{"id":11376,"date":"2022-04-19T22:35:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T02:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=11376"},"modified":"2026-01-27T23:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:29:30","slug":"tuesday-april-19-2022-the-secret-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=11376","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday, April 19, 2022 \u2014 The Secret Path"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am for the wolf, pitch-black and yel\u00adlow eyes
This is the only place to be
For the raven arriv\u00ading first to get my eyes
This is the only place to be
And I\u2019m for the poor sun, always against the mind\u00adless night
This is the only place to be
And I\u2019m for the wind, in the pale blue sky
This is the only place to be
On this earth-like world
It\u2019s cold and real
And with a sun-like star
You can feel
I\u2019ll just close my eyes
I\u2019ll just catch my breath
This is the only place to be<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[\u201cThe Only Place to Be\u201d \u2014 9th song from The Secret Path<\/em>)]<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>I final\u00adly saw the film com\u00adpo\u00adnent of The Secret Path<\/em>. I heard all of the songs on Gord Down\u00adie\u2019s album when it was released in Octo\u00adber of 2016, and liked them, but I did not see the film. Now I have. This would be some\u00adthing that I would not have to explain to most Cana\u00addi\u00adans, and some\u00adthing that I would cer\u00adtain\u00adly not need to explain to any\u00adone<\/em> from Canada\u2019s First Nations. How\u00adev\u00ader, the read\u00aders of my blog are inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal, and most are unfa\u00admil\u00adiar with Canada\u2019s pecu\u00adliar low-pro\u00adfile cul\u00adture, so I will explain some things for their sake.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trag\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly Hip are a rock band that was tremen\u00addous\u00adly pop\u00adu\u00adlar in Cana\u00adda through\u00adout its career, but apart from a cou\u00adple of briefly suc\u00adcess\u00adful sin\u00adgles nev\u00ader broke out into the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan or glob\u00adal mar\u00adkets. Not every\u00adone in Cana\u00adda likes the band, but every\u00adone is aware of it. It\u2019s not my favourite band, or even my favourite Cana\u00addi\u00adan band, but I lis\u00adten to it fair\u00adly often, when it suits my mood. But I can tell you from the expe\u00adri\u00adence of hitch-hik\u00ading across the coun\u00adtry that the peo\u00adple who were like\u00adly to give me a ride, when I stood for\u00adlorn and mos\u00adqui\u00adto-bit\u00adten on the dusty shoul\u00adder of the Trans-Cana\u00adda High\u00adway, like as not had a Hip cas\u00adsette play\u00ading in their car or truck, and a bunch of them scat\u00adtered on the front seat, which they hasti\u00adly gath\u00adered up to let me sit. The Hip began the usu\u00adal way, a hand\u00adful of high school bud\u00addies start\u00ading a band and work\u00ading their way up play\u00ading local joints in the small city of Kingston, Ontario. The ear\u00adly songs were strik\u00ading, and well played, though not par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly ambi\u00adtious in their arrange\u00adments. An ear\u00adly hit, \u201cBlow at High Dough\u201d, has a pret\u00adty basic chord pat\u00adtern and chug-along rhythm gui\u00adtar and slide gui\u00adtar, and depends most\u00adly on the pecu\u00adliar\u00adi\u00adty of Down\u00adie\u2019s voice and his enig\u00admat\u00adic lyrics to hook the lis\u00adten\u00ader. As time went on, gui\u00adtarists Paul Lan\u00adglois and Rob Bak\u00ader, bassist Gord Sin\u00adclair, and drum\u00admer John\u00adny Fay picked up greater and greater skill, and attempt\u00aded sub\u00adtler and more ambi\u00adtious tech\u00adnique, while Gord Down\u00adie\u2019s lyrics became more and more poet\u00adic. But the Hip always behaved and played like a real\u00adly good bar band. Their sub\u00adject mat\u00adter \u2014- the world from the point of view of the small-town under\u00addog, had the pecu\u00adliar mix\u00adture of con\u00adcern for the envi\u00adron\u00adment, out\u00adrage at social injus\u00adtice, ghost\u00adly snatch\u00ades of dream\u00adlike imagery, along with pick\u00adup trucks, junior hock\u00adey and get\u00adting drunk at the town curl\u00ading rink that appealed to Cana\u00addi\u00adans and felt<\/em> Cana\u00addi\u00adan. For exam\u00adple, \u201cWheat Kings\u201d was told from the point of view of David Mil\u00adgaard, who served twen\u00adty years in a Man\u00adi\u00adto\u00adba prison, wrong\u00adful\u00adly con\u00advict\u00aded of murder:<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a dream he dreams where the high school\u2019s dead and stark
