[00:00:40] Khelsilem Rivers They talk about Indigenous future and Indigenous children. It always comes back to education.

 

[00:00:50] Khelsilem Rivers There is a strong cultural thing with the Native communities around school. We've been assimilated and colonized so much that school is seen as the epitome of success. University is seen as the epitome of success. It's so drilled into us. I think it's drilled into us more than it is even in settler society. And so our people really, really believe that unless you have an education, you don't succeed. And that the best thing to could do is get a degree.

 

[00:01:20] Radio Voice 1 Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has called the gap in funding morally wrong and disgraceful. Carolyn Bennett is the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

 

[00:01:29] Radio Voice 2 - Carolyn Bennett If you have the per student per year investment, the same as in the provincial systems, the kids do wonderfully.

 

[00:01:37] Radio Voice 2 - Carolyn Bennett They need good teachers that will stay and they need good buildings in which they can work. But they also need all of the other things (fade out).

 

[00:01:44] Radio Voice 1 - Pam Palmater It's more than just a funding issue, although funding is critical. But it's also requires a fundamental mental shift and a legal shift because the federal government is still operating on that same policy basis, that the objective is to assimilate Indians into this country. Then you might provide more funding. As long as the Indians go to provincial schools, learn English and French and European history.

 

[00:02:16] Khelsilem Rivers No, it would be good if there was more than that. And it would be good if our measure of success wasn't being like, you know, assimilated.

 

[00:02:40] Aisha O'Sullivan A long time ago, before everything happened, before everything happened. I mean, like residential school and all that. You'd learn everything you knew from people who are older than you and that sort of changed now.

 

[00:02:58] Aisha O'Sullivan When I was little, my mom used to bring me to all these meetings to, like, teach me things that I wanted to know. Like, I should know. I mean.

 

[00:03:24] Teacher Welcome, everyone.

 

[00:03:27] So this science unit is going to deal eventually with water and the effects of climate change and how climate change has (Fade out)

 

[00:03:38] Aisha O'Sullivan I hate school personally. I don't like the structure of it. It definitely doesn't cater to everyone divided.

 

[00:03:44] Teacher ...Into two parts. And the first part is just today's introduction is to what is a landform? And you'll do a paper (Fade out)

 

[00:03:53] Aisha O'Sullivan And they teach you stuff that you need to know, but they also forget a lot.

 

[00:03:58] Teacher And from there(...)

 

[00:03:59] Aisha O'Sullivan A lot of my friends I'm surrounded by are Native. A lot of them don't know or don't care what their language is or where they come from. And it's sad because school doesn't target that. It's hard to learn about them. And sometimes it's not even that we don't care. Sometimes we care, but we can't find resources to get to that.

 

[00:04:20] Teacher And the second (...)

 

[00:04:21] Aisha O'Sullivan A lot of my teachers like find it annoying that I don't ask for help that much, but that's because they're talking to other kids. And then when I try to talk to them, they just sort of ignore me. So usually I just sit there half class and start drawing on my paper, which isn't a good thing. I shouldn't do that because I, my teacher comes to help me and there's just like a little guy in one of the question boxes just screaming, Help, I'm in a box.

 

[00:05:25] INTRO SONG (music )

 

[00:05:30] Gunargie That is a Kla'How'Ya FM. Thank you for joining us. Excuse any profanity, but we get a little angry sometimes. We got Aisha O'Sullivan in the house. And we were talking a little bit earlier about "13 Reasons Why", and then she sang us a song. What was the name of that song?

 

[00:05:49] Aisha O'Sullivan That was stressed out by Twenty One Pilots - I love them.

 

[00:05:51] Gunargie Yeah, me too. So when you're at school, do you wish that there was more music, theater, you know, things that are of interest to you like making YouTube videos and animations? Definitely, yeah.

 

[00:06:05] Aisha O'Sullivan There shouldn't be like, I don't think one school is not enough for people. Like, people have different interests. Some people are into science, some people are into math, like, they want to be a math teacher when they're older. There's so many things that people want to do. So putting it all into one school system and trying to make do with the time that you get is not working for me. You know how there's like different shoe sizes?

 

[00:06:30] Gunargie My history is kind of, like, it's a mixed bag. I mostly like self taught myself how to be a radio broadcaster and a producer. I've been sitting at this table, at that mic here at Co-op Radio for 25 years now. Because of the way the media had treated First Nations people and the way the media they portrayed us, there is a lot of racism going on here in British Columbia and right across the country, in fact. And people were committing to being Indian and being sovereign and words that I didn't quite get and still don't get. You know, because we're not practicing those ways. But I started committing to being Native again. And I hope that Aisha will learn to embrace, you know, her language and culture and help to restore it. Not after she's finished her schooling, but as she's getting her education.

 

[00:07:35] (Kids playing) Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So it's like, oh.

 

[00:07:38] Aisha O'Sullivan I lived in Vancouver from

 

[00:07:41] when I was one to three years old. We didn't really have a place, like we didn't live anywhere, so we just, like, hopped around. When I was four, foster care got involved and they were like, nope. So then I moved to Penticton for two years. I went to kindergarten there, and then in grade one I moved back and I lived in Musqueam for about two years. We finally got a house in Vancouver and I've lived here since.

 

[00:08:19] Gunargie This is what we got here, is some cedar. You can take cedar, it's really good to brush yourself off with it. Usually you don't use lighters to do it,  you're supposed to use matches, right.  So what I do is you take it and you wash your hands clean, right.  So everything you do is with clean hands and you do your mouth like this. You take that smoke, right, so that you watch the things that you say. And then the smell. And then your eyes so that you're careful of how you see things, the way you see things. We can take the smoke and put it over your head to help you to think straight and think in a good way, try not to be so negative. You also you can take this and put it in your heart. I forgot about my heart.

 

[00:09:17] Well, it's complex being me, right? Because it's up. It's like people can't keep up with what it is I'm saying. So I was brought up by my family that I was fostered. Then I went into a residential school. Then I was adopted.

 

[00:09:48] This is my million dollar view.

 

[00:09:57] I like to keep Aisha at home. And that way I can keep an eye on her and make sure she's safe because we live in the Downtown Eastside. Well, this is a high crime area, right? There's a lot of wheeling and dealing that goes on in the building. They're tryna up security, and kick people out, which is good. There were people sleeping in the stairwell, they are not sleeping there anymore.

 

[00:10:30] You can pick up some really bad energy just walking down that street. And now that she's older, people look at her in a different way.

 

[00:10:49] Aisha O'Sullivan I always thought I was very antisocial and I was like "Oh, you're not going outside because you're lazy.",

 

[00:10:54] Aisha O'Sullivan because I used to go outside until like 9:00 every day. But then I have a lot of friends who are attracted to like things like drugs and alcohol and things that make them seem cool and mature. And I don't want to be a part of that.

