shortened? So not only was land taken from the First Nations people; land was taken from the Metis.
I have learned the history of the Indigenous peoples in the St. Paul area. The “Indian” in the child was not killed and the Indigenous peoples are part of the mosaic of the St. Paul area and are here to stay.
I have lived three worlds and working on living in my fourth world. This fourth world is one of acceptance, love and kindness where no culture is better that the other. I base this on the belief that regardless of religion we are all Creator’s children. I also believe that justice will be served; if not on earth, in time eternal.
My first world was that of Metis or Half-breed. I went to the public school in Elk Point and the Metis children were a minority. The elementary teachers taught the brain which is the mental part of the Medicine wheel; however, the emotional, physical and spiritual parts were not a priority. I witnessed and experienced many times of racism. I did not know what to name it. The place I knew I was very different was having my long braids pulled from Grades 1 to 5 and being called, “stinking squaw.” In Grade 5 and 6, my teachers, Mrs. MacDonald and Mr. Gadowski made a difference in recognizing my artistic abilities, helping me to love learning. The junior high school became my sanctuary with Mr. Lazicki and Mr. Samuelson encouraging me to work smarter and better. The toxic shame of being that “stinking squaw” continued to part of who I thought I was, deep within my heart. I learned to be a fighter intellectually.
My personal life had many joys and many challenges. I became a certified nursing aide and worked in the Elk Point hospital and St. Theresa hospital of St. Paul in the days of Dr. Trottier and Dr. Decosse. Times have changed in the St. Paul hospital. I witnessed racism towards the Indigenous peoples then; however, my understanding is that the racism has increased in attending to the medical needs of the Indigenous people today. Why did I not speak out then? I think there were only three “natives” working there at the time and we needed our jobs. Also, in my need to fit in, I was part of the problem. I denied my blood. As time went on, I lived the “white” world as I called it. I abandoned my rich native ancestry. I married a non-native man in my quest to be white. I worked at the St. Paul North Eastern Health Unit as a registered dental assistant and there again was part of the problem of racism by not speaking out.
Know that I am not painting everyone in St. Paul with the same brush. I have formed lifelong friendships with people from Elk Point and St. Paul. However, the people that I know, that I think are not racist are too few in relation to the population. However, unbeknownst to them, they live the white privilege. The sad part of racism is that even the immigrants of other cultures have a superior attitude. Not sure what immigration is teaching about Indigenous history. My daughters, Renee and Donita, both went to school in St. Paul. Donita was told by a teacher that she would never amount to anything in life. That is her story to tell.
It was in my second world of “white” that my non-native ex-husband stated, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” What an absolute blessing in disguise! That was a major paradigm shift in my life. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart and my body flying into pieces by the sucker punch. I sat there and thought, “The only way I am worth anything is to be dead, my daughters, my parents, all my family to be dead?” That is when I truly acknowledged who I am. I have struggled with my healing and it has been in my third world where I have accepted whom I am. As a Metis person with the mixed blood of Cree, Saulteaux, French, Irish, and Scottish, I have experienced racism from the native and non-native; however, the racism from the non-native has been the harshest on my spirit and what caused me the most toxic shame.
This third world, in a literal way, is what I call the “Rez”. I married my husband Frank Large and claim Saddle Lake First Nations as my home community. I thought I had witnessed and experienced racism in its’ finest form until I became a First Nations community member. What a shock to learn of how reality is like for Indigenous people which I now claim as my life. In building rapport with the people, I became the school counsellor for the Onchaminahos School for thirteen years. With a basic philosophy of treating everyone with dignity and worth, I earned the trust and respect of the families. I am an international certified addictions counsellor and served as the Program Manager of Eagle Healing Lodge and Community Health Educator / Trauma Counselor and now work as a facilitator and contractor in the healing movement.
In serving Saddle Lake and as a community member, I personally experienced and witnessed racism. My husband is of darker complexion and I am a white skinned half-breed. One example is when we are in a store or an establishment of the service industry, I am usually the one the clerk will address first. Why is that?
Today, I see myself as a warrior woman with a fierce spirit in protecting those who do not have the skills to do so. A staff member in an eatery in St. Paul was commenting about how many native people were in town because it was welfare day and was overheard by a member of Saddle Lake. For the people in the service industry in St. Paul, where would you be, if the people from all the reserves and settlements in the area were to quit spending most of their money in St. Paul? In my opinion, racism exists in the town council and boards in St. Paul because of the lack of inclusion, and yet I think the native numbers are included in funding opportunities. The racism is throughout Canada. In the news today, I hear that from a southern First Nations community, an Indigenous woman was called a “rabid squaw” by an Alberta Health Services employee.
What are the Indigenous people, especially the First Nations people living in the third world environments on reserves, supposed to be celebrating on Canada Day? What does the last 150 years mean? Are they to be celebrating the white privilege that others enjoy? Know that they are the landlords of Kanata and they were not discovered! Yes, there will be some people with native heritage, who may celebrate to be part of the festivities. This is freedom of choice and their reasons.
In the world of bullying, there is the bully, the victim and the bystander. In the world of racism and in St. Paul and area, we have all three. I will no longer be the bystander for bystanders are just as responsible for the hurt as the bully, for not speaking out. Many past victims are refusing to be victims and today, are survivors. The true history shows that the Indian in the child was to be killed. That did not happen. So yes, I rain on your parade for those people who are racist, as you eat your cake on Canada Day on July 1, 2017, I hope the thought crosses your mind of the Indigenous people that do not share your reasons to celebrate!
I have spoken.
Florence Poitras Large – Saddle Lake
