Sandi L Boucher, Red Thunderbolt of Seine River First Nation, says elders insist on one rule: when you speak of trauma, you must also name resilience. She shares the Night Sky exercise and three songs to build confidence.
Questions this video answers
Sandi L Boucher
March 13, 2024
Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan; member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 territory (Northern Ontario).
"Do not speak of the trauma without speaking of the resilience."
3) "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten; 2) "March March" by the Dixie Chicks; 1) "Champion" by Carrie Underwood (featuring Ludacris).
Chapters
Okay, so I'm coming to accept that maybe this week my videos have to be a little bit shorter and I have to consciously try not to throw my voice as I would normally. I'm a public speaker. I do a lot of keynotes and events. Don't always have a microphone. When I get passionate about things that comes out in my voice. If I want to be able to do a week's worth of videos, maybe I can't do that today. And by the way, before I go into today's video, every time I look at the stats of my YouTube channel, I'm always surprised that I have to get better at remembering my YouTube reality in that 70% of the people that watch my videos are new to my videos, new to my channel. So welcome to 70% of you. I would be very interested in learning how you got here. Please comment Indigenous or non newcomers only. How did you find my channel? I would love to know. To the rest of you, we need to talk about something today. We need to talk about a rule that our elders have asked us to ask to. Our elders have asked us to follow. And I do not believe this is indigenous specific. I think this needs to be across the board rule if we're ever going to advance reconciliation. That's why you come to this channel, for guidance on the things that are going to bring us together. So let's talk about it. Sam. Pachenun Qui? N Additiona Kos Mung Nodam. 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, my voice sounds weird. I think anyone on the planet could figure that out. I am just getting over Covid. I feel a hundred percent better. Paxlovid, you're a horrific medication to take, but you do the job. And I'm just waiting for my voice to decide that it wants to come back to. My energy is back. I feel my brain power is back. It's working again. First couple days, I didn't care that any of that was working. But I'm back. Almost like 85% of me now. What was this rule I wanted to talk to you about? The rule that our elders are asking us, and not just elders in my area. I have the honor and the privilege of traveling across Canada to do, to be part of events, to give keynotes and workshops. And I hear elders from different treaty areas with different backgrounds and traditions than mine, all saying the same thing. Do not speak of the trauma without speaking of the resilience. Do not speak of all the horrors that have happened to Indigenous people without acknowledging the fact that. That we're still here and have survived them. This is the Night sky exercise. And there's a video I did about that. I'll clip it below in the video information. I'll put the little thumbnail in the video. But this is realizing when you're in the middle of a challenge, it always feels overwhelming and it feels like the toughest thing you've ever faced. We have to really focus on remembering we have faced other challenges. And in fact, we have overcome all of our past challenges. We're now on this side of those mountains. Those are the medals we can wear on our chest. That is the wisdom we can carry, and that is the wisdom of Indigenous peoples, communities and nations that have survived monumental attempts to decimate us. So for the Indigenous watching my channel, watching this video, specifically, whether you're new to my channel, welcome. Please subscribe. I would love to have your voice here and honor you on this channel or if you're a returning Indigenous person, like, it is so important for marginalized and racialized people to find ways to empower yourself, to lift yourself up, because we live in a society that doesn't necessarily do that for us and if it ever does, definitely doesn't do it on a regular basis. We have to surround ourselves with people that remind ourselves, remind us how amazing we are on the days we forget. The people that remind us how strong we are. Not the people that, you know, oh, poor baby. The people. And not the people that dismiss what we're going through right now. I mean, empathy is everything, but they remind us just how much we're needed and how much we've been through and that that strength is useful and can be used to inspire other people. I am so fortunate in that I am surrounded by people like that. But I also intentionally feed my strength. There are certain motivational or inspirational speakers that I follow at mylet. One more. The power of one more. Careful on the burnout. But, yeah, amazing things can happen if you manage to do one more. It's amazing how often I hear Ed's voice when I'm working out and doing my weights. Yeah, just one more, Sandy. One more. So that's awesome. I belong to Growth Day, which is Brendan Burchard's app. I listen to the daily fire. I do my journaling and getting better at meditation, all of these things. Recently discovered yoga. To the trainer that told me I should never try yoga. I think you Missed the boat on that one. And even down to the music I listen to. And I don't know about you, but do you have a song that when you hear it, you just puff up, you remember how strong you are? I have three. I wanted to share these with you today because if you're looking for those songs to while you're working out, while you're going for your walk, maybe it'll turn it into a power walk. You never know. So, three, two, one, let's do this. So my third, highly recommended in third place is Fight Song by Rachel Platten. I'm going to put all the links for these below the video, make it super easier for you. But that song, just saying the title gets to me. And like I said, if you're facing some battle in your life, whether it's to find a new job or to endure your job or to start a new business, you need these kind of things to pump you up and remind you the beginning of every day that you can do this. So third place, Fight Song by Rachel Platton. Second song, keeping in mind the work I do. And then I'm very much an activist, very much into Indigenous empowerment, very much into Canadian reconciliation. It kind of, and I mean the battle for that marginalized people face. We can find similarities with other groups. So my second song is March March by the Dixie Chicks, that one that pays homage to the Black Lives Matter movement and all of the atrocities they are facing in the U.S. amazing, amazing song. And then the one that has been my number one song for several years now. And I don't see it losing its first place standing anytime soon unless a song comes out that I did not know about yet or do not know about yet. It is Champion by Carrie Underwood and featuring Ludicrous. So there you have it. Fight Song by Rachel Platten. March March by Dixie Chicks, Champion by Carrie Underwood. Carrie Underwood featuring Ludicrous. Whoever you are, black, yellow, brown, blue, green, alien, indigenous, non indigenous, European descendant, whatever, you deserve to believe in you and be proud of who you. And I hope you take the actions and the steps to make yourself proud every single day. And on the days you forget, I'll turn those songs on. Get way better at loving the person you are. I made it through one video. Yay. Let's see if I can do another one. I love you. Take care. Bye bye.
