Sandi L Boucher delivers a first-person talk about the harms of widespread false narratives about indigenous people, framing the talk through grief and three recurrent "lies": that white people will hate indigenous people, that native people are lazy/welfare-dependent, and that white society will never accept indigenous individuals. She interweaves family history (Anishinaabe/Ojibwe identity, a white father, a hardworking mother), her own career trajectory working primarily in indigenous organizations for 20 years, and a milestone—being named Thunder Bay Business Person of the Year in April 2016—as evidence that those lies are false and can be overcome.
Questions this video answers
She said she was 17 when her father passed away.
April 2016.
Chapters
I think every single one of you can relate to what indigenous people are going through right now. If you have ever grieved someone. And what I mean by that is, you know how grief comes in waves. You think you're doing okay and suddenly you hear a song or you remember something and all of a sudden, bam, it just hits you all over again. That's exactly what this time is like. I was only 17 when my father passed away. And suddenly I was thrown into what I describe as a world of lies. The first lie I was told often, that white people would hate me without even knowing me, that I was going to be judged and condemned because I am Anishinaabe, because I'm Ojibwe. That never made sense to me. Why? Because my dad was white. I was like, wait a minute, he doesn't judge me. He's the one that told me I could achieve everything I want. I don't understand. Now, sadly, I did meet some people who were taught to hate indigenous people who had not unpacked that yet. But I've met far more people like the people in this room. People who do want to learn, who do want to ask questions, who do want to understand. Lie number two, that I heard just as often that native people are lazy, good for nothing, welfare bums. I want to stress how absolutely powerful this lie is, how devastating it is to indigenous people. I know so many that grew up hearing this lie so often that they start to believe it. This doesn't make any sense. My mom was the hardest working woman I ever met. And by the way, because I didn't mention it yet, when my dad got older and he had to retire early because his health was so bad, my mom got a job at the sawmill. She wanted to help support our family. My mom piled two by fours, eight foot long for eight hours a shift. My mom had 18 inch biceps. The third lie, that white society would never accept me, that I should just stick with my own people. That I was never going to fit in anywhere outside of the community or that small group of indigenous people. Again, I'm going to admit I accepted this. I believed it for a large part of my adult life. For 20 years of my life, I worked solely in indigenous communities and indigenous agencies, never believing that I could survive outside that realm. What if it was a lie? What if I could be successful other places with other people? What if I didn't have to just work with indigenous people? What if I could be accepted? What if this was one of those lies? When, if I ever had any doubt April 2016 proved it was a lie when I was named Business Person of the Year for the city of Thunder Bay and an indigenous woman in the city known for anti indigenous racism. It was a lie. And what we have to stop doing is believing the lies. I believe that we can recreate what my parents created. I grew up in a place where cultures were respected. No one had veto power over another. But everyone valued the relationship more than they did whatever decision they were making at the time. It is possible because I'm the results of that creation and that's what I work to do every single day.
