Bill 5 Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, Another PRETENDIAN, Simon Sinek & More

Hello, you absolutely amazing person, you. Once again, it's Sandy Boucher here and honestly I'm starting to feel like an indigenous Phil DeFranco, which is paying myself a huge compliment. I'm not saying I have his skill set, I definitely don't have his team. I'm just saying that in the last couple of videos it seems like I'm bringing you news from Indian country. It's the things that come across my feed that I realize may not come across yours, especially if you're non indigenous, especially if you're not in Canada. But definitely reinforce teachings and things I've shared with you as we go along. So today I have a lot to share with you. We're going to talk about Bill 5 because that's just absolute insanity. I have a pretendion to tell you about. We haven't had that discussion in a while. I have a few things I want you to think about and I kind of did something crazy which absolutely works for me. But you might think I'm insane. So let's talk about it. Bonjour. 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 mentioned in the opening, I have so many different things to share with you. The first thing is some advice for my Indigenous followers. In many different places, many different arenas, for many different reasons. Over the years I have had the opportunity to speak to different people, Indigenous and non. And all of them had what's going on with my hair at the top of my head. We're going to ignore that. All of them had one thing in common and that was that they were in the process of learning something. They were trying to acquire more knowledge or new skills or whatever the case may be. And one thing that I seem to see over and over was the assumption that they could only learn from people like them. So indigenous would only listen to Indigenous scholars, would only read books written by indigenous peoples, women would only follow women influencers or women thought leaders or whatever the case may be. That's insane. Just me being my blunt self. That is absolutely insane. So what my piece of advice for you is, I'm actually suggesting for one back to back teaching. We learn from absolutely everyone we come across. So why would you. Is that not prejudice? Like why would you eliminate learning from an entire group of people just because they're different from you? Yes, you might find reinforcement of what you believe, but you already know what you believe. Why do you need the reinforcement. And what's that quote? Exposure is not conversion. You know what you believe. Just because you're exposed to someone who believes something else doesn't mean you have to adopt it. Like, come on now, you're stronger than that. So here's what I suggest you do what I did in my early years of learning and something I now teach other people to do, and that is take the best, leave the rest, as my mom would say. So read from, like, I read a lot of books from successful business people. Most of them that are written books, that have written books are men. There's a lot more women nowadays, but we're still not on par. I still want to learn how to run a business, and I don't want to just learn how to do it from a female perspective. I want to learn the facts of running a successful business. So. But in the beginning, I was also servicing an exclusive First Nation customer base. I only worked with First Nation. So what I would do is take the training course and using my knowledge, I'm adding to my knowledge and not pretending I don't have any. You have knowledge. You don't need to pretend you don't have any. So what I would do is using my knowledge, I would interpret what I was reading. So some things, well, that's going to be handy. That's amazing. I'm so glad I learned that other things was okay. That's not really going to fly in a First Nation community based on my knowledge, but if I tweak it a little bit, it'll work great. Other things, just hard pass. So it's not about an ego trip. It's not about I know more than you. It is acknowledging your knowledge while acknowledging theirs as well. Back to back teaching, seeing the whole room. So if you want to learn, put the ego in the corner. Understand, you learn from everyone. That doesn't mean you should have blind faith in absolutely no one. You have knowledge, you have wisdom. Use it to interpret and take what you need. Take the best, leave the rest. There is no threat. So go, go get some books. Get some books. Now. That was like a positive. So now we're going to go into something heavy and we're going to talk about Bill 5 like I promised you. So Bill 5 is called the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act. So a provincial piece of legislation, and it's problematic. Basically, it runs over environmental protections and it most definitely runs over First Nation rights. So now I want to just check here, it was the Grand Chief, Elvin Fiddler and One of them in Lake First Nation Chief Archie Wabass. They were at Queen's park on May 22 to tell the Government Ontario that Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy act, is a direct attack on the land, rights and future of the people of Anishinaabe Aski Nation. This was released on social media by Nishnaw Bay Aski Nation on May 22. Anishinaabe Aski Nation is treating nine territories to all the most remote First Nation communities in Ontario. Before