A short, emotional YouTube vlog by Sandi L Boucher (Red Thunderbolt, Loon clan, Seine River First Nation) recorded on September 30 (National Day of Truth and Reconciliation). Sandi criticizes Canadian radio stations and some advertisers for broadcasting survivor trauma stories and insensitive ads that may retraumatize Indigenous elders and survivors, arguing the day should be for remembrance and grieving rather than a free on-air education for non-Indigenous listeners. She urges Canadians and broadcasters to consider the harm their actions cause and to act with respect and restraint.
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Okay, so it's Friday night at like 8 o'. Clock. I just finished an insane week of amazing events, I should say. I should be relaxing. I'm exhausted. But you know what? I am pissed. And I'm shooting this video because it's September 30th. Now when you're watching this, and this deserves a rant, Canada, we can do better than this. What the actual f. 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 is September 30th, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. As I mentioned in my blog post last year, this is a day of remembrance. This is a day of grieving. But as I drove home tonight from my last event, a National Truth and Reconciliation Day event, I should mention, in community, with elders crying, talking about their stories, I had the radio on and I heard the advertisements and I heard the plans of way too many radio stations. And somehow this Indigenous centered day got morphed into a white centered education all day. So all of these radio stations are planning on broadcasting survivor stories and information all day today. Is that the only way Canadians are willing to learn about reconciliation? It has to be free and easy access. And if that's the case, how do you justify indigenous 12 year olds having to live with strangers to get a grade N education? They don't have easy access. It costs them huge financially, emotionally. But you're not going to learn unless you can just turn on a radio. And that's not the part that pisses me off. This is a day of remembrance and grieving. All well and good that Canadians want to learn. But I want you to think for a second we have survivors, many of them across this country. What's going to happen to them if they turn on the radio today? How often have you heard me say, non Indigenous education can no longer be at the price of Indigenous pain? What's it going to do with them if they didn't hear the advertisements? And today they, over their morning tea, they accidentally turn on the radio to listen to their favorite country music or Christian music, and instead they hear someone sharing a trauma story. The elders that have attended the event I was at today, I'm guessing they knew what they were walking into. They knew what the discussion was going to be. They had. They had prepared. They knew that they were probably going to get triggered. They knew they were probably going to get triggered because they chose to be at the event. The elders today have no warning. They're just going to turn their radios on and get hit. Get traumatized again so that Canadians can learn about your own history. I can't believe the radio stations are doing this. I can't believe I heard an ad from a non Indigenous business I assume that wants to show that they're enlightened and their ad included a jingle. I'm not going to go into the details because I don't want to traumatize the elders, but suffice to say, one of the lyrics included a reference to buried children. Come on, Canadians. I have a request for you today and every day, just once think of someone that doesn't look like you. Just for once think of what your need is going to do to someone else. And if it's going to cause them harm, maybe don't do it. And if you can't pull that off the other 364 days, could you do it today? Because I'm going to spend my day praying and reaching out to my elders and trying to give them a warning not to turn their radios on because none of them deserves what would happen if they do. Can you at least join me in agreeing? They've been through enough. This is not your day. This is not a day of education. It's a day of grieving. It's a day of remembrance. And if you can't educate yourself without it being free on the airwaves, and that tells me a whole bunch about you and who we as Indigenous should not be working with in the near future. Canada do better. Radio stations do way better. I haven't seen the TV channels. I don't have cable. I'm praying they're doing something way more respectful, way more considerate of the actual people that survived and are still grieving and hurting. I hope that together, all of us can think of something to do today that is not going to hurt them more. They have been through enough. I hope this makes sense. I hope this resonates. I hope that this never happens again because this is too much. Way too much. Until Monday. I love you. Take care. Bye bye.
