The Path of Chanie Wenjack

The only picture of Chanie Wenjack

Stories can take an overwhelming issue and make it personal.  Stories can open our hearts, so we can empathize and connect to people we have never met.  Here is a story that is being told in Canada. This is Chanie Wenjack's story and it is the story of thousands of children.  When Chanie was twelve years old he escaped from the residential school in Kenora, ON where he had been sent and where he had been lonely, frightened and abused.  He tried to walk the 600 km back to his family but he died of exposure beside the railway tracks that he believed would lead him home.

You may have seen the Heritage Minute on TV about Chanie, narrated by his sister Pearl and written by author Joseph Boyden.  It was the inquest into his death that got the country to start questioning the residential school system which finally ended 30 years later although the legacy of this system still lives on in a myriad of ways.

This month, musician Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip and author Joseph Boyden are telling his story again.  Three years ago,Gord’s brother, Mike Downie heard Chanie’s story and showed a Macleans article from 1967 about him to Gord and Joseph.  They were immediately compelled to tell this young boy’s story which touched them deeply.

Gord Downie wrote poems which turned into songs for Chanie.  Gord and Mike met with artist Jeff Lemire to see if he would create a graphic novel to accompany the songs.  He was very busy, but the images for the book began to come to him right away and he knew that he too was part of the project.  Then the images from the book became a 60 minute movie with the CD as a soundtrack and footage of Gord meeting with Chanie’s family was included.  The film is very powerful and the music is deeply emotional.  Alvin Fiddler, Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation said that his friend Gord, “wants us to move from awareness to caring.”  (Toronto Star Oct. 24, 2016)  

The film was broadcast on CBC on October 23^rd  to mark the 50^th anniversary of Chanie’s death.  It can be viewed in its entirety on the CBC website or you can see the first chapter, The Stranger on youtube   The proceeds from Secret Path will go to the The Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconciliation via The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at The University of Manitoba. 

Joseph Boyden

At the same time, Joseph Boyden worked on a novella called Wenjack in which he tells Chanie’s story.  As he was writing, the voices of animals came to him, animals that accompanied Chanie on his lonely journey home.  The chapters in the book are accompanied by lovely pen and ink drawings of fish, a crow, hummingbird, owl, mouse, spider, wood tick, beaver, snow goose, rabbit and lynx drawn by artist Kent Monkman . These animals appear on the cover of the book and they bring to life the Indigenous storytelling of a boy who is surrounded by all his relations even on this solitary journey.

In all of these storytelling projects, Chanie Wenjack’s story becomes the story of the 150,000 Indigenous children who were taken from their homes to Indian Residential Schools from the 1870’s to 1996 when the last school closed.  So far records for 6000 of these children who died in the schools from abuse, starvation and disease and those who died trying to escape have been recovered.  The numbers are too big to comprehend.  But the story of Chanie can be told and imagined and felt.

In the interviews with the creators of these expressions, the men who were fathers spoke about their own sons who are the same age.  It was no leap at all to imagine having their sons taken away and never coming back.  Anyone who has been a child, had a child, or has grandchildren, in short all of us can choose to open our hearts and feel this story. That is what will connect us – empathy and a desire for healing.  Healing for those for whom this story is an inter-generational one that has been told for a long time, and for those for whom this story is brand new.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) did a survey which revealed some startling facts.  Only 66% of Canadians even know about the existence of these residential schools and only 40% know of the existence of the TRC which was set up to collect the stories of the survivors and to document the history and legacy of these schools.  However, over 90% of Canadians want to learn more about this.

Pearl, Gord and Chanie

And that is what makes these collaborative projects so important.  In the film Secret Path Downie travels to Northern Ontario to visit Pearl Achneepineskum, Chanie’s sister.  She says that she always wanted Chanie’s life to mean something and so she is happy to have his story told so that Canadians can learn about what happened to so many children.  She also wants to see high schools on reserves so that today, young people don’t have to leave home at a young age just to get an education.  This so often ends badly.  Currently, children on reserves receive only 60% of the funding of children in the rest of Canada for education because of federal funding which is responsible for education on reserves as opposed to provincial funding for the other children.  Federal politicians need to hear from all of us so that that gets rectified.

After the streaming of Secret Path, the CBC hosted a discussion with an Indigenous panel including moderator Melanie Nepinak Hadley, film maker Tasha Hubbard, Ryan Moran of the TRC and Jesse Wente of TIFF and the CBC. The panelists emphasized that all Canadians have to learn about this part of our history.  Secret Path and Wendack are easily accessible ways to begin this process.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report is available in a Summary form as a pdf and in book form as well.  The summary has 94 Calls to Action.  The panel suggested reading these, picking one that resonates with you and taking action.  And they highlighted the need for non-Indigenous Canadians to listen, really listen to what Indigenous people are saying.  That listening will take courage as people discover that as Gord says, “we are not the country we thought we were.”

Panelist Jesse Wente asked what a new Canada would look like.  This question is being asked in more and more places.  What will our country look like when Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are all allowed to be healthy, educated, able to practice their cultures and make their unique and important contributions to Canada?  

