Looks Like Daylight

by Deborah Ellis

  When we speak to the spirits we speak in Ojibwe because the spirits don’t understand English. You need to know who you are in your own language.

  My spirit name means when it’s night and lightning fills the sky and it suddenly looks like daylight.

  Every day I get up and put on a mask to protect myself before I go out into the world. It’s the way I survive. There are a lot of ignorant people out there. It’s hard to be around them. They can wound your spirit if you’re not careful.

  Even when people try not to be ignorant, there are many things that infect their minds to keep them from being free. Some kids get all excited about a new video game and never consider that they’re buying into a system that will hijack their minds.

  One of my relatives was murdered by the police. His name was Dudley George.

  There’s a strip of land along Lake Huron that used to belong to First Nations people. It got stolen by the government, of course, and a military base got put on it. “We’ll give it back to you at the end of the war,” the government told us, but they didn’t, of course. They turned it into a provincial park. We got tired of waiting, so Dudley and some others took over the park and declared it Indian land.

  The government probably thought it would be good for votes if they went after the Indians so they sent in the police. There was a standoff for a while. Then the police said Dudley was coming at them with a gun, so they shot him a bunch of times and killed him.

  Except there was no gun. Everyone knew no one in the park had a gun. Only the police had guns. Even the police knew the Indians had no guns. But they kept lying about it and lying about it, until finally they were forced to tell the truth.

  Sam George, Dudley’s brother, forced them to tell the truth. He put up a hard fight but then he died. So they’re both dead.

  There has to be a better way of doing things.

  People should just let other people be. The people in the government who make decisions for us have no idea who First Nations people really are. They have no clue. They lump us all in together. They think we’re all the same.

  It’s an up-and-down relationship I have with myself. It’s a fight to remember who I am and to stay true to who I am. The world doesn’t make it easy. There’s so much noise everywhere. It’s hard to find a quiet place and time to sort myself out.

  When I get older I don’t want to just succumb to not saying anything about injustice because that’s the easier road to go down. I want to fight for what’s right. If you don’t fight for that, you’re already dead. You might be walking around but you’re dead inside.

  When I experience reality for what it is and not just for what I want it to be, it stains, but it’s liberating too.

  We are a disabled people because of what’s been done to us through history, but we can rehabilitate ourselves. But we have to face the truth, all of us, before we can move forward. Kids get lied to all the time in school. They know it but they get used to it. They begin to believe that the lies are as good as it gets.

  It’s better when we can see ourselves and each other with clear eyes and open hearts.

  I’m spending more time these days learning about my culture. I contemplate on the medicine wheel, thinking about traditional teachings. I help out with teaching the Ojibwe language to little kids so that they have the sounds of the ancestors in their heads. Then when the ancestors speak to them, they’ll be able to understand.

  There are two sides to life. One is the deeper, spiritual side. The other is having to pay bills and deal with the white world. In that world I will need skills so that I can earn money and take care of business. I’m a good student. There’s a lot I could do. The trick is to keep from getting too pulled into the world of money.

  I do my best to follow the Seven Sacred Teachings. In my quiet time I think about them, about what I’m learning and where my weaknesses are, and I pray for guidance and strength.

  Seeing the work that Sam George did inspires me a lot. He wanted to know why his brother was killed. And he kept going until he had an answer.

  My gran was one of the community members who stood with Dudley and the others. A lot of brave people had a role in that occupation, getting in food, taking care of children, keeping the people warm and calm.

  Gran raised so many kids, not just her own. She’d come around in her van, honk the horn and all us kids would pile in. She didn’t have money to do anything with us, but we all wanted to be around her because she had such life inside her. Jesus Christ was probably a lot like my grandma.

  I speak a lot at rallies and events because I’ve learned to control and channel my anger. When I speak, I speak with authority, yet people can see that I’m a peaceful person. I’ve worked hard to get this way and I still have a long way to go. I’m not like most guys my age who waste their time listening to the sort of music that poisons their mind.

  I need my mind clear and strong. There’s work to be done.

  Each of us is put here in this time and in this place to personally decide the future of humankind. Do you think you were put here for something less?

  — Chief Arvol Looking Horse

  RESOURCES

  There are many wonderful organizations that provide a wealth of information about Indigenous people. This is only a partial list.

  Activism

  The American Indian Movement (www.aimovement.org) is a civil rights activist organization founded in 1968 to encourage self-determination among Native peoples and to establish international recognition of their treaty rights.

  The Indigenous Environmental Network (www.ienearth.org) works to protect Indigenous lands and to assert the sovereignty and jurisdictional rights of Indigenous nations.

  Addictions

  White Bison (www.whitebison.org) offers sobriety, recovery, addictions prevention and wellness/Wellbriety learning resources to the Native American community

  Children and Youth

  The Creating Hope Society (www.creatinghopesociety.ca) regularly holds a Blanket of Remembrance Round Dance to honor children who have died in foster care.

  The National Indian Child Welfare Association/NICWA (www.nicwa.org) is a national voice for American Indian children and families. The organization focuses on the tribal capacity to prevent child abuse and neglect.

  The National Indian Youth Council/NIYC (www.niyc-alb.org) has thousands of members worldwide and works to ensure that every Native American has an equal opportunity to excel and become a viable member of his/her community.

  United National Indian Tribal Youth/UNITY (www.unityinc.org) operates 150 councils in the United States and Canada.

  Community

  The National Association of Friendship Centres (nafc.ca) provides programs and services for Aboriginal people in Canadian cities, especially those making the transition from rural, remote and reserve life to an urban environment.

