I’m Going Back

Yay!  I’m going back!  After a long COVID isolation, I can finally return to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.  Yay!

Let me back-up, to explain the use of not just one, but two “Yay!”s.

I grew up in Sarnia, Ontario.  For those who don’t know, Sarnia neighbours three First Nation communities: Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Walpole Island First Nation, and Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.

Growing up a middle class white kid, I had only a foggy notion of my location in the world.  Aside from attending a pow-wow once, I didn’t hang out with my neighbours.  Sadly, I wasn’t unusual in this.

I remember reading, “I Heard the Owl Call My Name” in high school.  It moved me deeply.  Like any Canadian kid of that era, I learned a bit about Indigenous history in my Canadian history classes.  Not much; and I’m not saying what I learned was accurate or free of bias.

 

My family travelled around Canada in the summers, and I visited historical and cultural sites, learning a few more bits and pieces about Indigenous folk.  Again, not much.

I left for college swearing I’d never return to Sarnia.  Life happened, and almost three decades later, I returned.  (Wish I’d done it much sooner. Bigger cities aren’t better cities, and I do love my hometown.)

 

An Unforeseen Gift

One of the best parts of returning was the opportunity to meet and work with some of my Indigenous neighbours.  Finally.  I consider myself very fortunate to have this gift.  I know I didn’t do much (if anything) to earn it.

I’m still that middle-class white kid (at least at heart).  For a number of reasons, it would be better if Indigenous therapists provided service rather than middle-class white therapists like me.  I think that’s coming.  Until then, I’ll try my best to help and feel grateful for the chance to do so.

Canada is a nice place, more or less.  Part of the “less” is our shameful history of colonization.  There are many volumes written about that.  It goes far beyond what I can capture in a blog post and for today, that’s not my point.

For today, my point is I’m an ordinary guy, blessed with the gift of a chance to hang out with — and maybe, hopefully, even help a bit — some very lovely people.  For today, I’m very happy with the easing of COVID related restrictions, as it means I’m going back. Yay!