The Wingham Advance-Times, 1973-10-11, Page 17Cressroads
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derar e, s road by Wit=s people lo
Aseartoi of lihhiwssi ra
brio,
Nosed so IS readers in each of
0,300 Woes))
Publish, d (very week In The Ustn e,i'Banner, The
and The pmt forest Confederate by Wens
became extremely sensitive. and
couldn't keep back the tears.
They really• saw that the I,hdian
has( been given a raw deal."
• While other Canadians set out
to discover their country this
peat summer, Mrs. Raymond
(farrier of Mount Forest . wit -
noised a 'Canadathat goes back
,yond the days. of white society,
She also saw the writing .on the.
wall. It said history repeats itself.
"f f. the' Indians dt get'what
they want they will to any cex-
treme to get back some of what is
theirs, They make no bones about
that.'
A teacher at the Midwestern
Regional Children's, Centre near
raimerston for -:eight years, Mrs,.
Quarrier, along with 45 'other'ele-
mentary and 'secondary school
teachers, illi erred herself in a
.may course that made educa1 •
'tional:history
Sponsored by the : Ontario
Teachers' Federation and by Ur.
Edward Newberry of. Laurentian
University, Sudbury, the jour-
ney's' objective was to study jus-
tice and the Canadian Indian. The .
Cross -Canada" Study Course on
Justice it relates to the native
people. Of Canada believes that
"the native people of Canada are
,., growing concerned about .' jus-
tice' as it relatesespecially,' to:
Ian �guage, learning, "law, land,
r$tudy
.4'
rt
Five-"I/s"
The five "L's" of the study
course are explained as: "n-
guage--the means forreca�l.ptur-
ing and retaining it." At the`Uni-
versity of Sudbury seminars this
year it was said that "Language
is the main vehicle of a people's
culture and its promotion is es-
sential to their development."
The second "L' , learning, is de-
scribed as "the right to direct the
process of education for native
children." Law is "the access to
greater legal justice for Indian
people." George Manitel, author
of The,Fourth World: My People
are Living, said "The courts have
been notoriously unfair to the In-
a
The study course explains land
as "The tight and the powe°.r to
hold and protect an adequate
land base." The The final . "L",
liberty, is explained as "The
freedom,`economic,, political, and
spiritual, .to be oneself in
Canada,"
George Manuel demands "the
opening of the administrative and
political cage in which we have
been caught." file says, "The goal
of Indian organization is. , . the
Tight . to design the programsthat
build their cominunities and
shape their lives."
Reasons for Going.
The study course also provided
a university credit towards a BA,
but `Mrs. Quarrier,,' who already
has her BA,,. obtained from
Waterloo Lutheran.. University,
says,"My prime pie wasto.
gather new material for units of
interest for the class that I
teach." i
Mrs. Quarrier "teaches men-
tally i\etarded ' children and she
says, "The very word 'Indian'
excites them. They like the
rhythm of the Indian drums.
They like their clothes and`
-enjoy dressing' Up as Indians."
The many souvenirs of Indian life
and lore brought back. by Mrs.
Quarrier will be used as "teach-
ing aids for my ;pupils '•
M . hen A e why she had de
9
teacherever,
of the ' l *hear ..
"Where I teach,,we get ehiidren
bused in from : reservations. I
want to know about their culture
and their background. It gives a
better base to work with."
Similar reasons for taking the
course were given 'by' other stu-
dents. A librarian from Waterloo
said sheowas interested in Indian
people and believed the course
would give her insight into work-
ing with Indian children. Another
teacher who' supervises a one -
room school in Bowmanville, east
of Toronto, said her reason for
taking the tour was simply to
"see how many truths I could
learn about the Canadian In-
dian."
Travelling with the university
group was Father Raymond
Bastien, who drove the outrider
ear, bringing medical supplies
and office supplies for writing es-
OUR BROTHERS—Having visited Indian reservations all
across Canada in 28 days of travel with the Ontario Teach-
ers' Federation Cross -Canada Study Course, Mr0. Ray-
mond Quarrier of Mount Forest recalls, "One Indian Chief
at one of the reserves we visited said to our group, 'We are
not a • savage people. We come to the white man as
brother's'." However, Mrs. Quarrier also said, "They
intimated that if they don't get back part of *heat is theirs,
they will go to4any extreme to get it. They make no bones
• about that."
Great Spirit is their ;father and
the earth is their mother. When
the water coMes'down from the
c clouds it, is sacred to theni and
they would ` never pollute ,any'
water' because it is sacred. They
never take a flower, or leaf or
G twig without thinking about it.
coming from the earth,"
The . teacher recalled the In-
} dians saying that "if,_we did take
any of thee -things, we should
sprinkle tobacco ,.back onto the
earth." She laid, "They, were try
ing to tell us that when we take
something from " the earth we
should put something back into
She :heti quickly .added, "The
white man always..takes• That is
his way. When, he cuts ,.a ' field of "' r
grain he cuts it all."
