Sandi L Boucher (Red Thunderbolt, Loon clan, Seine River First Nation) reflects on the idea that people’s outward appearance rarely reveals their life journeys. Referencing a Cheryl Lee Ralph quote she heard in a TED Talk and a Sept 15, 2023 blog post of the same name, Sandi recounts surviving domestic violence—detailing hiding bruises, selling furniture for food, and rationing meals—and describes her later recovery: regaining her voice and running her own business for 14 years. She urges listeners to offer genuine care (not "trauma hunting"), to share stories only with those who have earned the right to hear them (citing Brene Brown), and to remember that success often follows difficult journeys. The video closes with a subscription prompt and a warm sign-off.
Chapters
I thought I'd end off the week with a video and a concept that I believe everyone is going to be able to relate to, Indigenous or non. Let's see if I'm right. Let's see if it resonates with you. 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 today I'm talking about the September 15, 2023 blog post called I Don't Look Like My Journey. It was a quote by Cheryl Lee Ralph that I heard during a delivery of her TED Talk. Gotta admit, it stopped me in my tracks because the first thing I thought of was all of my friends who, if you were to meet them, you would have no idea the journey they've survived, the challenges they've overcome. And then I realized that applies to me too. Because when you look at me, I don't think you would picture a woman in a shelter for domestic violence survivors just trying to comfort my two children. I don't think you'd picture the woman wearing long sleeve shirts in July to cover the bruises. I don't think you'd picture the woman selling furniture for food so she could feed her kids. Or the woman who consciously chose to eat once every three days, because that's as far as I had to stretch the money we had at the time. I don't think you see any of that. And that's my point. So the next time you see someone, especially someone successful in whatever way you want to define that, we have been taught so many stereotypes about, you know, silver spoon in their mouth, and it must have been easy. I have yet to meet a successful person, a truly successful person, that had an easy journey, whether it's one of our elders or whether it's a business person, whether it's a mom or grandma, dad or grandpa, whatever the case may be, we have all faced challenges. There's a really good chance that a lot of us are facing one right now. So the next time you're introduced to someone, maybe keep that in your mind. Remind yourself that none of us look like our journey. And the exciting part is if you get to know that person, you might learn about their journey. Now, I'm not talking about trauma hunting, those people that love to hear indigenous horror stories like they're watching some movie, yuck. I'm talking about general care. Like genuine care and compassion and understanding and empathy. Understanding, eventually. Because I know you've had challenges too, whether you're indigenous or not. And I'm not going to get into a battle of who's had greater challenges. And I'm not inviting you to trauma dump on this post and just start sharing like crazy because you don't know the people watching it. Why would you do that? Share your story with people who have earned the right to hear it. As Brene Brown says, But find the people who have earned the right to hear it. Because I don't know about you, but I find someone's real story is where the inspiration is. People that just are successful and I never learn anything about them that's not inspirational to me. But when I hear what they've overcome and where they've landed. Now we're talking. I hope in some small way my journey has inspired some people. The fact that I could go from that survivor of domestic violence to running my own business for 14 years fully empowered and comfy with my voice, a voice that I lost for so many years. I hope that journey inspires you. I hope 14 years in business inspires you. I hope happy inspires you. Because that's who I am now. This is my latest chapter. This is where I am. But this isn't where I started. So let's all do ourselves a favor and remember, none of us look like our journey. Keep that in mind as you go into the weekend. I'm looking forward to another week of videos next week. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss anything. I know your life is busy. You may not be able to watch it when it comes out, but if you subscribe, it'll be easy to find later. Until next week. I love you. Take care. Bye Bye.
