September 30th, September 28th, and the Thunder Bay Landfill

Hi, my name is Sandy Boucher. And this last week in my life can only be described as heavy. And part of that not going to lie is the fact that today is September 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. But it's not the only reason. I want to touch on several important things today. First off, oh, Blue, my cat is going to join us. First, I do want to talk about September 30th and my expectations or hopes. Seriously, Blue is going to make sure that this isn't that heavy of a video. I wanted to touch on my expectations or hopes for what specifically non Indigenous people Canadians are doing today because I think things might have got a little warped. And of course, this is my opinion, in my opinion alone, other Indigenous people may not agree. I'm going to talk to you about September 28, which is definitely an important date in my life. And then we got to talk about the Thunder Bay landfill and why it's in the news. So I'm going to get Blue out of the way and then we can 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 mentioned to Today is September 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Today is a day set aside to honor and remember. Think about all of the children, Indigenous children that were removed from the love and care of their families and placed in residential schools for generations. Even if the separation wasn't awful enough, and it was, so many of those children were abused in various ways. The food they were given was not nutritious. Many of them died while in the schools, whether from the flu. Sick children, it's been documented, were put in beds, sharing the same beds with healthy children. The intent of the schools was to kill the Indian in the child, to remove our culture from us so that hopefully we were just totally assimilate into Canadian culture and the Indian problem would be done once and for all. Why do you think we push back so hard in 2025 every single time a non Indigenous partner wants us to just do it their way? Assimilation is not the answer. You don't repair the damage of assimilation by assimilating people more. But I digress. I want it. I promised in the opening that I would share with you my expectations, what I hope people are doing today. And please, if it's too late for you to change plans today and there's a really good chance there Is you, can you please keep this in mind for next year? First and foremost, so many people believe that today is a day of education, a day for non Indigenous Canadians to learn about their own history, their history as it relates to Indigenous people. And I am not saying that is wrong. But just focusing on education without involving Indigenous peoples, especially the survivors that are still very much alive, would be the same as Remembrance Day without including the veterans. I believe anyone who follows my work, watches my videos, knows that I believe relationship is what takes us from truth to reconciliation. And. And if you're not involving Indigenous people, we still don't have a relationship. We're still marginalized, we're still excluded. And that's just not going to work. So to the Canadians watching this, the non Indigenous Canadians watching this, I need to remind you humbly that this day is not about you. This is not about how much you can learn. This is about knowing your past so we can change our future. So please ask yourself, what about the survivors? What are you doing today? For the survivors, to help them, to support them, to encourage them, to honor them. Yes, we must remember the multitude of children, 50,000 children that didn't come home from the schools, the only school system on record that had graveyards rather than schoolyards. But we got to remember the survivors that did come home, often with stories they never wanted to tell. Maybe not until the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and for some, not even then. I just. If your day today doesn't involve the survivors, in my humble opinion, you're doing it wrong. You're doing it wrong. They are literally right here. And this is not one rule for today. If what you do today causes more harm, don't do it. So this is not about expecting survivors to stand on a stage and share their trauma stories. If they want to share and you create space for that, that's totally different. That is their choice. But imagine your most horrifying traumatic life memory and being asked to share that for the education of other people. Would you do it? Non Indigenous education can no longer come at the price of Indigenous pain. Non Indigenous education can no longer come at the price of Indigenous pain. And that most definitely means today. And I'm shooting this ahead of time. You're going to see this on September 30th. But I am really, really hoping that I don't have to leave the house on September 30th, because, and I know, like I said, other Indigenous people have different ideas about this. A couple years ago, Wab Canoe, the amazing premier of Manitoba, who happens to Be indigenous. Love, love, love, Wob. He commented on how happy he was to see a sea of orange. He called it just a multitude of people wearing orange shirts. That every child matters, which is the shirts and the slogan for today. I don't want to see that. And I did see that a few years ago. I went to the store to get some office supplies, and everywhere I looked was someone wearing an shirt. And the little voice in my head was screaming, where the heck were you yesterday? Today you're announcing to the free world you support or support us. But did you say anything to that racist in the race restaurant yesterday? Or did you say anything when your boyfriend made that ugly comment about indigenous people or told the joke that isn't funny? Be very, very careful that what you do today isn't just performative, meaning, look at me. But you're not doing anything substantial. I believe if you wear an orange shirt, that's a commitment. You are committing to be one of our allies. You are committing to do the work. You are committing to speak up when we're not in the room or speak up when we can't, because the words the attack was so horrible. And if you're not ready to make that commitment, maybe you should think twice about hanging the orange shirt on your house or wearing it when you go out shopping. Just saying, for me, I would absolutely welcome a sea of orange shirts if and only if those people are true allies. Food for thought. Don't forget the survivors, please. They deserve us to remember they're still here. And by the way, that reminds me of something else. A couple. This is an example of what not to do. In my mind, I thought this was horrible, horrific. And I guarantee you the person that came up with the idea, their heart was in the right place, but they sure didn't think it through. I was actually on my way to do an event on September 30, and that's not uncommon. It's not a day off for me. It's a day to make a difference. So I question the people that just get a day off today. Again, just saying. But I was on the way to the event, and when I'm in my car, I often. This was before I had. What is it? Serious FM or whatever it is. So I was just listening to the local radio station, which I only listened to in my car, I don't listen to in my home. So I had no idea what was about to happen. Trust me, I would have behaved differently if I did. And I turned on the radio and it was the top of the hour. And there was the distinct voice, an indigenous person, the accent was there, the accent that I know so well sharing their trauma story. And what this radio station had decided to do was every