It\u2019s a muse\u00adum and we\u2019re all locked up in it after dark
The walls are lined all yel\u00adlow, grey and sinister
Hung with pic\u00adtures of our par\u00adents\u2019 prime ministers
Wheat kings and pret\u00adty things
Wait and see what tomor\u00adrow brings<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

and this theme is even stronger in \u201c38 Years Old\u201d, set in an Ontario prison:<\/span><\/p>\n

Same pat\u00adtern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat emp\u00adty, eigh\u00adteen years in all
Freez\u00ading slow time, away from the world
He\u2019s thir\u00adty-eight years old, nev\u00ader kissed a girl<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever heard Neil Young\u2019s \u201cHelp\u00adless\u201d or Joni Mitchel\u00adl\u2019s \u201cRaised on Rob\u00adbery\u201d, for exam\u00adple, you can guess that this sort of thing has long formed the core of musi\u00adcal sen\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty in Cana\u00adda. Nobody here sings about their lam\u00adbergh\u00adi\u00adnis or design\u00ader watch\u00ades or what macho dudes they are. Cana\u00addi\u00adans laugh at brag\u00adgarts. By the time Down\u00adie wrote \u201cAhead By a Cen\u00adtu\u00adry\u201d in 1996 , with its erot\u00adic dream of two teenagers climb\u00ading a tree togeth\u00ader to make love and fig\u00adure out their des\u00adtiny, the lyrics were way past the con\u00adven\u00adtions of either pop song writ\u00ading or sto\u00adry\u00adtelling. But the song had been worked out from impromp\u00adtu jam ses\u00adsions done as ear\u00adly as when they first per\u00adformed \u201cNew Orleans Is Sinking\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stare in the morn\u00ading shroud
And then the day began
I tilt\u00aded your cloud
You tilt\u00aded my hand
Rain falls in real time
And rain fell through the night
No dress rehearsal, this is our life
But that\u2019s when the hor\u00adnet stung me
And I had a seri\u00adous dream
With revenge and doubt
Tonight, we smoked them out<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, after decades of sol\u00adid suc\u00adcess, The Hip played in Fort Albany, Ontario, pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion a smidge over 2,000 \u2015 hard\u00adly a mon\u00adey-mak\u00ading venue \u2015 shar\u00ading the stage with a local band. Fort Albany and Kashechewan First Nations live most\u00adly by tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal trap\u00adping, hunt\u00ading and fish\u00ading, and their small pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion var\u00adi\u00adous\u00adly speaks Cree, Ojib\u00adway, Eng\u00adlish, French, and Oji-Cree (a sort of com\u00adpro\u00admise between the first two). The town is acces\u00adsi\u00adble only by bush planes and, in mid-win\u00adter, by a long and dan\u00adger\u00adous ice road dri\u00advable only by spe\u00adcial\u00adly trained truck dri\u00advers. It was here that Gord Down\u00adie learned the sto\u00adry of Chanie Wen\u00adjack, a twelve-year-old boy from Ogo\u00adki Post, a tiny upstream First Nations vil\u00adlage, who escaped from mis\u00adtreat\u00adment at one of the noto\u00adri\u00adous Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Schools and died of hunger and expo\u00adsure while attempt\u00ading to walk 600 kms back home. It also began a kind of spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal bond between The Hip and First Nations that would grow steadi\u00adly deeper.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, Down\u00adie was diag\u00adnosed with a fatal brain can\u00adcer, with the expectan\u00adcy of soon and cer\u00adtain death. The band was deter\u00admined to keep play\u00ading til the end, and their last con\u00adcert, in their home town of Kingston, was broad\u00adcast cross-plat\u00adform and nation\u00adwide to an esti\u00admat\u00aded audi\u00adence of one third of the coun\u00adtry\u2019s entire pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion<\/em>. This includ\u00aded every sin\u00adgle liv\u00ading per\u00adson in the town of Bob\u00adcay\u00adgeon, the set\u00adting and title of one of their best songs. After thir\u00adty songs and three encore sets, they fin\u00adished with \u201cAhead By a Cen\u00adtu\u00adry.