the hearing, Nan received a mandate from chiefs in assembly. So their governmental body, all the chiefs, got together and gave them the nam, the authority, the mandate, strongly rejecting this legislation which threatens to strip constitutionally protected rights and vital regulations governing resource development in our traditional territories. So this is what Grand Chief Alvin Fidler had to say. I am here to tell you that our treaty is not red tape. Our rights are not red tape. Our children are not red tape. This bill is an assault on our land and our people. Our people have been subject to assault from colonial systems for a long time. The day will come when our young people say enough is enough. That day is today. Now. From Chief Wabas, Winneman Lake First Nation. Our people want to work, to build, to prosper. But these decisions are being made without us. We call on the province to pause the bill and make meaningful space for first nations voices. We are not stakeholders, we are rights holders. The people of Nan are ready to work, build and thrive. But they must be respected and included in decisions about their lands and their future. Keep that in mind what Chief Wabas just said, because that all happened on May 22. Then there was a follow up post from Chief Wabass himself. So I'm going to put in a little disclaimer here before I share that the bill itself is problematic, that the overriding. And let's just pretend that we're not here and let's take out the the duty to consult like it's ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous. But I wouldn't want any Canadian or non indigenous person to think that the problem stops with just the legislation. Because procedure and process can be just as disrespectful, just as problematic. So on May 24, two days later, Chief Wabass shared on social media, I am just going to read his words, because these are his words. I want to share with you the story of what I experienced in the Ontario Legislative assembly meeting room where I went to speak on behalf of our nation, our land, our ancestors and our treaty rights before I Entered that room, I heard someone say, I have the pipe. That caught my attention. Because to us, the sacred pipe is not a casual object. It is the most sacred of our instruments. It represents peace, goodwill, trust and truth. It is about a covenant between two peoples, even those who may not know each other. To speak truthfully, to listen fully, to honor each other with every breath. Looking for my water? Hang on. Sorry about that. In our way, when the pipe is present, it means we are entering a sacred agreement. We inhale the smoke and exhale truth. We do not interrupt. We do not lie. We do not speak over one another. We listen with our spirits, not just our ears. This is our law. This is how we have always conducted ourselves, as nations. When I speak before the Standing Committee on the Interior, I intended to begin by acknowledging the sacred pipe. I intended to show respect, as I was raised to do. But before I could finish even a few words, I was interrupted. They would not even let me acknowledge the pipe or the sacredness of our way of speaking. That was disrespectful not only to me, but to my people, to my elders, and to my ancestors. They cut me off after only a couple of paragraphs, telling me my time was up. I wasn't finished. I wasn't even close. And I could feel in that moment they were not listening to what I was saying. They had already made up their minds. I thought deeply about this as I traveled home from Toronto. I sat in silence on the road to Thunder Bay. I stayed the night in Sulacaut and then caught the flight home to Oneniman. When I got off the plane, the land was completely silent. The lake was still. There was no wind, no birds. Only silence. That's when I felt it. My ancestors were telling me something. They were telling me, be at peace, for when the land is calm, a storm is coming. This wasn't just about me being interrupted. This was about something greater. This was about how they treat us. They take the sacred pipe and say, I have the pipe. But they do not understand what it means. They take our lands and say we are making new laws. But they do not ask for our consent. They sit in high buildings and call it consultation. But they will not give us time to speak, not even three minutes. To my people, I say this. Our ways are not weak. Our laws are not gone. Our spirits are not silent. They may not listen to our words in their assembly, but our land, our lakes and our ancestors are listening. To my warriors, prepare yourselves. Not for war, but for truth. To my elders, I carry your teachings in Every room I enter to my people. Never forget who we are. Never let the silence of the lake fool you. It is the calm before the storm. We will rise not in anger, but in purpose. And we will be heard. Wow. I can say honestly, as Red Thunderbolt woman who can appreciate a good storm. Yeah, that resonated with me. What else is on my list now? So now we're going to go to the other side. Maybe a lighter piece of content. I don't know if you do Tik tok. I do tik tok. I know that's controversial, but it's funny and, and sometimes impactful and recently you may have seen it. I will put the link in the notes. Simon Sinek released a tick tock. And he shared how he was having a conversation with a best friend of his. And the best friend shared how. I don't remember she