Sandi L Boucher responds to Canada retracting Buffy Sainte-Marie's Governor General's Award. She reflects on her disappointment learning about the investigations and argues that apologies mean nothing without real investment in Indigenous communities.
Chapters
So this is me just chilling on my couch on a mellow, relaxing, quiet Saturday. And in the last couple of days, I'm not really sure when I was busy having a life, but we got word that the government of Canada retracted Buffy St. Marie's Governor General Award that she received for being an outstanding Canadian and an outstanding Indigenous person. Yay. I mean, that's what they did to other Pretendians who had received the Governor General's Award. So in that way, it's only appropriate. But I did want to say it's not like it makes it better. And I think because my work is reconciliation, it is so important to understand that no matter how it's like when you hurt your partner or your best friend and you apologize, it doesn't mean you didn't hurt them. It doesn't make the hurt go away. It doesn't make the disappointment go away. The apology is just you acknowledging that pain. It's not like it makes it all better. And for me, I can only speak for me, when I heard the news, it took me back to when I first watched the Fifth Estate show that blew apart her story. And the pain I felt, the disappointment I felt as the young Indigenous girl I was watching her on TV and in awe of. How could anyone be so out, so Indigenous and accepted? It made no sense in my little world, not when I watched my mom endured every single day. I was so disappointed because it was a lie. And of course, now through adult eyes, I could see how as an adult, if I had seen that, I would have questioned right away if she was Indigenous. Because you don't do that, that no one who's ever suffered harm from being Indigenous is ever that out there. We do it. We wear our beadwork, we wear our tattoos. Sometimes we even get angry, but we don't wear an outfit every day. So am I happy it happened? Of course, there had to be some kind of reaction, some kind of denial of her ridiculous story. It doesn't make it better. So Canada, please keep that in mind. You reconciliation requires owning, and not just in the official apology ages ago, but owning what happened and continues to happen to the Indigenous people would live that live within your borders. New. Acknowledging it won't make it disappear. You helping bring the resources, the services we need into our communities won't make the past go away. It'll just make the future better. And that's what we're fighting for, to make the future better. But don't ever expect us to say the past is okay. I hope that made sense. So much to unpack. I love you. Bye. Bye.