 

[00:11:19] Teacher The two largest types of landforms are continents and oceans.

 

[00:11:25] Aisha O'Sullivan I recently had a fight with a friend and I was deciding that I didn't want to go to school.

 

[00:11:31] Teacher The earth is divided into (fade out)

 

[00:11:32] Aisha O'Sullivan  I'm not going to get into it, but it was sort of made me feel really sad and I had like a semi-breakdown in the middle of school. So then I called my mom. She came and I went home.

 

[00:11:44] Aisha O'Sullivan And then for a while I was just like, I'm not going back to school. It was that bad.

 

[00:11:57] Aisha O'Sullivan It's actually illegal to not go to school until you're 16. Then you can stop going if you want. So if you don't go, they give you a letter that says if you don't go, they're going to call the ministry on you. And a bunch of people were like, Stay in school, kid, or else you're going to be homeless. And I was like.

 

[00:12:16] Aisha O'Sullivan don't want that, so

 

[00:12:24]  

 

[00:12:29] Gunargie When she was younger, I was able to take her with me on trips and they would have like caretakers there and things.

 

[00:12:45] But now, because she goes to school like, you know, it's harder to take her on trips with me when she before preschool and kindergarten it was, you know, a lot easier to manage time and and what and where you go.

 

[00:13:05] Jadis So you felt was easier without the school?

 

[00:13:08] Gunargie Without school? Yeah. It kind of changed everything. It does change everything because with school, you have to, well they have to go to school every day, right. And if they don't and they miss too much school, then they lose track of friends and their social life and, you know, they fall behind and things like that. This year, she's missed a lot of school over the year compared to the previous years. And so that's a little concerning. Before we- I got her engaged in the Red Fox program, it was like really difficult to get her to go to school. You see how close the school is to our house, sometimes it would take me a half hour, an hour to get her there. That's how much she didn't like it.

 

[00:14:09] (Kids playing) (kids banter) I need to help, I'm helping! helping, helping, helping

 

[00:14:19] Kat Norris Okay, so I want everyone to be on their best behavior today.

 

[00:14:23] Kat Norris Okay. Please grab a chair.

 

[00:14:27] Kat Norris My name is Kat Norris. I'm Coast Salish and Filipino on my dad's side. I work with Red Fox, and my role is to teach Pow-wow dancing and singing. A big part of what I do is wanting to instill, you know, pride in our kids because our kids struggle still today with their identity, you know, because we as adults do as well. Because a big part of our identity is just knowing where you come from. Knowing what your nation is. Knowing your language. So some of them would say, my nation is First Nation. You know, so I sent them home with the homework of coming back, asking your parents, what nation are you?

 

[00:15:18] Kat Norris Nice and loud.

 

[00:15:21] Larissa My name's Larissa. I'm in Grade Two, and my day's been good.

 

[00:15:26] Larissa And I'm Squamish.

 

[00:15:26] Kat Norris Squamish, awesome. Thank you.

 

[00:15:26] Phoenix My name is Phoenix. My day was good, and my nation is Nu'xalk.

 

[00:15:36] Noella My name's Noella,  I am,

 

[00:15:40] my day was okay. I'm from (inaudible) Nation,

 

[00:15:42] in Saskatchewan in Sakimay. And I am in Grade Six, and I am eleven.

 

[00:15:54] Aisha O'Sullivan I'm Aisha, I am in grade six. I am Kwakwak'wakw. And my day has been amazing.

 

[00:16:02] Kat Norris (laughs) Thank you.

 

[00:16:04]  (Drumming)

 

[00:16:14] Kat Norris This being a Pow-Wow program, it's not Indigenous to Coast Salish territory, although we've adapted it. And the Pow-Wow culture is open to all Indigenous people, which is why that's what I use for the kids.

 

[00:16:49] (Pow-Wow singing and dancing)

 

[00:17:02] Kat Norris Push, push, push, push.

 

[00:17:05] Push.

 

[00:17:07] Kat Norris So this way, that way, that way...

 

[00:17:19] Kat Norris  And even today, and even though there are a lot of kids in this particular school that are of Indigenous ancestry, when they walk out of here, they're back to the same, you know, situations out there of being judged for being, you know, a person of color, but also being Indigenous, which is still a struggle today. You know, just walking out the door as an Indigenous person, you know, you have to carry yourself a certain way.

 

[00:18:01] (Kids playing)  

 

[00:18:01] Aisha O'Sullivan I was sleeping here instead. I was sleeping in my bed. I was sleeping in my bed. I belong with you.

 

[00:18:16] Gunargie You belong with me.

 

[00:18:18] Nimkish Stop getting tall. I'm tired of(inaudible). Oh ya, I'm almost as tall as you.

 

[00:18:23] Nimkish Do you feel short, do you feel short?

 

[00:18:26] Nimkish Your voice is sounding nice, pretty soon you're going to be a better singer than me.

 

[00:18:31] Aisha O'Sullivan Your hair is in my mouth.

 

[00:18:34] Nimkish Did you see Katy Perry's new video?

 

[00:18:36] Aisha O'Sullivan No. I have a new favorite Ed Sheeran song though.

 

[00:18:42] Nimkish What one?

 

[00:18:42] Aisha O'Sullivan "What do I know"

 

[00:18:42] Nimkish Oh! She is my sister.

 

[00:18:44] Aisha O'Sullivan  Yay! Why?

 

[00:18:47] Nimkish It's so good. I can't stop listening to it.

 

[00:18:54] Gunargie Nimkish, when I started finding my voice. Do you want to know when I started finding my voice? Do you?

 

[00:19:02] Nimkish Sure.

 

[00:19:02] Gunargie When I was pregnant with you. And then after I had you, that's how I calmed you down, was by singing. And I found, like, my singing voice. And I also found, like, a character voice, like, for reading you stories and things.

 

[00:19:17] Nimkish This makes me so happy.

 

[00:19:18] Nimkish Yeah. When I was living with my mom, my sister, that was the main time where I was self teaching, I would say. That's where I learned the most. That's where I was on the internet all the time, trying to figure things out, trying to learn chords, trying to learn my favorite songs. And my little sister really picked up on that. I could hear her through the walls sometimes fooling around on the piano on the other side. She started singing and she's really, really good. I teach her what I can when she lets me, but she can be stubborn, which is not a bad thing, sometimes.

 

[00:19:53] Nimkish I thought that was a high five. What was that?

 

[00:19:56] (laughing)

 

[00:19:58] Aisha O'Sullivan High five!

 

[00:19:58] Sophie Have you ever noticed that on her cheeks?

 

[00:20:00] I did that. 

 

[00:20:01] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, she did it with tattoos.  Forever.

 

[00:20:04] Aisha O'Sullivan It's the best friend commitment we're making, so.