he. But the best friend shared that they had been really struggling. They had been going through a hard time. And. And Simon shared how he was really upset to hear that he was like, why didn't you reach out to me? Like, I would have been there for you. I'm your best friend. Like, why wouldn't you? And they shared in a response that they had. So Simon grabbed his phone and scrolled back through the text between the two of them. And sure enough, on the date in question, when this person had been struggling, the text had said, so you want to get together? Or something along that lines. And Simon commented to his friend that, like, how was I supposed to know you were in crisis? Like how? Like, how was I supposed to pick out that text from every other text you ever send me? The friend shared with Simon that they had been doing some research and they had discovered that eight minutes is all it takes to help someone who is crashing, who is in crisis, who is in a bad state, that if they reach out, all they need is someone to be there for eight minutes, to sit with them, to listen to them. In eight minutes, they start to feel less alone. It makes a difference. So Simon and his friend made an agreement that in the future, if one of them were struggling, they would simply send a text that said, do you have eight minutes? I thought that was phenomenal because as Simon said, anyone can leave any meeting for eight minutes. I don't care what's going on in your life, you can take eight minutes. And I'd have to agree. So I think that's an absolutely amazing idea. I know for the people I text with, it is definitely something I will be sharing with them. That they can feel free to send me that message and I hope that you share it with your loved ones as well. Next. Haha ha ha ha. We have a pretendian to talk about now before I talk about the pretendian. That sounds terrible. She doesn't have a name. She's just a pretendian. The person who posted this information is Crystal Mariah. I may be totally screwing up her last name. She is the creator of the Ghost Warrior society and if you google that they are known for they she I guess are known for researching pretendions and and not just calling people out and saying I don't think they're real. This is the research that she's talking about. So the person that she is commenting on sharing knowledge about is Jenny Dundas in the Timmins area. So this is a call out. If you have loved ones in the Timmins area or interested in indigenous teaching and knowledge that may get led astray by this person, please pass this information on to them. So crystal shared on May 23rd and by the way I need to share one of the elders that I respect more than anything, one of them who has her name on my tattoo had a run in with this person and actually as an elder asked her about her actually her military background and was not given an answer. So that in itself is problematic. So Jenny Dundas and I guess she makes a fourth generation claim to being Algonquin. So according to Crystal and like I said Crystal does her work so I believe her. Jenny Dundas is another settler who has asserted herself into First Nation in ue Metis community for whatever reason. Many have done this and we are aware of some of the reasons but it doesn't make any reason valid. Jenny has stated that she is a fourth generation descendant of Algonquin Mat and like most pretendions she made that claim matter of factly assuming that no one would check out that information. We did and the genealogy is settler. Jenny Dundas has entirely settlers on the paternal side and and we trace their origins back to when they got off the boat to North America. As for the maternal side, they are French Canadian and not First Nation, Inuit or Metis. Not in five, six or not in five or six generations. And then we gave up. No need to go past that because they were all French Canadian and our standard is four generations. Jenny Dundas joins Claudette Rondo Paul as French Canadian women in the Timmins Cochrane region who are declaring themselves indigenous just because they felt like it. Then these ladies insert themselves into First Nation Inuit, Metis spaces and community as knowledge keepers, singers and dancers wearing Our regalia. It's rather cringy and odd to see my culture be stolen and cosplayed to such a degree that these ladies just walk right into that space. Jenny occupies space in Timmins First Nation Inui Metis community as a singer with New Moon singers, powwow dancer, and in all the First Nation INU and Metis events and orgs in the region in regalia. Very odd to not have that connection, but just show up one day, dressed the part and expecting everyone to just accept them like that. Odd for sure. Jenny Dundas is also making beadwork and ribbon skirts and selling them in the Timmins area. So many settler women like to do this. I say be transparent 100% and stop fabrication. Fabricating connection to our people. You can still be an ally and a great friend, but in your truth as a settler, why the indigenous cosplay? Why the First Nation? Anyone? Metis gigs and roles in Timmins First Nations, Inuit, Metis community need to go to First Nations, Inuit, Metis women. I couldn't agree more. It is now. There's so many reasons why they do this. Like we said, they like being center of attention, but they they're going after funding or a position. Often what I have come across is they want to be on the