Letter: Canada can learn much from Native people

At this time of the release of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I would like to add my voice. I married a Native man, Clyde McNichol, in 2007. Prior to that, I lived a very different life, based on what I felt were the best of Canadian values and culture.

The journey I have been on since then has been worth every penny and more. I no longer have readily accessible dollars to spend wherever I choose, but I have gained immeasurably.

I have met a man who exemplifies the deep capacity to stay strong and good and humble despite unimaginable assaults against him and his people similar to those described in the TRC report. I honestly believe that this capacity is deeply rooted within the Anishnabek people, from whom we still have much to learn.

From all I have learned, they, like so many other Native people, are innately gentle and humble and in close communion with the Creator, thanking Him continually for everything they receive to sustain and enjoy life every day, and beseeching Him in times of trouble.

We are not all like those in power at the time of Confederation, who were so ignorant and racist that we have the situation we do today. But our history goes back much further and is much more complex.

Many of us were assaulted in Europe by similar forces over the past few centuries. It was to find freedom from such forces that many of us took a chance on Canada.

But like the Native people, some of us survived by learning to appreciate and become more like our oppressors and think like them. Others held on to their traditional values and strived to maintain a simple lifestyle based on the work of our own hands and trade, rather than big business and technologically advanced gadgets and toys.

The non-profit youth camp, Camp Eagle Nest, that my husband and I run, aims to pass on knowledge and appreciation for the latter, but we are now threatened by widespread clearcutting and dramatic alteration to the indigenous plant and animal life in the forest area of our base camp and my husband’s ancestral home.

I hope as Canadians we have in our hearts what it takes to refrain from judging ourselves and others, and begin a hopeful and praiseworthy new life together in light of the truth that has been shared.

Barbara (Guillet Ronson) McNichol
Cartier