\u201d But Down\u00adie also had a spe\u00adcial solo project in mind. This was The Secret Path<\/em>, which was to be much more than the album of ten songs that Down\u00adie com\u00adposed. It was pack\u00adaged with a graph\u00adic nov\u00adel which Down\u00adie wrote and was illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by cel\u00ade\u00adbrat\u00aded DC<\/span> and Mar\u00advel comics artist Jeff Lemire, an ani\u00admat\u00aded film ver\u00adsion of the graph\u00adic nov\u00adel direct\u00aded by Down\u00adie, and a suite of relat\u00aded instruc\u00adtion\u00adal mate\u00adri\u00adals for pub\u00adlic schools. These were pre\u00adsent\u00aded togeth\u00ader in con\u00adcert at Roy Thomp\u00adson Hall in Toron\u00adto on Octo\u00adber 2016, with Chanie Wen\u00adjack\u00ad\u2019s sur\u00adviv\u00ading sis\u00adters present. This was Gord Down\u00adie\u2019s last pub\u00adlic per\u00adfor\u00admance. He died on Octo\u00adber 17, 2017. The Prime Min\u00adis\u00adter called a spe\u00adcial press con\u00adfer\u00adence, in which he announced the death of \u201cour bud\u00addy Gord, who loved this coun\u00adtry with every\u00adthing he had\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>As I said, I heard the album when it came out. I did not know what to expect, but I end\u00aded up watch\u00ading it with a friend and restrain\u00ading tears, because Secret Path<\/em> is not only a fine piece of ani\u00adma\u00adtion, but it touch\u00ades on many parts of my life. The songs have a pecu\u00adliar, repet\u00adi\u00adtive and almost dron\u00ading qual\u00adi\u00adty, with no fan\u00adcy licks or catchy tunes, and an odd absence of cadence. Now, hav\u00ading seen the film, I under\u00adstand that these pecu\u00adliar\u00adi\u00adties are nec\u00ades\u00adsary com\u00adpo\u00adnents of the music and the ani\u00adma\u00adtion tak\u00aden togeth\u00ader. They cap\u00adture exact\u00adly the way young Chanie\u2019s mind must have expe\u00adri\u00adenced his des\u00adper\u00adate jour\u00adney. I can tell you from expe\u00adri\u00adence that in pro\u00adlonged and over\u00adwhelm\u00ading dan\u00adger, your brain repeats words and phras\u00ades like obses\u00adsive tics. You become a rhyth\u00admic chant of help\u00adless\u00adness and fear, and this is how the boy would have expe\u00adri\u00adenced the events that he endured, the mem\u00ado\u00adries that swamped him, and the hope\u00adful fan\u00adtasies that kept him going.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known sev\u00ader\u00adal peo\u00adple who went through the same ordeals that Chanie went through at Cecil\u00adia Jef\u00adfrey Indi\u00adan Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial School in Keno\u00adra, or in any of the 138 oth\u00ader such schools in the coun\u00adtry. I\u2019ve known an even greater num\u00adber of peo\u00adple who were the sec\u00adond gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion vic\u00adtims, grow\u00ading up with par\u00adents strug\u00adgling with severe psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal prob\u00adlems and alco\u00adholism trace\u00adable to their abuse in child\u00adhood. This always put the less\u00ader trou\u00adbles of my own child\u00adhood in per\u00adspec\u00adtive. I\u2019ve been study\u00ading the issue most of my life, gath\u00ader\u00ading up what doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adta\u00adtion I could get a hold of. There was not much avail\u00adable at first, but in recent years much more objec\u00adtive data and analy\u00adsis has become avail\u00adable. I am still in the mid\u00addle of read\u00ading mas\u00adsive reports. Why has so much mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal recent\u00adly become avail\u00adable? Part\u00adly because of the dis\u00adcov\u00adery of unmarked children\u2019s graves on the sites of aban\u00addoned Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Schools, which has shocked the nation. But prob\u00ada\u00adbly more because of Gord\u2019s music, graph\u00adic nov\u00adel and film, and it\u2019s accom\u00adpa\u00adny\u00ading edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal. These are now teach\u00ading aids in many Cana\u00addi\u00adan schools. The prof\u00adit from them has been spent exclu\u00adsive\u00adly on inde\u00adpen\u00addent asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions striv\u00ading to expose and doc\u00adu\u00adment this injus\u00adtice, and to heal the injuries it left behind it. And it cre\u00adat\u00aded the psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal break\u00adthrough that forced the Cana\u00addi\u00adan pub\u00adlic to face up to the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