  Conservation

  Southwest Conservation Corps (sccorps.org) is a non-profit agency that provides young men and women with service and educational opportunities through projects that promote personal growth, the development of social skills and an ethic of natural resource stewardship.

  Culture

  Every year more than three thousand Indigenous dancers and singers representing more than five hundred tribes from Canada and the US go to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to participate at the Gathering of Nations Powwow (www.gatheringofnations.com). For more information about powwows and Native American people and cultures, and to find out when and where powwows are held across North America, to go www.powwows.com.

  The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (www.indianpueblo.org) preserves and advances the accomplishments and evolving history of the Pueblo people of New Mexico.

  The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation (www.inuitbroadcasting.ca) provides a window to the Arctic by producing television programming by Inuit and for Inuit. Tungasuvvingat
Inuit (www.tungasuvvingatinuit.ca) provides Inuit-specific programs, services and support to empower and enhance the lives of Inuit.

  For the past ninety years, the Santa Fe Indian Market (www.swaia.org) has brought together gifted Native American artists and visitors and collectors from around the world. It is the largest Native American arts show and New Mexico’s largest annual weekend event, drawing 150,000 visitors each year.

  Six Nations Indian Museum (www.sixnationsindianmuseum.com) provides education about Native American history in general and Haudenosaunee culture in particular, including information about the Land Ethic of the Haudenosaunee and other environmental sensibilities.

  Woodland Cultural Centre (www.woodland-centre.on.ca) is a non-profit organization that preserves and promotes the culture and heritage of the First Nations of the Eastern Woodland area.

  Education

  The American Indian College Fund (www.collegefund.org) provides Native students with scholarships and provides financial support for the country’s 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities.

  The Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative (www.maei-ieam.ca) aims to improve elementary and secondary school education for Aboriginal Canadians.

  Gangs

  For information on how to get out of a gang, go to Gang Prevention (www.gangprevention.ca) or Gang Rescue and Support Project/GRASP (www.graspyouth.org), a peer-run intervention program that works with youth who are at risk of gang involvement or who are in gangs, as well as helping families of gang victims.

  Residential Schools

  The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (www.ahf.ca) seeks to support all those who have been affected by the legacy of the physical, sexual, mental, cultural and spiritual abuses of the Indian residential schools.

  Indian Residential Schools Survivor’s Society (www.irsss.ca) assists First Peoples in British Columbia to recognize and support those affected by residential schools.

  The Legacy of Hope Foundation (www.legacyofhope.ca) is a Canadian charitable organization aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the legacy of residential schools, including the effects and intergenerational impacts on First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and to support the ongoing healing of residential school survivors.

  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (www.trc.ca) has a mandate to learn the truth about what happened in the residential schools and to inform all Canadians about this.

  Sports

  The Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame (www.canadianlacrossehallof fame.org) includes a museum and archives located in New Westminster, British Columbia. In the United States, US Lacrosse (www.us lacrosse.org) provides programs and services to inspire participation in lacrosse and protect the integrity of the sport.

  All Nations Skate Jam (allnationsskatejam.com) is a skateboard-centered outreach program that provides safe and healthy recreational activities and lifestyle choices to Native youth.

  Suicide Prevention

  Honouring Life Network (www.honouringlife.ca) offers culturally relevant information and resources to help Aboriginal youth and youth workers dealing with suicide profession.

  The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (www.youmatter.suicide preventionlifeline.org) provides help for young people who are struggling, as well as for their family members and friends.

  Sault Tribe Alive Youth/STAY (www.stayproject.org) contains good information and resources for teens on suicide prevention, bullying prevention and other issues.

  Women

  The Amnesty International report, “No More Stolen Sisters” (www.amnesty.ca/our-work/issues/indigenous-peoples/no-more-stolen-sisters) calls for a stop to violence against First Nations, Inuit and Métis women. “Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Violence” (www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/035/2007) focuses on sexual violence against Native American women.

  The Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center/NAWHERC (www.nativeshop.org) has become the leading American pathfinder in addressing Indigenous women’s reproductive health and justice issues while working to preserve and protect Native American culture.

  The Native Women’s Association of Canada/NWAC (www.nwac.ca) works with organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International to advance the well-being of Aboriginal women and girls, as well as their families and communities.

  About the Author

  Deborah Ellis is best known for her Breadwinner series, set in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a series that has been published in twenty-five languages, with more than one million dollars in royalties donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California’s Middle East Book Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She has received the Ontario Library Association’s President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Ontario.

  Deborah lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

  Loriene Roy, Ph.D., is Anishinabe, enrolled on the White Earth Reservation, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. A former president of the American Library Association, she is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the founder and director of “If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything,” a national reading club for American Indian Students.

  About the Publisher

  Groundwood Books, established in 1978, is dedicated to the production of children’s books for all ages, including fiction, picture books and non-fiction. We publish in Canada, the United States and Latin America. Our books aim to be of the highest possible quality in both language and illustration. Our primary focus has been on works by Canadians, though we sometimes also buy outstanding books from other countries.

  Many of our books tell the stories of people whose voices are not always heard in this age of global publishing by media conglomerates. Books by the First Peoples of this hemisphere have always been a special interest, as have those of others who through circumstance have been marginalized and whose contribution to our society is not always visible. Since 1998 we have been publishing works by people of Latin American origin living in the Americas both in English and in Spanish under our Libros Tigrillo imprint.

  We believe that by reflecting intensely individual experiences, our books are of universal interest. The fact that our authors are published around the world attests to this and to their quality. Even more important, our books are read and loved by children all over the globe.