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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Summer is time to rebuild connections
Seeing my daughter fillet her first lake trout this summer was a proud Dad moment. It ranks right up there with her hosting a family feast of the first rabbit she snared.
There are many families like ours in mainstream Canada. Families who may have moved to the city, sometimes generations ago, but who strive to keep a connection to the land.
Whether it is via a canoe trip, time spent in a campground, or at the family cottage or farm, a proud part of being Canadian is our ability to shed the city traffic, at least for a little while, and rebuild our connection to the Earth.
With our vast, beautiful wilderness, rekindling our relationship with the land is an important task.
First Nations communities have their own version of this most Canadian of pilgrimages with many returning to their home reserves each summer. Too often, when people hear the word reserve (especially those who have never been to one), they immediately think of ramshackle houses, poverty, and a lack of infrastructure. The reality is startling in contrast to the images you see played out in the media.
What First Nations families are returning to are beautiful lakes, bountiful fishing, long hours of daylight spent outside, and intricately complex social supports. Here, there is land where you can still regularly see wildlife and enjoy lakes and rivers. Tourists fly from around the world just for the wilderness experience. Imagine canoe routes where you can still drink the water you paddle on and hunting areas where moose prevail. This well describes my home reserve.
To further attract families, reserves scattered throughout northern Manitoba host summer festivals and competitions. Canoe and York boat races, foot races, plus kids' events and jigging contests bring communities together to celebrate the skills that were once necessary to thrive on the land (well maybe jigging wasn't quite necessary, but no doubt it made life fun).
Aboriginal families return to rebuild the relationship with their communities, but like any relationship, it takes work.
If you've ever been away from a family member or old friend for a while, it takes a few days to get back into the swing of things. To rebuild the comfort of being around people you can let your hair down in front of (no jest to my First Nations brothers who wear braids).
My oldest daughter, who lives with her mother on her home reserve, and I work through the same struggle if we haven't seen each other for a while. The first days are sometimes awkward with a few silent pauses. But soon our comfort returns and we are back to where we were.
For many First Nations people, our relationships define who we are. We are accountable to our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. That is why you will often hear aboriginal people sussing out their parameters based on whether or not they are related to someone new they meet. Chances are, if you know enough about your history and family tree, you are related to a lot of people.
Summer is a time to rebuild these connections.
Connecting with the land is no different. If it's been a while since you slept in the bush, you'll be awoken by every unidentifiable sound you hear, and your imagination may run rampant. Awkwardness and discomfort prevail until, a few days later, you settle in and rebuild the relationship to your environment.
What many non-native people do not recognize is that a relationship with the land is just as important as a relationship to family. That's because it is family.
If you've ever seen someone you know portrayed shallowly in the media, or by others and thought, "If you only knew the depth of the person, you'd see how beautiful they are," then you'll appreciate why aboriginals feel so strongly about their home reserves.
Yes, while there are certainly superficial shortcomings, these families look to the depth of their communities -- to the oneness with nature and to the memories made over lifetimes that forever forge this family dynamic.
Perhaps that is the insight First Nations peoples can share with Canada. To widen the definition of family. To strengthen community relationships, and to embrace the land like family.
James Wilson is commissioner of the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, a neutral body mandated to encourage discussion, facilitate public understanding and enhance mutual respect between all peoples in Manitoba.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 26, 2012 A10
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