This is a first-person YouTube talk by Sandi L (Red Thunderbolt), an Anishinaabe woman from Seine River First Nation, reflecting on the cultural value of storytelling in Anishinaabe and other Indigenous nations. She contrasts Indigenous story-based pedagogy and truth practices (debwewin) with colonial/Western dismissals of stories as mere ‘fairy tales’ or lies, and suggests that downgrading storytelling may have been an intentional assimilation tactic alongside bans on ceremonies and matriarchal undermining. The video closes by inviting viewers to reflect on whether ‘‘telling stories’’ is perceived positively or negatively and to comment on their upbringing/teaching.
Chapters
Wow. I just noticed how much garbage is on the floor. Moving is so much fun. But today we're not talking about moving. We're not talking about my fat cheek. We're not talking about the fact that I'm still holding my microphone. We're going to talk about stories. Because I realized something maybe a little terrifying, at least to me from Anishinaabe perspective. I would love to know your thoughts on it. I'm talking about stories. So 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 yes, I'm still in the middle of the move. And yes, I have garbage on my floor. And yes, my face is. Is still infected and swollen and bleh. But that's not what I want to talk about today. So I have a question for you and what I want you to do. And I do this so often with my audiences. It's not about right or wrong. I could care two beans about judging people. As Anishinaabe kwe, we have been harmed in so many ways by people judging us. It's just not something I engage in. So I'm not going to judge your answer. And my. Please, I pray you don't either. But what I want you to do, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to pay attention to the first thing that pops into your head, because that's what we're talking about today. Because I think it's going to be one of two things or close. Quit talking about it, Sandy. Quit bearing the lead. Just ask the question. So the question is, if I was telling you about someone and I said they tell stories, what would that mean to you? How would you interpret that? They tell stories. Now, this is why that question was worth me contemplating. Because I can remember being a kid, and here, even though that was many, many, many, many years ago and having someone say to me, like, don't tell stories. And in. In other words, what they meant is don't lie. Don't make up stories, it was a negative. Yet as Anishinaabe kwe, as a woman that has traveled the red road for many years and had the honor and the privilege of. And now I'm going to sneeze. No, I'm not. I'm going to do this video and then I'll sneeze. That's mind over matter. Is it going to work? I hope so. Authenticity, my friend. I've had the honor and the privilege of listening to and working with so many incredible elders. And even in my work, stories resonate with people. These are not made up stories. These are the stories of my life. These are me recounting my experiences and what has happened when I encounter different people or what I've realized through contemplation or reflection. So stories to Anishinaabe people and to many Indigenous nations, not just my own stories have incredible value. In fact, from an Indigenous Anishinaabe specific perspective, we value stories. The stories, the lived experience of people over what is recorded in a history book. Especially if someone is writing about something they haven't experienced. That's debweiwin. That is one of our seven grandfather teachings. That is truth speaking only to what. To the extent of what you know or have experienced. Right. Like I do not speak about. Even though I get lumped into the DEI diversity, equity and inclusion space, I do not speak about the black lived experience. How the heck could I? Let's get real here. It absolutely bothers me when someone is hired as a DEI advisor and asked to speak to the Indigenous experience. I would hope that every single one of them would think, bring in a speaker. Because that's not my lane. I am so absolutely comfortable in my lane. I will never see Canada as a white male. Does that make my experience more important than theirs? Absolutely not. But it's two different experiences. And if we can build a bridge and honestly share with each other, we both have more knowledge. I will never have enough knowledge to speak to it. Excuse me. Of course I'm going to yawn. It's early. It's 8am on a Saturday morning doing this and I haven't had enough coffee. Just realize that. And that's where I've spoken to this in my ally videos, that if I explain a teaching to you that doesn't now mean at no time did that make you a teacher. That means you now have some knowledge that you can carry and apply to your life journey. But you were not handed the teaching certificate. You cannot turn around now and pass on our teachings because they're not yours. Just because you were exposed to it and benefit from it doesn't make it yours. That would be assimilation. That would be a line we don't want to cross. But back to the topic of this video. The stories. The fact that stories are so important to Anishinaabe or to many Indigenous nations, but seen as a negative or less than or in some cases even not factual by many non indigenous people. So I was Contemplating that, as I often do. And guess what I came up with. And this is the terrifying part. You know, I better give you a backstory here for some context. Many, for example, many indigenous nations were, oh, here comes blue to check out the garbage. Yes, the kitty cats are here with me. Many indigenous nations were matriarchal. The women made the decisions. The women decided who was chief. The women decided what the decisions for the community. They are the life givers. And that was recognized. Now, that does not mean the men were not important. That's the two sides to the feather. But the women were in leadership. And one of the things that colonization did was when the European settlers came over, they did not recognize the value of women. And they deliberately only negotiated with men, would only put agreements in the name of the men, and through their actions, took their best shot at destroying our matriarchal systems. So that's the root of how I was reflecting on this, looking at actions that were deliberate to destroy indigenous, or in my case, Anishinaabe structures and systems with that context in mind. This is when I wrote down, what if the downgrading of our stories is part of colonization and assimilation in the same way that our ceremonies were banned? What if that was intentional? What if people set out to diminish stories into fairy tales so that our teachings and our way of showing sharing at meetings and gatherings, we are always sharing our stories. What if that was intentional? Yet another way to destroy our systems and structures. Now, one of the stereotypes, like, let's take this into modern day, one of the stereotypes about indigenous people is that they, quote, unquote, are always telling stories. In fact, I have had people act in a disrespectful manner, roll their eyes when an elder starts telling a story. Like going off on a tangent again? No, no. And in fact, I tell all my audiences when an elder starts telling a story, listen, they are not going off track. It's not a matter of disrespect. It's a difference in education style. In colonial European based education systems, the teacher preaches and the student receives. In Anishinaabe style, education, we tell a story and hidden in the story is the answers that the listener needs. But by learning how to listen and take the information out of the story, you build your confidence and your wisdom. It's not spoon fed to you. You have to look for your answers. And that is a really important life lesson. So our stories are on point. Our stories are respectful. We don't want to center you out for what you don't know but we need you to listen to the stories because they are valuable despite what mainstream might be preaching. So I'm curious. Comment below. When I told you was describing that an imaginary person and I said that they tell stories, was that a positive or a negative for you? Be honest. No one's getting attacked here. I don't allow that. This is safe space. But I'm curious what you were exposed to because your answer says a whole lot more about your teachings who taught you than it does about I could care less. Like I'm not going to sit here and judge whether you're a good person or not. I just want to know were you taught the stories are valuable or fairy tales? We got to know this stuff. We gotta unpack this stuff. That's how we build the bridge. I hope that made sense. Thanks for hanging out in my less than neat office until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.