hour on the hour, they were holding space and inviting yet another survivor to share their trauma story. So the fact that they're holding space for these survivors, that part is excellent. But the not thinking it through part, I sure as heck didn't know that was going to happen. When I turned on the radio and it felt like I got hit by a ton of bricks hearing what that elder was describing. And my mind instantly went to all of the elders in the First Nation communities that don't have cable and don't have, you know, high speed Internet and still listen to the radio on a regular basis. Were they aware that they were about to turn on their radio and be re traumatized listening to the stories they all know so well? Again, if what you do can cause harm, don't do it. So that's not my idea. I was talking to one of the, the groups that I work with a couple weeks ago and we were talking about there in southern Ontario and we were talking about, I happen to think the Brantford Memorial, which is the site of the first residential school, is absolutely impactful and powerful and beautiful considering what it is. And it sits in its own field and there's a parking lot. I mean, it's easily accessible compared to the memorial we have in Thunder Bay. And yes, I understand Thunder Bay Memorial is small and just a little corner of a playground because there's actually a school on the site of the old residential school. It didn't have to be on the site. It could have been someplace like the Terry Fox Monument where people could actually go and reflect and learn. Instead of the tiny little memorial that the last time I saw it, the, the bushes around it were over growing it. And you can't park because it's on a busy street and there's no place to park. And I could go on and on. So choose carefully what you do today. Think of the survivors. Think of the people that are still enduring what they went through. Honor them, help them. And maybe you get to proudly wear an orange shirt. That was point one. September 30th, next. I mentioned this week has been incredible heavy, incredibly heavy for me. September 28th had a lot to do with that. And that's because September 28th, it's the 20th anniversary of my mom's passing. Just saying those words, it's like a kick in the teeth, like I can't believe it's been 20 years. It can't be 20 years. In some ways it feels like yesterday. It's. It just is still so hard to fathom. And then in other ways, she has walked with me every day since. And before you type any comments, don't you dare write she's in a better place or you have your memories or all of those God awful plenitudes that we type when someone's grieving. None of those help. Don't you dare dismiss my grief or anyone else's. You know what you type. I'm so sorry. Or you know what you type? Nothing. You just acknowledge it and sit there with them. Don't dismiss it, don't minimize it. Don't you dare try to rush them through their grief. Because that's why so many people are still grieving. Because no one allowed them the time to if someone wants to cry and it's been 20, 30, 40 years, cry. That is your healing journey and it's going to take as long as you need it to take. And for me it's. It's the fact that it's 20 years, that it's two decades. It can't be. To acknowledge that there's so many people I know now that never knew her. I am so thankful that I could still hear her voice and hear her laugh and see her smile. I am so thankful for the 78 years she had, the 42 years I had with her. But it can't be 20 years. So yeah, that has been incredibly heavy. And I have. I knew it would be. I've known for a few weeks now. I could feel it like a fog moving in. And then yesterday I had an event to do and I was already dealing with this 20 years thing. And then I opened up my Facebook and for those of you who don't know, I live in the city of Thunder Bay, a city known for its anti indigenous racism and I opened up Facebook. I was killing a few minutes before my event and I saw a post news release from the Thunder Bay Police Service and I just wanted to share this with you. Update Police conducting landfill Search in relation to homicide Investigation Police are undertaking a new evidence search relating to a continuing investigation. Members of the Thunder Bay Police Service, with assistance from Ontario Provincial Police and Anishinaabe Aski Police Service, will conduct a search for evidence beginning on Monday, September 22nd at the Thunder Bay Solid Waste and Recycling Facility as part of the homicide investigation into the death of Deborah Anishnabe. This will include a search for partial human remains. This effort follows previous searches of areas on the south side of the city that were conducted earlier this year. There is no threat to public safety. The Thunder Bay Police Service offers its continued support to members of Deborah's family and community and recognizes that these news this news will be troubling and may be traumatizing. There is a deeply emotional connection to this search and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. MMIWG Indigenous women and girls are more likely to go missing or be murdered than non Indigenous women and girls six times like more likely. By the way, we encourage anyone affected or triggered by this development to access available support through family elders or community resources such as listed in our media release. The police service continues to work with and liaise with the family throughout the ongoing investigation and expresses appreciation to Nishna Bayaski for their support. I have often tried to explain to people that when that the racism against Indigenous people is baked into the foundation of Canada and that that racism is not just a marginalizing, pushing away and ostracizing but it comes, it is so often dripping into SK disgust. People don't just look down on indigenous people, they're disgusted by indigenous people. And when I read that post, how degrading. Like what could be? I don't even want to say what could be worse because I don't want to hear what would be worse. But to discard someone at the dump in a landfill to me epitomizes the disgust that far too many Canadians still feel against indigenous people. And don't tell me it doesn't still happen. I live in Northern Ontario. It is common. The further you go north, the closer you get to territory where there are only indigenous people, the more you see the anti indigenous racism. My heart goes out on the news. They showed Deborah's beautiful face. It was such a beautiful image of her and it just got me thinking. I guess it got me thinking about you and it got me thinking about what you're doing and where you're sitting or standing. Like if that news report was to come across your news station while you were watching TV or a YouTube clip, would you have even noticed? Would you, would it have got your attention or would it just have been dismissed? Would someone have made a God awful joke in your family or friend group and would you have laughed or worse, just stayed silent and not said anything? Are you still with your racist partner? Are you still silent with all the racist comments at work? If you have a partner that were or you work in the trades, the racism is there. Are you doing anything about it, or are you just gonna wear an orange shirt? I hope that got you thinking. I hope you're the kind of person that does say something. I hope that you are a true ally, not just in performance, but in action. Because this has been an incredibly heavy week, and it would be really nice if there was someone to help carry the load until next week. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.