 

[00:20:08] Sophie Oh, and show them the best friend.

 

[00:20:15] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, sorry! Best friend, yeah. Anyway, so.

 

[00:20:17] Sophie We're going to do the marker challenge.

 

[00:20:20] Aisha O'Sullivan Three marker challenge. So what you need to do is you grab a marker (fade out).

 

[00:20:24] Aisha O'Sullivan I lived here when I was six and seven, and it's been about three years since I moved away. I don't know if it's good nostalgia or bad nostalgia, but I feel nostalgia. Hi!

 

[00:20:43] Sophie I'm so happy to see you.

 

[00:20:46] Aisha O'Sullivan I'm so happy to see you, too, happy birthday.

 

[00:20:46] Sophie I wish you can have a sleepover.

 

[00:20:50] Aisha O'Sullivan Same. I wish it was not a school day.

 

[00:20:52] Sophie I really miss you.

 

[00:20:53] Aisha O'Sullivan I miss you too. Oh, sorry.

 

[00:20:56] Sophie Oh. Oh, I shouldn't be hugging.

 

[00:20:58] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, yeah. This is Serena.

 

[00:21:00] Serena Hello.

 

[00:21:04] Sophie Hi Serena.

 

[00:21:04] (kids screaming)

 

[00:21:08] Aisha O'Sullivan She's trying to choke her from start. Choking her from start.

 

[00:21:12] Sophie I was just telling her that. Hey.

 

[00:21:15] Hope you had a good birthday. You're getting way too big for this now.

 

[00:21:25] (Kids playing) (kids playing on trampoline)

 

[00:21:40] Sophie's mom They hardly get to see each other ever, hey? Sophie really wants you to come back and spend the night. Okay? Cause she was trying to get you to come tonight. But it's a school night.

 

[00:22:12] Teacher So your task was to figure out what you stand for, so your party platform. What you want to accomplish in your government. If you guys all have a leader for your party. Yeah? Yes? And then three main issues, a minimum of three main issues that you're going to look at. If you can have two or three iPads at a table. So watch some political ads and then you're going to make up your own ad. And, go!

 

[00:22:44] Teacher (students chatter)

 

[00:22:46] Student 1 But we don't have a leader though? Yes.

 

[00:22:47] Aisha O'Sullivan Do you wanna be leader? Do you wanna be leader? Do you wanna be leader? No? So what are our themes? Aboriginal rights.

 

[00:22:57] Student 1 Plastic and paper.

 

[00:22:59] Aisha O'Sullivan Lowering bus fare for kids and elders - I like that.

 

[00:23:01] (student chatter)

 

[00:23:03] Student 2 How do you spell your name again?

 

[00:23:06] Student 3 I'm not the leader of this party.

 

[00:23:08] Student 2 Yes, you are. I didn't wanna be the leader

 

[00:23:11] Student 3 (inaudible) fine with being a leader.

 

[00:23:13] So should we just put Pecky as the leader?

 

[00:23:19] Student 2 So are we going to do it so that, so like what is our theme going to be? Is it going to be making them feel bad or making them feel happy?

 

[00:23:27] (student chatter)

 

[00:23:27] Blonde student Or about hope? I don't know, lets just be about us.

 

[00:23:30] Aisha O'Sullivan Election ads, okay. Election ad.  Okay, guys, watch.

 

[00:23:41] Aisha O'Sullivan Guys! Ugh, annoyed. Like, like his voice is just so calming. You'd be like, he's cool, you should vote for him.

 

[00:23:48] (TV - Obama voice) Only way to create a great economy (...)

 

[00:23:50] Blonde student He did not age well, though.

 

[00:23:53] Aisha O'Sullivan Do you guys want to watch the Obama ad, or the Trump ad? Oh, he's hugging people. We need to hug people in our ad.

 

[00:24:03] Student 5 I like this Trump man.

 

[00:24:05] Student 6 Uh, Trump made this ad? Is it Trump?

 

[00:24:06] Student 5 The most powerful Trump ad ever.

 

[00:24:14] (video audio inaudible) It's creating (...) Peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorists.

 

[00:24:21] Women are treated and intimidated against, and all these countries treat their bodies against. Gays and lesbians are either executed or punished severely.

 

[00:24:29] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, that sucks.

 

[00:24:30] Blonde student That is so mean.

 

[00:24:31] video audio) She claims to be their champion. Don't look at me (...)

 

[00:24:35] Aisha O'Sullivan Join the resistance. Oh, we should say "Join the rebellion!".

 

[00:24:40] Serena mmm, mmm, mmm windows open now, make a sound.

 

[00:24:45] Aisha O'Sullivan I'm a cat. What's BTS? Its by....

 

[00:24:50] Serena Okay.

 

[00:24:54] Aisha O'Sullivan Interpretive dance.

 

[00:24:57] Serena  Look how I dance.

 

[00:25:05] Harder.

 

[00:25:10] Serena We're going to London.

 

[00:25:10] Aisha O'Sullivan Are we being recorded?

 

[00:25:13] Gunargie How about to Turnour Island?

 

[00:25:17] London.

 

[00:25:17] To the Klowitsis territory where you come from.

 

[00:25:20] Aisha O'Sullivan I would like to take a vacation there, 

 

[00:25:22] because it's nice there. There's lots of beautiful land and trees. I've been to Alert Bay, yeah.  It's nice there. Is it like Turnour Island?

 

[00:25:33] Gunargie Yeah. We went there for the residential school demolishment ceremony, too. And after that, they had a ceremony, a feast as part of like the Reconciliation part of the TRC event.  It was really neat.

 

[00:26:09] Aisha O'Sullivan Do you think it should have stayed or do you think you liked it gone?

 

[00:26:13] Gunargie Well.

 

[00:26:14] I think I have mixed feelings about it because there that building is a reminder of the history that the government put upon our people.

 

[00:26:30] Aisha O'Sullivan That's sort of what I think, too. Like I have mixed feelings. I sort of like it because it's gone and that's sort of like saying goodbye to all of it. But on the other hand, it's like they're just trying to say, "Okay, we're going to tear down.

 

[00:26:39] You guys are going to forget all about it, Ok, lets go. Move on. Did you throw a rock at it?

 

[00:26:45] Gunargie I did.

 

[00:26:46] But I didn't quite hit my mark. I lived on the second floor, there. I wanted to hit one of those windows really hard.

 

[00:27:01] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah.

 

[00:27:03] Gunargie But I did hit the building.

 

[00:27:08] Aisha O'Sullivan Love you, mom.

 

[00:27:08] Gunargie I love you too.

 

[00:27:21] Gunargie Okay. So this is what I've been doing lately, if you wanna look.  Its, I've been, like holding down livestreams, right? Because I get I get a little bit stale and, you know, wanna bump things up a bit, take it to the next new level. And I'm starting this thing called DTES News. I'm going to do my second segment with you. You wanna? Ok, lets go.