Secret Path was screened in Ottawa on Oct. 18^th.  Gord Downie performed the songs from the CD in front of the screen.  Dozens of Chanie’s family members were there.  His family has joined with Gord Downie’s family to create the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund  to “foster new relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, while strengthening the voices and work of groups already making a difference. Money raised for the DWF will be used to create new relationships for reconciliation.” 

These relationships are already beginning.  At the end of the concert and screening, Gord and Pearl held hands while Pearl sang a traditional Anishinaabe healing song.  She spoke about her family and then sobbed.  After a moment Gord took the mic and said, “It’s just time to get started. It’s time to get going, OK?”

This is a time of listening, healing and taking action. We are writing a new story together.  Let's get going.  OK!

Global Citizens Embrace Amazing Possibilities

Hugh Evans in his TED Talk

Hugh Evans was born in 1983 in Melbourne Australia.  He started raising money for poverty at age 12 and spent time in the Philippines with a family that lived in a garbage dump.  This profoundly changed Hugh who began looking at core problems, community solutions and systemic change.  As he grew up, he knew that he wanted to create a sustainable movement that was global.

And so, In 2012,  he launched Global Citizen. Evans learned that research showed that of those who cared about global issues, only 18% took action because people don’t always know what to do about these issues.  

Using the universal language of music, Global Citizen hosted concerts with famous musicians to recruit and activate people.  But you couldn’t buy tickets to these concerts.  You had to take actions to earn points on the Global Citizen website to get a ticket.  This is how Evans galvanized people who self- identify as members of the human race before they identify with any particular country or culture, to take action in ending extreme poverty, climate change, gender inequality and more.  Global Citizen partnered with The Global Fund in September of this year, putting on a concert in Montreal to coincide with the 5th Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund (see the blog just before this one).

The Global Citizen website tells the stories of many global problems and projects.  They are listed under the headings of Girls and Women, Health, Education, Finance and Innovation, Food and Hunger, Water and Sanitation, Environment, and Citizenship.  Beside each story are possible actions.  Many actions are tweets, facebook shares and petitions which are easy and normal for young people to take. 

The Global Citizen website says, “The effects of small actions are not always obvious, but by working together specific and tangible outcomes are achieved. Global citizens' voices influence world leaders and decision makers, and contribute to shaping our world.”

So far 7,793,483 actions have been taken.  "Actions" are tweets, on-line petitions, emails and phone calls to government leaders.  Twenty-seven billion dollars in funding commitments as well as 158 commitments and policy announcements have been made by these leaders and 737 million lives are set to be affected. (Global Citizen website) 

There are now millions of Global Citizens signed up in 150 countries.  Here are some of the changes that they have contributed to:

• ·         142,000 Global Citizens led the US government to double its investments into global partnerships for education.
• ·         96,805 Global Citizens helped to persuade the World Bank to invest in water and sanitation.
• ·         352,954 Global Citizens with Rotarians got the governments of Australia, Canada and the UK to boost investment for polio eradication and $665 million was pledged

Hugh Evans says in his personal and inspiring TED Talk  “We live in a time that favours the Global Citizen.  We live in a time when every voice can be heard.”  This is because social media now exists and is being used by millions of people worldwide. So Global Citizen partners with the world’s leading NGO’s to increase the frequency, quality and impact of their actions.

Evans goes on to say, “This is the opportunity that I see:  the concept of Global Citizen , self-evident in its logic that until now in practical and many ways has coincided with this particular moment in which we are privileged to live.  We as Global Citizens now have a unique opportunity to accelerate large scale change around the world. “

 “These are ultimately global issues,” Evan says.  “And they can ultimately only be solved by global citizens demanding global solutions from their leaders.”  He invites everyone to “embrace the amazing possibilities of the world we share.”  Here is a young man who is galvanizing other young people to tackle problems that have older people paralyzed.  And there is space in this new story for older people to join in and be a part of the solution.  Check out Global Citizen and be a part of it.

More Than Anyone Dreamed Possible

Imagine countries from around the world working together to eradicate diseases that kill millions of people every year.  Diseases like AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which kill more than 4 million people each year.  It sounds impossible.  It sounds like a dream.  Well, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had such a dream at the turn of the millennium and by 2002, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria was established as a private foundation hosted by the World Health Organization.

This Fund works with a different paradigm than most paternalistic aid organizations.  It relies on the four principles of partnership, country ownership, performance-based funding and transparency.  The Fund raises money from governments, the private sector and citizens.  Roughly $4 billion (USD) is raised each year. 

The Global Fund uses these funds to empower local organizations in the countries most in need to do the work of prevention, treatment, care and strengthening health systems.  The projects are “informed by the specific needs and characteristics of each country, as well as the divergent needs of communities most affected by diseases.” (The Global Fund website )

The local organizations and governments work in partnership with the funding partners.  In the past, funding organizations working in a hierarchical paradigm decided what people needed and how it would be delivered.  This led to inappropriate and unhelpful “aid” in many cases as those making the decisions didn’t fully understand the local situation.  Working in this new paradigm of partnership, the help is more productive and stable and the money is put to better use.  The Fund has had to adjust how it works to maintain it’s principles of transparency and performance-based funding. “Partnership means continual growth, driven by mutual respect, shared responsibility and a strong commitment by all,” states the global fund website.