In one part of the ani\u00admat\u00aded film, which I did not under\u00adstand when I only heard the song, we see Chanie des\u00adper\u00adate\u00adly using the match\u00ades which his moth\u00ader had giv\u00aden him before he was sent away. This is the third song, \u201cSev\u00aden Matches\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

She gave me matches
Sev\u00aden wood\u00aden matches
She put them into a small, slim glass jar
With a screw-top lid
I fin\u00adgered that jar
I put it in my pocket
She said, \u2018Can\u2019t go into the woods with\u00adout them\u2019
I smiled at her and left
And I kept them dry
And as long as there were six
I\u2019d be fine
As long as there were five
Match\u00ades in that jar
Mile after mile
On the chick-chick chick-chick sound of the matches
On the mem\u00ado\u00adry of her smile
I kept them dry
And as long as there were five
I\u2019d be fine
As long as there were four
Match\u00ades in a jar
With a screw-top lid
I know she did not mean to hurt my feelings
But that\u2019s what she did
And I kept them dry
And as long as there were three
I\u2019d be fine
As long as there were two
Match\u00ades in that jar<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Know\u00ading that his artis\u00adtic cre\u00adation would have to be expe\u00adri\u00adenced by young chil\u00addren, and used to teach in school, Down\u00adie did not direct\u00adly refer to the sex\u00adu\u00adal abuse that is known and noto\u00adri\u00adous. Instead, he just con\u00adcen\u00adtrates on Chanie\u2019s help\u00adless\u00adness and fear expressed through ges\u00adtures and oblique images. It is, after all, the help\u00adless\u00adless and fear that mat\u00adters, and chil\u00addren are per\u00adfect\u00adly capa\u00adble of under\u00adstand\u00ading this. <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

In the sec\u00adond half of the 19th cen\u00adtu\u00adry, Canada\u2019s pio\u00adneer and wilder\u00adness soci\u00adety was meta\u00admor\u00adphos\u00ading into some\u00adthing more com\u00adplex. Reform\u00aders strug\u00adgled to estab\u00adlish pub\u00adlic edu\u00adca\u00adtion. In the urban and agri\u00adcul\u00adtur\u00adal south, Canada\u2019s First Nations had long been an inte\u00adgral part of its social fab\u00adric. Abo\u00adrig\u00adi\u00adnal names resound\u00aded in the coun\u00adtry\u2019s mil\u00adi\u00adtary and polit\u00adi\u00adcal his\u00adto\u00adry. It was our Mohawk and Ojib\u00adway gen\u00ader\u00adals who had repelled an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan inva\u00adsion and made the coun\u00adtry\u2019s future pos\u00adsi\u00adble. Seneca and Mohawk farms were as good as, if not bet\u00adter than those of Euro\u00adpean set\u00adtlers, and First Nations com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties sprout\u00aded busi\u00adness\u00admen, cler\u00adgy\u00admen, ath\u00adletes, schol\u00adars, writ\u00aders and poets. But in the north\u00adern wilder\u00adness, it was a dif\u00adfer\u00adent sto\u00adry. Abo\u00adrig\u00adi\u00adnal life in the big emp\u00adty part of Cana\u00adda (most of the coun\u00adtry) remained tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal, and com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties were tiny, scat\u00adtered, and remote. It seemed log\u00adi\u00adcal to bring edu\u00adca\u00adtion to these com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties by means of board\u00ading schools, which would mean remov\u00ading kids from their fam\u00adi\u00adlies. The reform\u00aders no doubt were mod\u00adel\u00adling this enter\u00adprise on the famed Mohawk Insti\u00adtute, found\u00aded as ear\u00adly as 1831. It was also tak\u00aden for grant\u00aded that the Church\u00ades were both the nat\u00adur\u00adal source of teach\u00aders and the unques\u00adtion\u00adable foun\u00adtain\u00adhead of moral\u00adi\u00adty. This was to turn what began as a move\u00adment of pro\u00adgres\u00adsive reform into a total\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan night\u00admare of abuse and tor\u00adment. The First Nations of the North were famil\u00adiar with sym\u00adpa\u00adthet\u00adic mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies, who were usu\u00adal\u00adly pious men who learned their lan\u00adguages, defend\u00aded their inter\u00adests, and respect\u00aded their way of life. The peo\u00adple who ulti\u00admate\u00adly ran these Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Schools were noth\u00ading like that. They were strict and fanat\u00adi\u00adcal ide\u00ado\u00adlogues who saw an oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to have total author\u00adi\u00adty over help\u00adless kids that they could mould as they wished into what\u00adev\u00ader they wished. And the Gov\u00adern\u00adment would pay them to do it! Pay by the head. And the Gov\u00adern\u00adment would not make any effort to over\u00adsee or ques\u00adtion them, since the moral pro\u00adbity of the Angli\u00adcan, Catholic and Pres\u00adby\u00adter\u00adian Church\u00ades could not be ques\u00adtioned. On top of that, the atti\u00adtudes of Canada\u2019s rul\u00ading elite under\u00adwent a not-so-sub\u00adtle trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion in the last quar\u00adter of the cen\u00adtu\u00adry. With cheap trans-Atlantic steam\u00aders, it became pos\u00adsi\u00adble for Canada\u2019s rich to send their kids to school in Britain, or even Con\u00adti\u00adnen\u00adtal Europe. Many returned stuffed with the \u201cmod\u00adern\u201d and \u201csci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic\u201d ideas of racial and cul\u00adtur\u00adal supe\u00adri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty and infe\u00adri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty, which had pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly had lit\u00adtle influ\u00adence in Canada\u2019s egal\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan back\u00adwoods cul\u00adture. Even when Canada\u2019s new elite were aware of the nasty things going on in the Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Schools, they did not dis\u00adap\u00adprove. This atti\u00adtude would hold for a half a cen\u00adtu\u00adry, with only a hand\u00adful of voic\u00ades raised in oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion. And as Cana\u00adda became more urban and indus\u00adtri\u00adal, what\u00adev\u00ader hap\u00adpened in the north\u00adern hin\u00adter\u00adlands seemed of lit\u00adtle consequence.<\/span><\/p>\n

For much of Canada\u2019s old\u00ader gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion, First Nations issues seem to be noth\u00ading but an end\u00adless cycle of bick\u00ader\u00ading over old treaties and occa\u00adsion\u00adal flair-ups where the peo\u00adple in some remote vil\u00adlage in the bush block a log\u00adging road. The \u201ctree hug\u00adgers\u201d and urban-based activists that ally with them often get most of the cov\u00ader\u00adage and do most of the talk\u00ading. Cana\u00adda may nev\u00ader have had \u201cIndi\u00adan Wars\u201d like the U.S. or sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adic depor\u00adta\u00adtions and geno\u00adci\u00addal slaugh\u00adters, but it has had legal dis\u00adputes that last\u00aded cen\u00adturies. For exam\u00adple, the legal sta\u00adtus of an entire neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood in down\u00adtown Toron\u00adto, based on the exact inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of Toron\u00adto Pur\u00adchase Treaty 13 with the Mis\u00adsis\u00adsaugas of the New Cred\u00adit First Nation signed in 1805, was only sort\u00aded out in 2010. As you can imag\u00adine, the his\u00adto\u00adry of such dis\u00adputes is so long and com\u00adplex that it will nev\u00ader be com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble to most peo\u00adple.* Despite the reg\u00adu\u00adlar use of the word \u201cracism\u201d in this con\u00adtext, it real\u00adly is not appro\u00adpri\u00adate. Cana\u00addi\u00adans are not brought up with any con\u00adcept of First Nations as being a \u201crace\u201d in the sense that Amer\u00adi\u00adcans use the word, or to have any par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar hos\u00adtil\u00adi\u00adty to them, or con\u00adtempt for them, or fear of them, nor do they con\u00adceive of them as an alien \u201coth\u00ader\u201d. There are First Nations in every part of Cana\u00adda, but since they are most promi\u00adnent in remote non-urban places, and least promi\u00adnent in the biggest cities, they are main\u00adly tucked into Cana\u00addi\u00adans\u2019 minds as iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adable minor back\u00adground char\u00adac\u00adters, along with rodeo cow\u00adboys, lob\u00adster fish\u00ader\u00admen, high-steel con\u00adstruc\u00adtion work\u00aders, and British Columbi\u00ada\u2019s weed-smok\u00ading snow-board\u00ading hip\u00adsters (An irony is that First Nations