Quarrier's observations of
the young Indian boys, reflect a
zeriousness ''towards life.. `I
young Indian boy, around 12 to 4,
is serious while Many white boys
of that same age are carefree.
• Most of the Indian boys f saw
were not "talking boisterously and
giggling like white boys. They
were listening, looting, watching
and learning, all the time,''
SYM O .OF NOBILITY, -,-On the marial Poles madeby
the Maritime Indians of. British Columbia and the neighbor-
ing coast and isles, is a bird representing the eagle -symbol
of nobility, and helpful to man. Below it, Grizzly Bear
stands for strength and ferocity. The' small pole depicts a
human holding a copper -symbol of power. and authority.
The golden age of, totem, poles was between 1850 and 1900,
major poles and great car,yers, and since 1910 the art has
not been exercised on a tribal basis. The Kwakiutl Tribe •
was spread over the upper part of Vancouver Island and the
opposite mainland. ' •
says. One of the tour leaders was
Art Soloman, a Metis Indian, who
was Professor Newberry's asso-
ciate for the course.
The university group left from
Toronto August 1 and travelled to
Vancouver by °bus. The group
visited Parry Island, Manitoulin
Island, the Sagamok Reserve
where the students talked with
Ojibwa Chief Wilfred Owl, Agawa
,Bay where they saw the rock
paintings, and Thunder Bay
where they were treated to a
dinner at the Indian friendship
centre and later gathered for a
conference with Xavier Michon,
executive director of the Thunder
Bay Indian Friendship Centre
and president of the Federation
of Indian Friendship Centres for
Ontario.
On August 13 the travellers
Wer • 4' n Winnipeg - for a con-
fe:'lwith the Manitoba Indian
Br ' a erhood. Other points - of
interest were the conference,at
the Indian Cultural College in
Saskatoon, an interview with
Ernest Tootoosis, former chief of
the Poundmaker reserve, Cut -
knife, a conference in Edmon4on
with Harold Cardinal (Creel
president of the Indian As-
sociation of Albertal and a
conference with Ian Getty of the
Stoney Cultural Education Pro-
gramme on the Morley reserve
(Stoney) in Calgary.
The group went to the totem
village in Stanley Park, Van-
couver, the Kwakiutl Village in
Alert Bay and the Luxton
Museum in Banff. These are just
some of the highlights of the trip.
Mrs. Quarrier says, "The most
exciting part of the trip for me
was when the Indians dedicated
the highest totem pole in the
world in Kwakiutl Village in Alert
Bay. We were invited to the
dedication service and treated to
an authentic Indian meal.
Native Dances
"After the service," says Mrs.
Quarrier, "we went into the long
house for native dances. We
thought they would be folk
dances, but the dances them-
selves are reactions from the re-
ligious spirit." She recalled,
"They did the horse dance and
sun dance, among others."
Mrs. Quarrierremembers
something one chief said in par-
ticular when talking about the
dances. "The big chief said, 'If
we could call down powerfrom
the sky like we did years ago, we
could snap the Trudeau govern-
ment out of office.' "
No one is left'out of the Indians'
dances. Mrs. Quaaier explained,
"Everyone has a part in the
dance. Grandmothers dance and
take part. No one is forgotten or
left out."
Philosophy Reflects Dignity
The quiet philosophy of the In-
dian and his ways have, for some
strange reason, been difficult for
the white man to understand
throughout the decades. Mrs.
Quarrier says, "While I was
there I wasn't too sympathetic
with some of their ideas." After
some thought her attitude was
different. "Since I've been home
and had a chance to think about
what I experienced, I believe the
Indian is closer to the truth than
we realize."
Pensively, Mrs. Quarrier re-
calls some of the traditions that
characterize the Indian. "When-
ever we talked with the Indians
collectively they would sit around
in circles, so that no one took a
superior position to anyone else.
And when they spoke to each
other, there was no anxious but-
ting in when someone else was
talking. If you get a room full of
whites having conversation there
is always someone interrupting
somebody else. They aren't like
that. They listen and then talk
quietly when they have the
floor."
With great respect in her tone
of voice, Mrs. Quarrier outlined
the, main beliefs of the Indian
people. "'may believe that the
"•
rsion« :lifra
wee wondering whether their re-.
ligion was the real thing or some
pagan` idea. Then, an. Indian said
`You have Christianity, . but you
don't live up tai it.' Coming from
someone who has been culturally
deprived for a number of years,
that hit us hard."
Striving to gain superiority
over the Indians, becomes in-
ereasingly difficult when you
take time to find out what they
'filly stand fora Mrs. Quarrier
says, "You find when you try to
analyse the Indian you point the
finger -right back at yourself. You
cannot make statements about
t1p without criticizing your own
society and culture too."