 

[00:27:48] Gunargie And there's the Balmoral.  Did you know that my mum died in the Balmoral Hotel? Oh. Did you know that? My mum died in this hotel.

 

[00:28:05] I am actually intrigued by what goes on in the downtown. I want to know why people do drugs. I want to know why they like opiates.

 

[00:28:17] It's amazing how many people who will talk and want to share their story with you. Why is it brown?

 

[00:28:23] Alley man Well, thats the same package.

 

[00:28:28] Probably make those seeds where they can grow it. Can break down the matter.

 

[00:28:35] Gunargie Aren't you worried about fentanyl?

 

[00:28:38] Alley man Oh, naw I've taken it. I died a couple of times. I, but I just came back. I do this stuff naturally, I just do it for a reason.

 

[00:28:53] Gunargie Were you a foster care, so you were adopted?

 

[00:28:57] video audio) Yeah, I was what they called an apple.  Red on the outside, and white on the inside.

 

[00:29:12] Gunargie Almost all of the kids that end up in the Downtown Eastside, fresh out of foster care, are all have all been on Ritalin as they were growing up. Have been on like anti-depressants and things like this. So it sets them up for like drug addiction later in life. Well, it's not so late for them. It's when they're they're not even out of foster care before they're hitting the street, looking for something harder, again, for something to turn to. I don't think they're aware. They don't realize the systematic impact that they're dealing with, which is caused by the system. Like foster care, you know, and the residential school, right? Those are the kid, and they're not just First Nations either. You know, the education system is prescribing the children who are a little bit overactive or feeling sad because their mom died or God forbid, their dad left and or and they're prescribing them with prescription drugs rather than dealing with the issues of depression and giving them the tools that they need in order to get through the day to day struggles that we have.

 

[00:31:10] Aisha O'Sullivan Mental illness has been romanticized a lot. A lot of kids I know well, they might actually be depressed, which is a bad thing, but they're like posting it on Instagram and social media, like, Oh, I'm so sad. I feel like dying and I feel like no one cares about me.

 

[00:31:29] Noella There's like your parents. But if your parents are like, no, not doing well, go find someone that actually helps you and trusts you. The kids are afraid of going to a teacher and, you know, telling them their feelings because they might get taken away to about there, taken away from your parents. And I think there should just be someone there just to talk to them. And not someone who's like researching and saying, Oh, their parents are bad, we should just take them away and put them in a foster care. Because that person's just gonna be taken away from their friends and their neighborhood and from people that actually love them.

 

[00:32:20] Aisha O'Sullivan We actually have a school counselor and who sometimes takes some kids and they see them every once every twice a week unless they have like an urgent thing where they're like, Hey, I need to see them now. Like, they do say, everything stays here and we aren't going to do anything. But then there's like a point where they're like, But if something, if you do say something that could hurt you or someone else, we're going to need to tell someone. So you can't really go to them with your problems if you're like, if you're depressed and you have a problem with something like that, they're going to be like, you can cause harm to yourself. So we're going to call someone and they're going to diagnose you with stuff, and then you're going to have that label on you forever.

 

[00:33:15] Noella They should put more healthy ways to get with rid of depression instead of just giving them other stuff like drugs just to make them feel better.

 

[00:33:30] Aisha O'Sullivan We go to a girls group, and sometimes it can be a good thing because we have a journal, which is our secret journal. Okay. But I feel like it's all sugarcoated there. It's more like teaching us about ourselves and less "I'm feeling sad. And this is why."

 

[00:33:53] Yeah, like last time we went there, we learned about our happy place.

 

[00:33:59] Aisha O'Sullivan (giggles). Let's go to our happy place.

 

[00:34:05] Noella I'm lying down.

 

[00:34:22] Aisha O'Sullivan Welcome to our flower places. It's not as nice as it would have looked in the summer because we put we got rid of some of the plants and we put cardboard,

 

[00:34:33] so that they can be safe during the winter. But yeah, this is our kale. I don't think the kale's grown out enough for us to eat it.

 

[00:34:41] Noella I wanna eat that one.

 

[00:34:42] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, yeah, we can eat that kale.

 

[00:34:47] I hope we're allowed to.

 

[00:34:48] Noella Well, it is our garden, kind of.

 

[00:34:52] Aisha O'Sullivan It's our teachers garden.

 

[00:34:53] Noella Yeah.

 

[00:34:56] If you're watching this, teacher, I was hungry.

 

[00:35:40] Aisha O'Sullivan OH!

 

[00:35:40] Gunargie You don't know how good that feels.

 

[00:35:40] Aisha O'Sullivan I don't mum, only you know.

 

[00:35:44] Gunargie Only I know.

 

[00:35:44] Aisha O'Sullivan I wanna hear about (inaudible).

 

[00:35:45] Gunargie Only I know

 

[00:35:49] Gunargie And the great thing about Aisha is she will always tell you what it is she wants out of life, okay. No word of a lie since as long as I've known her, which is like 11 years now, this girl has a mind of her own. She was born with a mind of her own. That's right.

 

[00:36:07] Aisha O'Sullivan Born and raised.

 

[00:36:07] Gunargie That's her new Indian name. Born with a mind of her own, okay. The point is, every thing that Aisha's doing now has actually been designed by Aisha. She pulls me aside and she says, Mom, you're not doing enough. You need to support me more. I'm like, What do you mean I don't support you enough? I don't understand. You're in the Red Fox program. She's like, and I got you into that. And she's like, I know. But, you know, I also want to be a musician. And you still haven't done anything to support that. And I said, okay, fine, Aisha, thanks for telling me. Next time, maybe you could be a little nicer about it.

 

[00:36:53] Gunargie Ok, make me look good.  She knows how to make take good pictures.

 

[00:36:59] Aisha and Gunargie Hi!

 

[00:37:08] Aisha and Gunargie I'm Aisha.

 

[00:37:09] Gunargie I'm Gunargie

 

[00:37:11] Aisha O'Sullivan And together we make.

 

[00:37:12] You.

 

[00:37:13] Gunargie Gunisha

 

[00:37:14] Marla (giggles) And sorry, and what's your name?

 

[00:37:16] Gunargie Gunargie. It's from the Kwakwak...

 

[00:37:19] Aisha O'Sullivan Kwakwak'wakw

 

[00:37:23] Marla And you're. But you're not living in that territory right now? You're down in Vancouver?

 

[00:37:29] Gunargie Vancouver. Yeah. But, you know, like, I have been toying with the idea of occupying my land, but that's a whole nother story. And if I do that, then she will have to homeschool.

 

[00:37:44] Marla Right.

 

[00:37:44] Gunargie Yeah, I'm just kidding.

