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| "Truth," by Dazaunggee. |
Artist's Note
It’s been said, “The Truth Shall Set You Free.”
Facing the truth and learning from it will set us all free.
We have been living in two worlds – one dark and the other light. One “evil” and one “righteous”. As Anishinaabe, it was deeply ingrained in me that I was just an “Indian”, slapped fiercely for speaking my language in Rama Day School.
From this cruel ugly violence is birthed a high degree of mental and emotional disturbance. A high rate of not wanting to live – of suicides. Do not shrug off this responsibility, leaving it to God or Jesus. Until now, they had nothing to do with the genocide or how to “fix” the Indian in me. The spillover has poured into your communities where people who can’t meet your criteria are considered beggars, bums, whores, homeless, lost. To shame someone is the cruelest form of denigration. Shame is the hardest emotion to carry. It divides us in two.
We are all in the Earth World for a short time. We have the choice of leaving it better or making it worse. By seeing our similarities in others, we begin to see the truth of our histories and our knowledge becomes powerful. We are allies, not enemies.
Anishinaabe, Cree, Mi’kmaq, Haudenosaunee, and many others – they are coming to rescue Mother Earth. It is part of reconciliation – but not reconciliation. It is part of the truth – but it is not the truth. It is a reawakening of knowledge.
It’s been said, “The Truth Shall Set You Free.”
Facing the truth and learning from it will set us all free.
We have been living in two worlds – one dark and the other light. One “evil” and one “righteous”. As Anishinaabe, it was deeply ingrained in me that I was just an “Indian”, slapped fiercely for speaking my language in Rama Day School.
From this cruel ugly violence is birthed a high degree of mental and emotional disturbance. A high rate of not wanting to live – of suicides. Do not shrug off this responsibility, leaving it to God or Jesus. Until now, they had nothing to do with the genocide or how to “fix” the Indian in me. The spillover has poured into your communities where people who can’t meet your criteria are considered beggars, bums, whores, homeless, lost. To shame someone is the cruelest form of denigration. Shame is the hardest emotion to carry. It divides us in two.
We are all in the Earth World for a short time. We have the choice of leaving it better or making it worse. By seeing our similarities in others, we begin to see the truth of our histories and our knowledge becomes powerful. We are allies, not enemies.
Anishinaabe, Cree, Mi’kmaq, Haudenosaunee, and many others – they are coming to rescue Mother Earth. It is part of reconciliation – but not reconciliation. It is part of the truth – but it is not the truth. It is a reawakening of knowledge.