Reaction To Visitors
The overall feeling of the In-
dians toward the group of
teachers was "hospitable", says
Mrs', Quarrier. F`At all of the
reservations we visited they
greeted us with open arms and
fed us well. At Thunder Bay they
served us a delicious meal of
't:hin and dumplings. At one
ovation they told us 'We are
not a savage people. We come to
the white man els brothers.' And
you know as well as I do that the
white man put it over on them,
using the language barrier and
cultural differences to their ad-
vantage!"
INDIAN STUDY COU RS`E--Mrs. Raymond Quarrier of Mou forest spent 28 da - 's of her
summer visiting Indian. reservations across Canada, along with 45 ofher teachers. The -
program was known as the Ontario Teachers' Federation Cross-Canacla'Uurse and it was
primarily concerned with justice as it relates to the native people of Carlade Mrs. rQ.oar» .'.
rier brought back marry souvenirs and other items of interest gathered on her travels, but
the most valuable things she brought home'are the memories. (Stagy' Photo)
The Fads
The Indians' plight is composed
of nightmares. Here are the cold
facts: all Canadians have an
average life span of 62 years, ex-
cept the Indian, whose average
life span is 36 years. The chances
of white Canadians completing
high school are good, 88 per cent
make it, The same chance for an
Indian youngster is almost
impossible. A mere six per' cent
finish high school.
M?re than half of the Indian
population ' (54 per cent) must
support its households with an in-
come of under- $2,263, while only
20 per cent of the whites must
bear up under the same circum-
stances. An unbelievable 50 per
' STONEY TRIBE OF ICES—The Administration Building
houses the offices of the Stoney Tribe in Morley, Alberta.
Built in the form of a teepee, the building overlooks the Bow
River Valley in a very picturesque setting. Mrs. Raymond
Quarrier of Mount Forest recently spent 28 days visiting In-
dian reservations with 45 fellow teachers. Among the points
of interest was the reserve at Morley. Mrs. Quarrier says,
"The Indians in that area have five or six languages and
none of them are written down on paper. They need the
white man's help to do it and they are getfing the help
through the Stoney Cultural Education Program at
Morley."
F
cent of the Indian population lis
unemployed. Of white Canadians,
six per cent are without jobs. A
life of substandard housing is the
plight of 87 per cent of the Cana-
dian Indians, while 11 per cent of
their white "brothers" share the
same sort of conditions. Based on
1,000 live births, infant mortality
among the Indians is 49 per cent
while among the white population
it is 21 per cent, based on the
same number of live births.
These facts all add up to a life
stripped to bare existence. The
life of the average Canadian
Indian weighs hard on his shoul-
ders. Many cannot stand it. 19.7
per cent per 100,000 Indians take
their own lives each year, com-
pared to 9.7 per cent of the
whites. This is the coldest, most
shocking fact of aII. This is where
the suffering ends for many of
North America's true qwners:
suicide!
How to Spend Wisely
There is much talk of helping
the Indians. But where to we
begin? Mrs. Quarrier says, "If
we are really going to help the In-
dian I think we should first teach
him how to spend money wisely.
And how to make it."
She recalls one instance in par-
ticular where the Indian's vul-
nerability towards money is evi-
dent. "We were shopping in a
small store in Edmonton and we
asked the owner what he thought
of having the Indians shop there.
He said, `They're good business.
They ,,come in here with their
cheques at the end of the month
and spend it all in less than an
hour . They don't even bother to
really look the merchandise over.
They just say they will take it.
One farnily,comes in every month
with about $200 and spends it all
on items i can't sell to anyone
else.,
Preserve OW a fradit'ieas
0 we give them comforts, of the
white society, such as color tele-
vision and automatic dishwash-
ers, would this ease the tension?
Mrs. Quarrier. doesn't think so..
"They want to be happy and I
don't think what the white man
has will make thele happy. They
want us all to be brothers. They
want their freedom and dignity
and culture back. They don't
want ours. Why should. they?"
What the Indians really want,
then, is a big piece of themselves
back.,That portion the white
societstripped them of. Mrs.
Quarrier says, "They want to
preserve their own traditions.
There are five or six Indian
languages in one area in the west
alone, and none of them are on
paper. They need the white man's
help to document these languages
and save them. That help is be-
ginning to come at Morley,
through the Stoney Cultural
Education Program."
In order to get back their cul-
ture, Mrs. Quarrier believes they
should have Indian teachers.. .
"I think they should be given a
chane --o decide their own
future, not have us do it for
them."
She also believes that every
Canadian should learn at least
one Indian language. She says,
"That wouldn't be terribly diffi-
cult because the Indian vocabu-
lary is very limited. All of the
Indians I met spoke the English
language very well, so why
couldn't we learn theirs?"
Effect of Alcohol
When the white man found out
the effect his alcohol had on the
Indian, he capitalized on it. A
cheap bottle of whiskey and his
bargaining power with the Indian
was strengthened. In the summer
edition of Stoney Country, a
;magazine printed by the Stoney
Cultural Education Program in
Morley, Alberta, was a piece of
prose entitled, "What Alcohol Is
to Me". It begins, "Aloohol arcade
me warm when it was cold.
Please turn to PA e 3