I realise this article is a tad old but as so many things get passed across my desk my friends and colleagues I work my way through the pile as best as I can. This article was passed to me from a good friend of mine as a share through Facebook from CBC Indigenous. Now, I have immense admiration for Jody Wilson-Raybould. Watching her testimony was honestly a privilege. Having family sit and watch the broadcast with me (including family members who have at different points in my career come across as racist, derogatory, or unsupportive of Indigenous peoples) is one of the moments I will remember in my own journey to reconciliation. I watched family be completely spell bound and have since completely changed their tune and are picking up and opening the books I send them (or even better are going out to learn on their own and are sending me things!). As an intersectional feminist and a godmother I did some classic victory dances watching the composed and brilliant Wilson-Raybould #speaktoanation and seeing my goddaughter absolutely entranced.
When I look at this article I am drawn immediately to the picture of female chiefs and First Nations leaders across B.C. voicing support for the former justice minister and attorney general. From there I am simply overwhelmed with the feelings of community and leadership.
In the article Elaine Alec said she was “particularly proud of how Wilson-Raybould #testifiedonherownterms, setting an example for other #womeninleadership. They give you five minutes, you let them know you're going to have 30” (in reference to Wilson-Raybould's request for an extended period of time to make her opening statement). Cheryl Casimer went on to state that: "When [Wilson-Raybould] spoke, particularly her comment at the end about coming from a long line of matriarchs and that she was going to continue to be who she is, I think that's the statement that's going to go down in history." I think so too. I think (at least in my own mind) that amidst the tragedy and ongoing crisis that is the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls it is a powerful thing to see a matriarch rise.
Sources:
Article link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/union-bc-indian-chiefs-support-jody-wilson-raybould-1.5038225
Wonderful that you could share this experience with your family! This is how we grow as Treaty People ---thru the truth of Indigenous "story" --- be it about their culture or about ours or about the cross over between the two ---- in the GAP ---- the perceptions of First Peoples about what is going on are so radically opposed to what most Settlers see and hear and the foundation of that lies their LAWS, Customs and Ways, which if we knew more about, we would never even try to get away with our BS. I saw on Twitter today that Jody is being honoured at a special Long House Feast today in Campbell River for her Truth to Powe…