 

[00:37:47] But, kind of.

 

[00:37:48] Gunargie  not kidding.

 

[00:37:51] Marla Yeah, exactly. Aisha, what what is your definition of school? Like, how do you envision this?

 

[00:38:03] Aisha O'Sullivan Ok, I should probably start with how I want it to be. There's different types of learning. Some people enjoy visual learning. Some people enjoy, like hands on learning. And then some people just enjoy sitting in a classroom and watching people tell them about stuff and, like, it's not like a one size fits all sort of thing. So like everyone has different types of learning that they enjoy. And school isn't like that. It's like I feel like it's sort of made to make us into someone who wants to sit in an office all day and do nothing with their life.

 

[00:38:36] Aisha O'Sullivan So I'm gathering up to this point, you have been engaged with like the brick and mortar education system. So you are at a point where you're looking around and going, okay, so what are the other options? Is this kind of where you're at at the moment?

 

[00:38:53] Gunargie Yeah.

 

[00:38:53] You are legally required to register in some type of schooling program. So if you don't aren't going to the brick and mortar school that's in your community neighborhood, if you're not doing it that way, then what the government says is that you must register in one of the homeschooling options that are out there. And there's a ton of them. It's like a distance education program, for example, that's it's like you get the Grade eight math book and you do the workbook and then you send it in and then they say, Oh, we're going to mark it and we're going to pass you. Then that's like, that's really it's curriculum driven. Whereas with other programs like Self-Design, what happens is that the goal is to be able to walk backwards. Like, okay, so you've done this project, I'm going to take that and figure out how that demonstrates that you've met learning outcomes in language competency, in your applied technology and design competency in your artistic competency, right? So there's so many different routes to get to the same end point, right?

 

[00:40:03] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah. Okay.

 

[00:40:10] Gunargie I think that First Nations people are at a stage where we're looking at decolonization. And I think that if people from the First Nations community knew that they could self-design their child's own education and how much freedom that it would give them to restore and maintain a language and culture, and that if they were coming from a place that this is their responsibility and a right, that they would jump in with all fours and they would they would move forward in providing their children with intense education in and around rebuilding the culture. That's just what I think. That's what I would hope anyway, yeah.

 

[00:41:06] (music)

 

[00:41:37] Bruce Hey, I'm not sure, are you Gunargie's daughter? 

 

[00:41:37] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah.

 

[00:41:38] Bruce Aw nice. I walked past you guys at the radio station the other day.

 

[00:42:00] Harriet Hi. I'm Harriet.

 

[00:42:03] Miriam I'm Miriam.

 

[00:42:04] Aisha O'Sullivan I know one of you is doing alternate schooling? Okay. Is there a reason why one of you is, and one of you is not?

 

[00:42:10] Harriet We started in a regular school system, and then we really didn't enjoy it. And then we found Windsor House. Windsor House is the only, what do you call,.

 

[00:42:23] Miriam Alternative school?

 

[00:42:24] Harriet Alternative school. Like, they're usually all private.

 

[00:42:28] It's almost entirely student run, where the staff are just sort of there to facilitate the classes and things that we need to do. But there's also student taught classes.

 

[00:42:41] Miriam I went to Winter House for five years before switching to a a more regular school for high school because I wanted I wasn't getting the education that I wanted for myself at Windsor House. I always loved the idea of like going to actual classes and having like homework and stuff. I like, really loved the idea of homework. At this point, it's not that great, but.

 

[00:43:08] Aisha O'Sullivan We can just sit.

 

[00:43:08] there on a couch and sleep all day. That's what they said.

 

[00:43:11] Serena Really? I love it. Are we allowed to play on our phones thee?

 

[00:43:14] Aisha O'Sullivan Yes.

 

[00:43:16] Serena That's like the best school ever.

 

[00:43:16] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, we can do, like, whatever we want.

 

[00:43:18] Serena Yeah, that's the school that I wanna go to.

 

[00:43:21] Aisha O'Sullivan Let's go there next year and then we'll be in the same school too.

 

[00:43:24] Serena Yeah.

 

[00:43:25] Aisha O'Sullivan We're going to that school.

 

[00:43:27] Serena If you're in Grade eight and you're allowed to skip a grade.

 

[00:43:27] Aisha O'Sullivan And there is a drama program.

 

[00:43:31] No, no, they're, all the all the people are together.

 

[00:43:34] Aisha O'Sullivan Basically. Except for tiny kids. And you're not that tiny so I think we'll be together. I'm so happy. We're going to that school. There's also a drama program and, is there music?

 

[00:43:44] Aisha O'Sullivan There's music.

 

[00:43:45] Serena Oh my gosh, that's literally my entire life. You just described my favorite school ever.

 

[00:43:50] Aisha O'Sullivan We're going there. Yeah. Drop the phone.

 

[00:43:54] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, I was the sassy child.

 

[00:43:56] Gunargie Sassy child, you still are the sassy child. 

 

[00:43:59] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, yeah. I was wondering if maybe next year I could go to Windsor School.

 

[00:44:03] Gunargie Windsor School? Well, I don't know anything about it.

 

[00:44:07] Aisha O'Sullivan Okay, so I'll tell you some stuff. Basically, you go there and you get to choose what classes you want to do. And it's really student run, and there's like rules. But if there's a rule, like someone says something like, Oh, isn't that a rule? And then no one remembers it. It's just not a rule anymore.

 

[00:44:25] Gunargie Really?

 

[00:44:27] Aisha O'Sullivan Except for the usual, like, you know, don't run in the hallways and stuff.

 

[00:44:30] Gunargie Neat, and so why do you like it so much? Because, like.

 

[00:44:33] Aisha O'Sullivan I like the idea of getting to choose what I want to do, because I've always like the idea of not doing math in the middle of the day because

 

[00:44:39] that's when I'm tired and really don't have time to deal with it. I'd like to do math in the morning and I like I feel like if I get to choose, if I get like a chance to do drama and music more often, I definitely would do that. And I feel like at Windsor I could do that. There, the teachers like they just want to help you do what you want to do, which I really like the idea of that. And there's also cool plays apparently.

 

[00:45:00] Gunargie Really?

 

[00:45:01] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, we got invited to one on Tuesday.

 

[00:45:03] Gunargie Okay.

 

[00:45:05] Aisha O'Sullivan So I think it would be a cool experience to try out, at least just to try out. And I think that it's a good thing that kids know they have the option to move if they like really aren't liking the school system, are just.... Don't like the idea of it at all. At least try out something different. And if you feel like maybe school is what you need, like public school, then sure, go for it. But do whatever you have to do make yourself happy.

 

[00:45:34] Gunargie I like it that you're not like all on your own because if you were doing Self-Design it would, a lot of that would depend on me and a really strong community of people, which we don't have yet, right? To get you where you need to go, when you need to be there, and especially to maintain some kind of consistency in your life. I like the idea of Windsor House because there's teachers there and there are other people that are your age that think and feel the same ways you do about art.