victim side of history. They don't want to claim settler family. And in the case, just like in the case of Buffy Saint Marie, how absolutely insulting is that to their own families? Like what we're not good enough to be part of? It is ridiculous. Just because you think our culture is cool doesn't mean you get to make it your own. That is pretendianism. That is extraction. That is inappropriate, that is disrespectful. And I could just keep going on and on and on and on. So two more things here. Two more things. I think I did a member short earlier today, actually. And again, it was a TikTok video. I'm highlighting TikTok this week, I guess. And in this TikTok video. Well, actually, I released a TikTok video this morning about the fact that you don't look like what you've been through. And I thought that was so profound. You don't look like what you've been through. So two sides to that feather, as always. First, you don't look like what you've been through. So don't be surprised if someone minimizes how strong you are, how resilient, how intelligent, how experienced you are. They have no idea what you've been through. Giggle to yourself and gig them. Give them time. You don't need to get upset about it. You don't need to prove yourself. Just they don't know because you don't look like what you've been through on the other side of the fence. You don't look like what you've been through. And what you've been through is not your identity. It is an event or a series of events that you were stronger than because you're on this side of them. They are not your skin, they are not who you are, they are not your identity. So don't limit yourself by those events. And I'm a 10 year domestic abuse survivor, so I know exactly what I'm talking about. Those are. I have a cat hair driving me nuts there. I think I got it. You are not. You don't look like what you've been through and you are not what you've been through. Your past is not your future unless you decide it is. So make a good decision. Last but not least, I think I mentioned it in the opening. I did something crazy. So I mentioned in my Facebook post a while ago last week that I was just working away and I came across, I was doing some training and the question was, what's the one thing you want to be today? Happy, loved, whatever. What's the one thing you want to be today? And without even missing a beat, I knew my answer. I wanted to be proud of me. Because as soon as I answered that question, I started to look at my life and the things around me and there was so much about my life I loved. I love my home. I love my backyard. I love my beautiful bedroom. I love my dressing room. Yes. I don't have a makeup table. I have a dressing room. I love my dining room. I love being in my office. The one place I didn't like being or I didn't like how I felt when I was there, more accurately, was my living room. So here's a picture of my living room. Like, it's a gorgeous room, don't get me wrong. But you see that couch? That's where I felt absolutely lazy. That's where I ordered food that was not good for me. That's where I ate junk food to ridiculous levels. I always felt lazy, like I was giving up on myself. I wasted so much time sitting on that couch. So. And by the way, just I want to comment on something else because I've been working on my health and trying to get in shape and yes, take off some pounds because I have come to realize that I want to show you a series of pictures Here you may or may not agree because it's subjective in the eyes of the beholder. But when I was in my younger days, there were quite a few people that considered me attractive. And that sounds like a positive, but it's not necessarily. Because what it meant was I got a lot of unwelcome attention when I decided to do this career and to put myself on stage and to dare to have an opinion different from mainstream. I knew it would also warrant unwanted comments and attacks and backlash. And this may not make sense to you, but it makes per total sense to me. The extra weight was almost like a shield armor. It was. I'm not gonna be all of me. I'm just going to be part of me. I am now ready to be all of me. I am ready to be on stage as strong as possible. Never disrespectful, never attacking, but not denying truth either. And I can do that as strong and healthy. I no longer need my armor. So I did something absolutely crazy. I want to show you my new quote, unquote living room. Here's the picture. You guessed it, it's my office. I got rid of my couch. I got rid. How dedicated are you to achieving your goals? If there's one thing I've learned is if you want to achieve a goal, you have to set out and figure out what you're willing to give up to get it and then ask yourself if you're willing actually going to do that. I want to achieve my goals. I want to run this business right up to the top of every mountain. I want to achieve and. And I want to do it happy and healthy. I don't need a couch. That makes me feel bad. And by the way, that was an actually really big couch for a single person. So this is my office and I love it here. And my gym is right behind that wall. I'm ready to achieve and I hope you are too. So that is it for this week. I hope you enjoyed all the different things I shared. I can't wait to hear your comments. Please, please put them below. I look at all of them until next week. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.