Pam Palmater a Mi’kmaq lawyer, professor, activist, and politician I follow on Twitter shared an informative video she made about students she sees as an Indigenous Studies Professor. I really got a lot from it and thought everyone else might enjoy it as it really transcends the classroom.
https://www.tvo.org/video/why-do-indigenous-topics-cause-such-emotional-discomfort
Stay strong Ann — it is a daily battle to stay in the game against all the negative forces for real — I am fortified by the teachings of the Rastas, which while not perfect focus on Positive vibrations, Love and the recognition that it is the SYSTEM that is to largely to blame for this mess but someone will have to pay for all the innocent blood they shed every day!
After a discomfiting class yesterday, I took some solace in this. Someone said something, someone complained. Strong desire to retreat into talking abstractly about Democratic Republic of Congo instead of confronting immediate, urgent, difficult, local indigenous issues that upset people. Need to toughen up and get back in there tomorrow....
Thanks— I love Pam— she estimates in her book Indigenous Nationhood, written during INM that their are 100,000 allies to First peoples in CA — how wonderful it would be to have them all contribute to this commons — that is my First Goal, and just imagine how many others we could attract by doing so!