 

[00:46:08] Aisha O'Sullivan So, so is that a yes or no?

 

[00:46:09] Gunargie Well, let's start with the orientation.

 

[00:46:13] Aisha O'Sullivan Okay.

 

[00:46:13] Gunargie And go from there. You don't want to make any hasty decisions, but I like the idea a lot.

 

[00:46:17] You're awesome.

 

[00:46:21] Aisha O'Sullivan I don't want to go to school anymore, don't make me.

 

[00:46:24] Gunargie Well, you got to finish the year off. At least you have something to look forward to next year.

 

[00:46:29] Aisha O'Sullivan I'm going to get so many Cs on my report card.

 

[00:46:33] Gunargie Hmm.

 

[00:46:43] Aisha O'Sullivan I wanted to find something where I could do music. First, there was this thing I went to called Saint James, which is a cool music school, but there's also this other school called Sarah McLachlan. They have like a wide range of different things, and the staff are all really nice.

 

[00:46:59] Singing teacher So, this song has a big range. You know what I mean by that?

 

[00:47:03] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, oh. (animal noises)

 

[00:47:04] Singing teacher Oh.

 

[00:47:07] music student and in the end there should be like a violin, where its like "Paaaaaain."

 

[00:47:12] Singing teacher Yeah. Okay.

 

[00:47:15] One, two, three, four.

 

[00:47:18] Class singing First things first, I'm a say all the words inside my head. I'm fired up and tired all the ways that things have been, Oh oooh ooh. The way that things have been, ooooh oooh.

 

[00:47:34] Singing teacher Good.

 

[00:47:40] Music teacher So there. Pointing up. There you go. That's our first key in A Minor.

 

[00:47:49] Okay, and we're going to do eight there and then we're going to jump over to F. So we're going to actually slide down. Was this your first year here? Or have you been here before, I've only worked with you for this, this year.

 

[00:47:59] Aisha O'Sullivan This is my first year.

 

[00:48:00] Music teacher This is your first year completely. Okay, cool. Awesome.

 

[00:48:02] Aisha O'Sullivan I'm like a newbie.

 

[00:48:03] Music teacher Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's awesome.

 

[00:48:04] Aisha O'Sullivan I'm pretty sure my mom one day just found out about it and then she applied me. .

 

[00:48:10] Music teacher Yeah.

 

[00:48:10] Aisha O'Sullivan And then I just came.

 

[00:48:11] Music teacher Yeah.

 

[00:48:12] Aisha O'Sullivan I think it took, like, a long time. Yeah.

 

[00:48:15] Music teacher Our waitlist can be long, right?

 

[00:48:16] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, that's good.

 

[00:48:17] Music teacher Yeah.

 

[00:48:18] Aisha O'Sullivan And, like, it shows the importance of being here. So, like, kids don't just come here and be like, I don't want to come here anymore and just leave.

 

[00:48:25] Music teacher This is true. This is true. Five, six.

 

[00:48:36] Music teacher Good. Awesome. 

 

[00:48:46] Aisha O'Sullivan Pardon me. I think I've ruined both these pancakes.

 

[00:48:48] Serena That's the messed up pancake, and that's the perfect pancake.

 

[00:48:51] Aisha O'Sullivan Don't judge them. They just wanna live life.

 

[00:48:54] Serena I only want that pancake, that pancake there.

 

[00:49:03] Gunargie Do you want syrup? Butter?

 

[00:49:03] Aisha O'Sullivan I was told by someone that I should be behind the camera because that's where the fat people go. Is that true?

 

[00:49:10] Gunargie No, it's not true.

 

[00:49:11] Aisha O'Sullivan The people don't seem like....

 

[00:49:12] Gunargie Shy people go behind the camera. Shy, extroverts. It's kind of weird. It's like they wanna.

 

[00:49:18] Gunargie Ambiverts?

 

[00:49:20] Gunargie Oh is that what...Tell me what an ambivert is.

 

[00:49:22] Gunargie Like an extrovert and an introvert at the same time.

 

[00:49:25] Gunargie Oh, that's what I am. Exactly like that.

 

[00:49:30] Aisha O'Sullivan I am an introvert.

 

[00:49:33] Serena I am whatever she is.

 

[00:49:33] Gunargie What kind of vert are you?

 

[00:49:34] Aisha O'Sullivan You're an ex, I mean, I'm an introvert, but I don't think you're an introvert.

 

[00:49:41] Gunargie So you're going to sing the song for Mother's Day?

 

[00:49:44] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, yeah that. Do you remember?

 

[00:49:47] Serena We didn't get to finish it.

 

[00:49:48] Gunargie Well, you show me what you got.

 

[00:49:59] Aisha O'Sullivan La la, la, la.

 

[00:50:04] Aisha O'Sullivan You deserve the world, but I can't give you that. So I settled for a song and I, I hope that that'll pass. I mean every word and I hope that you know that. I love you, mom. You taught me all these things that will help me later in life.

 

[00:50:25] Serena And that's alright.

 

[00:50:28] Aisha O'Sullivan How to survive the depths of the night. So you get

 

[00:50:35] breakfast in bed, sleeping in late. Maple and syrup, all through the day.  Please don't be stressed, today is your day. I love you, mom.

 

[00:50:54] Gunargie Thank you. (laughs).

 

[00:50:55] I love you too.

 

[00:50:56] Aisha O'Sullivan Ah! I'm changing.

 

[00:50:59] Gunargie Thanks for breakfast.

 

[00:51:00] Serena I need my things to change, too.  

 

[00:51:03] Gunargie That's amazing. Just amazing. How she taught herself how to play the guitar, for one thing. You know, I think she can, she even knows how to tune her guitar. And she worked on that for maybe an hour or so yesterday. That's that's just on her own, right. And sometimes she'll stay home from school just so she can work on her music. So you know, that for me is very real because like, Jadis, you know, like I've been in residential schools and my real mom didn't survive. And then my my adoptive mom was there for me. And I celebrated Mother's Day, you know, with my family and Father's Day. That was really special. I made them little cards, drew them little pictures and, and things like that.

 

[00:52:06] Aisha O'Sullivan Are you crying?

 

[00:52:08] Gunargie Yeah, because I thought what you did was amazing.

 

[00:52:13] Aisha O'Sullivan Wasn't it catchy?

 

[00:52:15] Gunargie Yeah, it was beautiful, catchy, uplifting.

 

[00:52:21] It was fun.

 

[00:52:22]  When you sing, you have this amazing voice. You have a really great gift for for writing. My brother Ray had that same gift. Apparently, my dad, George Rufus, had a gift for words and a really great sense of humor. And people would tell me that about him when I met, when I met his friends. They'd say, your dad was very funny. And he had a great gift for words, right.