Over it’s fourteen year history, the death rates in countries in which The Global Fund invests have decreased by 40% for AIDS, 31% for Tuberculosis and 50% for Malaria.  Hundreds of millions of mosquito nets have been distributed.  By the end of 2016, the Global Fund will be responsible for helping to save the lives of 22 million people.  This work can only have been done to this extent because of the model of partnership that is being used.  That is the only way to tackle such huge issues and achieve such a bold goal.

“We have the knowledge and tools to end AIDS, TB, and malaria as epidemics by 2030, but we need to invest smartly and with focus to make it happen. When we work together, we can achieve more than anyone dreamed possible,” writes Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund.

CBC photo

And it all came to land in Canada last month.  The Fifth Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund was held in Montreal.  $12.9 billion (USD) was pledged at the conference by governments, philanthropists and corporations.  And then Global Citizen hosted its first ever concert to raise awareness about the work of The Global Fund and to celebrate the work that has been done so far. It is hard to imagine the 22 million people who are still alive because of this work, not to speak of all those who love them; their parents, siblings, partners and friends. But all together the people whose lives have been changed for the better would exceed the population of Canada.  That is amazing when you think about it.  This is a good story that may well have a unbelievable ending.

Bill Gates and U2's Bono at the conference

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at the concert and announced Canada’s commitment to the Global Fund of $804 million dollars over the next 3 years. So far Canada has contributed $2 billion(USD) since 2002.   Nelson Mandela’s grandson Kweku Mandela and Bill Gates spoke as well.  Many world class musicians created the concert. Usher repeatedly shouted out to the audience of thousands, “Who’s a Global Citizen here?”  Cheers erupted over and over again.  

Now that’s something to think about – being a global citizen.  If you're Canadian or a member of another contributing country, then you are already a global citizen contributing to the health and well being of millions.  You are a part of this new story. Listen to this young Canadian poet reflect on what that means here.  

Walking With Our Sisters

Christi Belcourt in front of one of her large scale beadwork paintings

It all started with a dream.  Metis artist, Christi Belcourt dreamed that she was in a lodge and she was surrounded by women standing in rows.  She wanted to honour these women.  These were the missing and murdered Indigenous women of Canada.  It is estimated that there are approximately 1200  such women since 1960.

Belcourt wanted to pay respect to the lives and existence of these women.  She came up with the idea of asking people to bead moccasin tops (vamps).  They would not be sewn into moccasins since these lives were all cut short.  “They are not forgotten.  They are sisters, mothers, daughters, cousins, aunties, grandmothers, friends and wives.  They have been cared for, they have been loved, and they are missing.” (WWOS Website)

In 2012, Belcourt put a call out on Facebook to create these vamps.  Women, men and children of all ages and races answered the call and by July of 2013, 1600 pairs of vamps had been received which nearly tripled the original goal of 600 pairs.

These lovingly created works of art represent thousands of hours of work and thousands of beads sewn by people who wanted to acknowledge the grief and torment of the families of these women, to raise awareness of the issue and to create the opportunity for a “broad community-based dialogue”.

This large collaborative art installation is called Walking With Our Sisters.  The vamps are displayed on fabric on the floor.  There are now 1810 pairs of vamps and 118 pairs of children’s vamps to honour the children of residential schools who never returned home.  The installation is a memorial ceremony.  Elders are involved in setting up each location to include the sacred plants of cedar and tobacco.  Visitors are invited to remove their shoes and take a small red pouch of tobacco to carry as they walk through the installation.  The tobacco which is a sacred plant absorbs the prayers of those that walk through the memorial.  It is common for people to cry and there are tissues along the way as well.  Elders are present to guide people in this healing process which is meant for all people.  At the end, the tobacco and tissues are collected and are burned at the end of each day in a sacred fire to release the emotions of the healing process.

Each pair of vamps represents one woman.  Spread over time and geography it may seem to some that this is not a big problem but when viewing the vamps, or women’s lives in one room, the problem is felt at its true weight.  Kristine McCorkell, a member of the Kanien’ kaha:ka (Mohawk) Six Nations is a group tour educator for WWOS.  She is quoted by Lauren Scott  in The Leveller:  “It’s this dark history that people, when they start to realize what’s happening, they kind of shut down and they don’t want to be part of it.  They know that they should be but there’s an emotional response that kind of builds a wall.”  She goes on to say, “Just stand behind us.  Let us know that it’s not just the Indigenous people fighting for our rights.  If the whole country was like, ‘this needs to stop,’ then something would happen.”

Walking With Our Sisters is entirely crowd funded and is fueled by thousands of people who have chosen to join their voices on this issue.  These are people who believe that there is power in art and power in working together to create change.  The stories of the missing and murdered Indigenous women are being told and in the telling, a new story is emerging.  

You can watch an interview of Christi Belcourt for MUSKRAT Magazine by Rebeka Tabobondung here.  

It includes footage of exhibition/memorial hosted by the G'zaagin Art Gallery at the Parry Sound Museum in January 2014.