have a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant pres\u00adence in all four of the groups I just list\u00aded). It\u2019s only in some spe\u00adcif\u00adic com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties where the eco\u00adnom\u00adic inter\u00adests of a reserve and a near\u00adby town con\u00adflict, or where First Nations have a strong show\u00ading on skid row, that there is any overt prej\u00adu\u00addice. And, while many First Nations com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties are pros\u00adper\u00adous, Canada\u2019s wilder\u00adness is full of tiny reserves that seem to be in a con\u00adstant state of finan\u00adcial or envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal cri\u00adsis. These reserves often stand on land wrapped up in those com\u00adplex treaties, which were drawn up because Fed\u00ader\u00adal and Provin\u00adcial gov\u00adern\u00adments thought the land was worth\u00adless, but sub\u00adse\u00adquent\u00adly found out it was full of oil or dia\u00admonds, or gold, or rich fish\u00ading grounds, or valu\u00adable tim\u00adber. Keep\u00ading their inhab\u00adi\u00adtants from estab\u00adlish\u00ading any sol\u00adid title to these good\u00adies has always been a pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty, espe\u00adcial\u00adly with the Provin\u00adcial gov\u00adern\u00adments that are in thick with the rel\u00ade\u00advant indus\u00adtries. Every\u00adwhere, gov\u00adern\u00adments present to the pub\u00adlic the image that they are giv\u00ading \u201chand\u00adouts\u201d, gen\u00ader\u00adous set\u00adtle\u00adments and benev\u00ado\u00adlent char\u00adi\u00adty to First Nations when they are actu\u00adal\u00adly only ful\u00adfill\u00ading the oblig\u00ada\u00adtions of the treaties that they signed long ago, and doing that grudg\u00ading\u00adly and stingi\u00adly at best. Most Cana\u00addi\u00adans of the old\u00ader gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion under\u00adstand noth\u00ading of this, and per\u00adceive it as gov\u00adern\u00adments giv\u00ading unfair pref\u00ader\u00adence to a sub\u00adgroup of the nation because of some neb\u00adu\u00adlous wrong in the dis\u00adtant past, which they acknowl\u00adedge must have hap\u00adpened, but don\u2019t under\u00adstand why they should be \u201cpay\u00ading for\u201d now. The facts that Cana\u00adda has no his\u00adto\u00adry of \u201cIndi\u00adan wars\u201d or forced pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion removals like the U.S., that First Nations have always served dis\u00adpro\u00adpor\u00adtion\u00adate\u00adly in our armed ser\u00advices with great dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion, and that many First Nations com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties are pros\u00adper\u00adous exem\u00adplars of the mid\u00addle class makes the issues of the poor and besieged ones all the more baf\u00adfling to them. <\/span><\/p>\n

But there are oth\u00ader kinds of vio\u00adlence and oppres\u00adsion than wars or lynch\u00adings, and the most immoral of them are those that vic\u00adtim\u00adize chil\u00addren. Steal\u00ading some\u00adbody\u2019s land may piss them off, snob\u00adbery and big\u00adotry may make life a hard\u00adship, pover\u00adty is a drag, but steal\u00ading chil\u00addren from their fam\u00adi\u00adlies and ter\u00adror\u00adiz\u00ading them is in anoth\u00ader class of evil. It scars them in a way that cuts to their souls, not just their bank accounts. I grew up pret\u00adty poor, in an unhap\u00adpy fam\u00adi\u00adly, and expe\u00adri\u00adenced some nasty stuff well into my teenage years, but it\u2019s just some expe\u00adri\u00adence under my belt. It does\u00adn\u2019t hurt me now, and I\u2019m smarter and more empath\u00adic because of it. But most of the kids who were dragged away to Canada\u2019s Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Schools, where they were psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly and often sex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly abused at the most ten\u00adder and vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adble age were not able to just tuck it under their belts and write it off to expe\u00adri\u00adence. The Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Schools left a whole gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion dam\u00adaged, and in turn dam\u00adaged the gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion that fol\u00adlowed it. The Secret Path<\/em> was meant to be more than just part of a heal\u00ading process. It was meant to give the next gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion in Cana\u00adda an under\u00adstand\u00ading of their past, and the most pre\u00adcious gift of all, self-aware\u00adness and free\u00addom from delu\u00adsion. If you are an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan who is at this moment con\u00adfront\u00aded with the Repub\u00adli\u00adcan Par\u00adty\u2019s attempt to cen\u00adsor and re-write Amer\u00adi\u00adcan his\u00adto\u00adry in the same way that the Com\u00admu\u00adnist Par\u00adty or the Nazis did, then you hope\u00adful\u00adly know just how pre\u00adcious is the gift of free\u00addom from delusion.