Kanata: The True North

In 2017 we celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday. Yet this land and its people were here just as long as Europe has been, much longer than the 150 years it claims. How ironic that we took the aboriginal word ‘kanata’ meaning ‘Our Land,’ changed the spelling a bit and then announced it was the white man’s land. Why is it that we based our country's name on a word in their language and then sought to destroy everything they identified with?

I spent Canada’s birthday watching my husband and his family get sworn in as Canadian citizens. I listened to speeches about this country's greatness and how it would be a life-changing day for the many people and their descendants for generations to come. And for many of the people there, it was a huge deal. Some of the people being sworn in were refugees from war-torn countries. They really were being given a chance at having a better life in a wonderful country.

And yet, I could taste the bile at the back of my throat. I wondered how many of them actually knew Canada's history, how it was colonized, how its original inhabitants were treated, the cultural atrocities, and the genocide that had occurred. My in-laws certainly did. They were aware of the work my husband and I did for years. We lived among the remaining minority of Canada’s original residents, growing with them, respecting and participating in their culture. We loved them. We listened to their stories and saw the direct impact of the abuse the Canadian government had inflicted on them. However, I suspect few of these new Canadians knew anything about the atrocities the Canadian government had engaged in. Despite its short history and friendly reputation, it does have skeletons hidden away - literally and figuratively.

I’m not going to say that Canada is a horrible place, nor will I say that it’s amazing. Sometimes things are not either/or. Often they are both/and. This piece was done to commemorate those that have always been here, in their “home and native land,” a home that we “adopted” (took) and ravaged without their consent. To those of you who live in the shadow of this travesty, my heart breaks for your loss. This land was yours before our ancestors even knew of it, and we had no right to it then and have only occasionally scratched the surface of making amends.

This piece was done in your traditional aboriginal style to symbolize this land as “your land.” The red background represents the blood of your people that died at the hands of our ancestors. The trees represent the natural and beautiful untamed land we all now call home. With its four beams, the sun symbolizes the source of life and the four directions (North, South, East, West) that are sacred to many cultures. Connecting to the source of life is a bird carrying eagle feathers to remind us of the Creator's connection to our world and the love the Great Spirit has given us to extend to one another. In the foreground is a family standing upon seven stones. The culture that I experienced through your people showed me a value on family and community in a way that few people will ever understand. The seven stones that this family stands upon are a reminder to me of the seven sacred teachings that I was told are foundational of family, community, and life.

The four colours of the medicine wheel here represent the four groups of people in this world. I have placed them in the descending order they appeared here. You were the first to receive life from this place, and I hope that you will continue to celebrate your beautiful culture and become ever freer to embrace who you were meant to be despite the pain inflicted on you.

I wish I could thank you for sharing your land with us, but I realize it wasn’t a gift given. To take is not the same as to receive. So as July 1 comes and goes each year, I am reminded of your “Kanata,” the True North.