A short YouTube vlog by Sandi L Boucher (self-identified as Red Thunderbolt, Loon clan, Seine River First Nation) urging non-Black/Indigenous/people-of-color allies to prioritize concrete actions over performative words—"Less cheering, more doing"—and to use voice to challenge racist systems rather than celebrate individual resilience. The video concludes with a lighthearted draw segment featuring her son, Keith Roy, who makes a 'street identification planter' (house number planter); only two tickets were sold (Colleen and Anita) and Anita wins.
Questions this video answers
Street identification planter
Anita
Colleen and Anita
Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a member of Seine River First Nation (Treaty 3 Territory)
Chapters
Have you ever been so frustrated, just so it feels like your heart is gonna break, you feel like nobody is listening, that they don't understand, and they keep doing what you're asking them not to do? Have you ever felt like that and you just had to sit down and write it out? Now, I'm an author and I. Writing has always been how I made sense of my world. So maybe that doesn't make sense to you, but that's what I did. Yesterday I just. I saw something on social media and I just had to write it down. And today I wanted to share that with you. So let's talk about it. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And as I said yesterday, I'm sitting on my couch enjoying an amazing day. Maybe I made the mistake of scrolling social media. Well, I did scroll social media. I'm just not sure it was a mistake, but I definitely saw something I didn't need to see. And it was on LinkedIn, which is a professional social media site, and I just wanted to share it with you. This I'm sharing with you, but it was a message for the allies, which is why I want to share it with you. I wasn't talking to myself. I was just wishing that this time maybe the allies could hear me. And, yeah, I don't even know what I would call this. Maybe you can tell me in the comments what you would call it, but here it is. Allies, please. Less cheering, more doing. It kind of knots my stomach. A black, indigenous or person of color shares of a challenge they have overcome. And an ally feels the need to cheer in the comments. They're cheering that that person overcame the barriers that the white erected. Thumbs up if you must, clappy hands if you want to, but no words, please. No words. No words should be part of an ally. Job description. No words just pass the mic. No words just hold open the door for the uninvited Black, indigenous or people of color. No words actions hire Black, indigenous or people of color mentor Black indigenous or people of color hold space for black, indigenous or people of color. And all of that can be done with no words. Now, many non indigenous, non black, non people of color are really good at staying silent, just not when they should. Don't speak for us or to celebrate us. Speak to disrupt racism. Speak to overcome processes and laws that discriminate against us. Speak to demand we have a seat at the table. Then no words. We got it at that point. And a real ally gets that. I hope that made sense. Thank you so much for listening. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye. Hello, you super duper double delicious person, you.
It's Sandy Boucher here with my son Keith. This is Keith Roy, and he is the one that's doing the amazing woodworking. And recently, we had a draw for a house number thingy. Now, Keith has the actual name for it. What is it?
It is a street identification planter.
A street identification planter. Now, house number thingy works for me, but I kind of like that name better. So here's what happened. We put it out for the draw, and we only had two people buy tickets, which is fine. That's. That's customer information. That's market research. Keith needs to know that as he's going into his own business. But it kind of got awkward for me because Colleen and Anita are the two that purchased tickets. Colleen I've known since high school. Anita's my assistant. Gets a little weird. So I am gonna grab one of these just to show you what we did. We took the names. There's Anita's and Colleen's. Yours is in here, too. And we put it in there and we're gonna draw. I'm not gonna do this. I'm not picking between you two. Keith is the one that made the amazing. What's it called again?
The street identification planter.
Okay, I'm never gonna remember that. You know that, right? But he's the one that made it, so he should be able to do this. We do super, super appreciate your support and even watching these videos. Thank you so much. Watch for future draws. He's already making amazing things. I get to see them because he's working downstairs. Trust me, you're gonna want to be in on their soap. Okay, enough babbling. We gotta come up with a winner.
We can also shorthand it to Sip.
Sip Street Denim. It's a sip that's even more confusing.
We got Anita.
Anita, congrats on. I guess you could pick it up when you come to work. We will even put it in your car for you. How's that? Thank you so, so much. Now you know. Face to the name. This is my son. I am so proud of his entrepreneurial endeavors. So stay tuned for websites and Facebook pages and the next stuff that he makes. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.