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>Gord\u2019s project, which he pur\u00adsued with pas\u00adsion and unbe\u00adliev\u00adable hard work while he was actu\u00adal\u00adly dying<\/em>, was root\u00aded in the fact that he real\u00adized that he was an extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary lucky man. In fact, he pro\u00adclaimed this at his last con\u00adcert: \u201cI am the luck\u00adi\u00adest man in the world.\u201d Not only had he been gift\u00aded with love and respect, but he got to know and deter\u00admine the style and dig\u00adni\u00adty of his own death. He also knew that these were pre\u00adcise\u00adly the things that Chanie Wen\u00adjack had been cheat\u00aded of. When that lit\u00adtle boy fled the night\u00admare world he had been plunged into and ran des\u00adper\u00adate\u00adly to get back home to the fam\u00adi\u00adly that loved him, he was every hero of lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture that you should take seri\u00adous\u00adly. But unlike the heroes of art, there was no hap\u00adpy end\u00ading, no ren\u00addi\u00adtion of jus\u00adtice, no dig\u00adni\u00adfied exit.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

* The 1805 treaty was almost cer\u00adtain\u00adly bogus. In 1787, coun\u00adcils of three groups of Mis\u00adsis\u00adsaugas were con\u00advened at which trade goods were dis\u00adtrib\u00aduted in recog\u00adni\u00adtion of their loy\u00adal\u00adty dur\u00ading the strug\u00adgle with the Amer\u00adi\u00adcans, and guar\u00adan\u00adtee\u00ading \u201cright of pas\u00adsage\u201d for new set\u00adtlers across the area that would even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly become Toron\u00adto. By the time of the 1805 treaty, this had been mag\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly trans\u00adformed into a \u201cdoc\u00adu\u00adment of sale\u201d and only much lat\u00ader was it dis\u00adcov\u00adered that the \u201cdeed\u201d to Toron\u00adto [which meant \u201ccar\u00adry\u00ading place\u201d or \u201cmeet\u00ading place\u201d] was com\u00adplete\u00adly blank, with the marks of three Mis\u00adsis\u00adsauga chiefs on sep\u00ada\u00adrate scraps of paper sus\u00adpi\u00adcious\u00adly sand\u00adwiched into it. This proved some\u00adthing of an embar\u00adrass\u00adment con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ading the land that it cov\u00adered is now the third largest urban econ\u00ado\u00admy in North Amer\u00adi\u00adca, hav\u00ading dis\u00adplaced Chica\u00adgo for this posi\u00adtion in the last few years. One par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly nag\u00adging con\u00adflict that has gone on for lit\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly cen\u00adturies in Cana\u00adda and has come to the point of vio\u00adlence sev\u00ader\u00adal times is a dis\u00adpute over a small patch of land in the sub\u00adurbs of Mon\u00adtre\u00adal that traces back to antag\u00ado\u00adnism between Catholics and Methodists over con\u00adtrol of a cemetery. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am for the wolf, pitch-black and yel\u00adlow eyes This is the only place to be For the raven arriv\u00ading first to get my eyes This is the only place to be And I\u2019m for the poor sun, always against the mind\u00adless night This is \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1540,946,1535,947,1530,948,1525],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog","category-ae-blog-2022","category-b-reading","category-be-reading-2022","category-c-listening","category-ce-listening-2022","category-d-viewing","category-de-viewing-2022"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11376"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11401,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11376\/revisions\/11401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}