 

[00:52:53] The system keeps keeps attacking First Nations people from every angle, whether it's the ministry, whether it's within the educational system. She, for the first year or so, she wasn't going to school because it was a new school and there was a lot of adjustment. Within about a month or two, I had the ministry knocking at my door, because she had had too many late days. And so that day I went to that school, I ran up right up in front of the lady that was the lady that checked out, you know, late, late, late, late. They're called intake or something. And I just stood right up in front of her and I said, How dare you? How dare you call the ministry on me because my daughter comes to school late, without consulting or talking to me first. You know, I said, do you know what will happen if if they choose to, they can take my daughter away? Not only are you doing that to me, but you're doing it to my daughter. We're trying to adjust to this new school and I don't appreciate what you did, you know. And then I went to the principal and I talked to them. And about a year or so later, after they got to know me and the work that I do, you know, we were invited to go and sit with parents and other people under the guise of Reconciliation, you know, and talk about, they did this blanket dance, blanket exercise that they do. And then I got to talk, you know. And when I did, I talked about the role that the educational system plays in the rate of child apprehension.

 

[00:55:10] Tsleil Waututh Chief I want to give thanksgiving on this Mother's Day. To every mother here, but also thanksgiving to our Mother Earth. And yet, look what we do to her. We cut her hair where it shouldn't be cut up. We drill house holes inside of her and suck her blood out. Then we put things inside and blow her bones up. And I ask you, what would happen if you did that to your mother? She'd die. And that's exactly what's happening, but we will go way before our mother. We're digging our own graves.  Across the world, not just here, but the Tsleil Waututh and all the relatives here on this unsurrendered, unceded land. Remember that it's been unsurrendered, unceded.

 

[00:55:54] Aisha O'Sullivan We should have known we'd be really bored coming here.

 

[00:55:58] Serena Why did we come here again?

 

[00:56:00] Aisha O'Sullivan I dunno.

 

[00:56:03] Serena No wonder no one likes Mother's Day. It's so boring.

 

[00:56:07] Aisha O'Sullivan I'd rather be at home hanging out with our mom. And that saying a lot.

 

[00:56:13] Serena Who thought about bringing kids to these kind of things? It's adult problems. Not mine. I mean, we shouldn't have to worry about pipelines.

 

[00:56:25] Aisha O'Sullivan But sometimes it's like, even one more person could help a whole lot.

 

[00:56:30] Like, just like you can make that one difference that will help, like, in the long run. But I do agree with you. It's boring. Like, they should think of funner ways.

 

[00:56:41] Serena I'm just asking, what is talking going to do? It would be okay, like, if they were talking, they were telling new people about things like this and how they should stop it. But they're just talking about it to everybody who already knows about it. That's not going to do us any good.

 

[00:56:57] Aisha O'Sullivan It's like a meeting. It reminds me of a meeting. And I used to go to those all the time, and they're not fun.

 

[00:57:05] Canoe Leader Does everyone got that? Yeah. Here we go.

 

[00:57:28] (chanting)

 

[00:57:36] Gunargie You have to remind me, though.

 

[00:57:37] Canoe Leader 2 I'll tell you which side to go.

 

[00:58:04] Kanahus You know, like, you know, on the West Coast where they have the Raven and they had to come, and create and had all the teachings for the people, like how the Raven created this night and sun and everything like that. Well, the Coyote is the teacher in our Secwepemc way. The significance of the of the Coyote is that it teaches us how to, how to interact with each other. And it teaches our responsibilities, and it's our biggest teacher of all our Secwepemc ways. It teaches us about consensus, about respecting women, about everything. So, my sister, she just they found a road kill coyote on the way here. And now she's looking where she could gut it and gut it and skin it and everything here, so.

 

[00:58:48] Gunargie They'll teach you how to skin and then they're going to take that hide and they're going to use it as a symbol to put on their canoes, on their journeys. This is a teaching.

 

[00:59:04] Aisha O'Sullivan I don't wanna.

 

[00:59:04] Gunargie How come you don't want to?

 

[00:59:07] Aisha O'Sullivan Because I don't want to.

 

[00:59:07] Serena Do you want to see how many games I have?

 

[00:59:10] Kanahus So we need to all recognize that we have a job and take it really seriously, because especially your age, you are very powerful. Our young girls are powerful. That's why we need to really embrace our young women and our young our young girls to teach them as much as we can. Like with, that what's the most powerful is when the young people have a voice and they say, No, we don't want these tankers, we don't want this pipeline because one young person is a multiplier. That's why we need to surround our young people and say yes and encourage them and lift them up.

 

[00:59:49] Gunargie That's right. You can strategize starting now, starting today. What are you going to do to protect Mother Earth? Will you continue to paddle in the water so that you can have that connection to the water, so that you can care about the water? Did you feel that today?

 

[01:00:06] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, it was really nice.

 

[01:00:08] Gunargie You got to feel that, you're 11 years old. I've never done that ever in my life. And I'm 51, Aisha. And that's our way. You got to take it back, right? You have to take it back. I we we this is the beginning for us of trying to reinstill these values into you and give you that connection to the land so that you actually care and understand what it is that people are trying to teach us and why it is that things have become the way they are and why it is that we're protecting the land. And I really want to do it again. Do you want to do it again, Aisha?

 

[01:00:44] Aisha O'Sullivan I'd totally do that again.

 

[01:00:46] Gunargie I was totally in tune with you, right, when we were paddling? Yeah, it is amazing. And that's what they, was taken away from us. Was that kind of a lifestyle. Those teachings. Because Kanahus was brought up by a very strong family. You know, George manuel wrote a book, righ. He was a very, very huge leader in our community. His son was and his children are. But we were broken. And we almost have to start right all over again, and it started with me kind of because my mom was gone, right. She's gone. She couldn't give me the the paddle and the canoe and the water to be on.

 

[01:01:41]  

 

[01:01:43] Gunargie Well, I think I'm having issues around my age right now because I keep telling everybody how old I am. And even though, I know, that a woman who tells her age will tell anything - I got to tell you, I'm 51. (laughs) But the thing is, is my daughter is only 11, and yesterday we both got gifted because we got to sit in that canoe together. It was really interesting because we brought a friend of hers with us and she's a non-Native young girl, she's the same age as Aisha. And the experience for Aisha was very different for her non-Native friend. Because we were told to hold our paddles up with the crest facing forward so that people would know where we're coming from. And with the eye on the back of the paddle so that we could see the Ancestors and know where we've been. And this little girl took it literally, and she held her paddle down. And everybody's saying, Well, oh, you got to hold your paddle up and put it over here, right, so people know where you come from. But she goes, But I'm not one of you. Right. Why am I protecting Kinder Morgan? Why should I care, and everything? And so it was interesting for me as a parent to hear about this interaction, because I think that that's what we as First Nations people have lived with within the educational system and within society, where people do not hold the same values as us, respect it or honor it. And that's something that I recognized yesterday. And I really felt sad for Aisha, because on one hand, she comes home and listens to my radio programs and knows that this is an important aspect of her journey as an intergenerational survivor, to make. She has to go and reconnect with the culture, learn how to sing, learn how to dance. So much work to do on her side. And yet, society won't support that.

 

[01:03:47] Aisha O'Sullivan I feel like there's slight pressure to, like, learn things. In the past generations, things have been lost, and it's hard for the new generation to care about it as much as we should, because we can't really, no one's telling us to. Right now, all the important things are like celebrity gossip, teenage gossip, all these things. And it's hard to care about things that we should be. Like, I can't even find myself to care sometimes, but like, it's important.

 

[01:04:35] Aisha O'Sullivan Yeah, ironically. But at what point does it, like, not be irony anymore?

 

[01:04:42] Nimkish I dunno.

 

[01:04:43] Aisha O'Sullivan Like what point are you actually just not watching something ironic like the B movie just because you enjoy it?

 

[01:05:00] Aisha O'Sullivan I learned how to dance, wanna see?

 

[01:05:01] Nimkish Yeah.  yeah. Very good. (laughs)

 

[01:05:10] Nimkish I'll run through the chords, and then you come in.

 

[01:05:20] Aisha O'Sullivan (singing)

 

[01:05:20] Nimkish I believe she'll make it in the arts, whatever she decides to do. She likes acting, she loves music. She likes being creative, basically. Which I think is a really good way to live.

 

[01:05:30] That was my lovely, talented sister.

 

[01:05:34] I will start with a few originals.

 

[01:05:39] And I'm the one I think you know.

 

[01:05:43] So take your time and let it go.

 

[01:05:48] But I hope it's me, I hope it's me. That you find somewhere, in that mess, in that mess, inside your head. I'll be waiting, I'll be waiting when the smoke clears, yeah, yeah. I'll be waiting, I'll be waiting when the smoke clears, yeah, yeah. I'll be waiting, I'll be waiting when the smoke clears

 

[01:06:27] Aisha O'Sullivan I went to visit Windsor House. I just decided I didn't really want to go because I wanted to graduate with like a normal degree. But staying in school was miserable, which is why I think I've sort of drifted off to homeschooling. Online schooling, yeah.

 

[01:06:50] Aisha O'Sullivan Hello.

 

[01:06:50] Susan This is Sean John, he's like the expert.

 

[01:06:52] Echo Hawk I'm not an expert, I just have a little bit of knowledge I want to pass on to everybody, you know. It was taught to me, so I want to pass it on to everybody else and people who want to learn.

 

[01:07:02] Susan And Sean, where are you from?

 

[01:07:03] Echo Hawk I am Dené and Cree from northern Alberta, Fort McMurray.

 

[01:07:06] Susan And you've been doing basket weaving for how long?

 

[01:07:08] Echo Hawk My late dad taught me, like in the early nineties. I usually use red willow.  Red willow because it's very bendable and it looks really nice and it's actually a medicine also. That's what aspirins, and Tylenols are made from. Red willow.

 

[01:07:20] Aisha O'Sullivan That's really great, you know, because like, you're like putting back in the world what you took from it, that's awesome.

 

[01:07:26] Echo Hawk Exactly, you know. And we could all do that, too. You wanna learn?

 

[01:07:30] Aisha O'Sullivan Of course I do.

 

[01:07:30] Echo Hawk All right. Why don't you go and say a little prayer by that cedar tree and grab, like, a whole handful of branches and come back?

 

[01:07:39] Aisha O'Sullivan Okay.

 

[01:07:39] Echo Hawk Okay, cool. Awesome.

 

[01:07:48] Serena Thanks for your wood that we will use very thoughtfully when we are making baskets.

 

[01:07:57] Aisha O'Sullivan Thank you. It really helps to make baskets.

 

[01:08:04] And I hope that you'll continue to grow strong.

 

[01:08:06] Thank you so much. I'm saying that a lot lately. Do you think there are spiders in here?

 

[01:08:08] Is this enough?

 

[01:08:19] Echo Hawk That's how you want it. So you've got to tie it and however you can and along as it stays like that. Okay.

 

[01:08:26] Aisha O'Sullivan I don't know if this is going to work or not.

 

[01:08:30] Echo Hawk Yeah. Yeah. Just take your time, patience. And it'll be like this, ok?

 

[01:08:35] Aisha O'Sullivan Okay.

 

[01:08:39] Park Elder You getting it, or you just.

 

[01:08:39] Echo Hawk Gunargie -this is Gunargie's daughter.

 

[01:08:40] Aisha O'Sullivan Hi.

 

[01:08:41] Park Elder Hi, beautiful.

 

[01:08:45] Susan Oh, you're Gunargie's daughter?

 

[01:08:47] Oh.

 

[01:08:51] You're broadcasting.

 

[01:08:53] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, yeah.

 

[01:08:54] Susan Yeah.

 

[01:08:55] Susan You know, I really enjoyed hearing your voice.

 

[01:08:58] Aisha O'Sullivan Thank you.

 

[01:08:59] Susan You have a strong voice. Your mom is like a very, very, how would you say? Prominent figure in the First Nations community.

 

[01:09:09] Aisha O'Sullivan Oh, really?

 

[01:09:10] Susan She is. She is.

 

[01:09:12] Serena That's why everybody knows who she is.

 

[01:09:15] Susan Yeah, your mom is like, she's monumental in our community.

 

[01:09:22] Aisha O'Sullivan That's great. I actually didn't know that.  That's really cool.

 

[01:09:24] Susan Yeah.

 

[01:09:26] Aisha O'Sullivan The more you know!

 

[01:09:27] Serena Then you find out your mom is cool.

 

[01:09:47] Aisha O'Sullivan Are you crying?

 

[01:09:47] Gunargie No (laughs).

 

[01:09:47] Aisha O'Sullivan You're crying.

 

[01:09:50] Gunargie I know.

 

[01:09:51] Aisha O'Sullivan You okay?

 

[01:09:51] Gunargie Oh.

 

[01:09:55] I got farther than I did before, though, right?

 

[01:09:57] Oh, ma. Oh how you doing, pa?

 

[01:10:14] Why don't you? Why don't you? Why don't you tell me?  Where have you been?

 

[01:10:21] Aisha O'Sullivan The best thing you could probably do is.

 

[01:10:24] Gunargie (singing)

 

[01:10:27] Aisha O'Sullivan Learn everything you can. Because in the end, the more you know, the more power you'll have in any situation. Because, like, we're always scared of the things we don't know.