I understand this is a thorny topic to regurgitate in the mass culture de-literate device called facebook. Many years ago I wrote a paper called Mechanism of Liberation for an early IMAG film & Video Festival IN Vancouver then operated by Dana Claxton, Cleo Reece, and other notable media artists of the day. Aspects of that paper were formulated in my NDNS IN The Age of Terror paper, but nevertheless, the paper examined forms of liberation from an indigenous perspective in an age where the mass literacy was the equivalent of a grade 8 level, (I was relying then on a Vancouver Province reference, 20th century.) Now in the 21st century in a post digital age now slowly transforming into a quantum fixation of searching for the truth, lie, or fake reality being created nano seconds before I post this reply. I can not remember what I wrote at the time of Michelle's work being thrown under the canoe, and the Steersman yells bowsman out! As my late friend gitxsan wet'suwet'en Playwright and poet Neil Benson wrote "Colonialism is the dirtiest word in the English Language." I was hanging out with Neil after my early work and training with the Chief Dan George Memorial Foundation's early video training program with late Len George and American Filmmaker Phil Lucas. A nine month training program which resulted hiring a bunch of Status Boys to earn filmmaking, and I then a young (then classified as a Metis) Indian determined to get a piece of the pie. I first heard about the program back in 1982 through a CBC guy Scott Christie , I believe was his name. He was a friendly man when I met him, kind, and enthusiastic, He talked about Transpo 86, a big production hire up to 90 native talent and the works. I left the CBC building down on Georgia , and continued on my way. a young uneducated rugrat chasing a dream, ( So to speak.) I apologize on Digressing, but the point of this reply is that back then the notion of cultural appropriation was in its infancy from my early beginnings as a student, it never crossed my mind, and it was not at all a thought until I was hired by Margo and all involved with Spirit Song Native Indian Theatre Company along with Lynne Phelan, Brenda Taylor, Rose Pointe, Ethel Gardner and many others. A wonderful time of leaning and exploring the voice. Surviving an early collective theatre piece created by young indigenous former alumni actors and friends of mine. Many first nations artists of that generation were embracing our voice as young people affected by western forms of cultural education and assimilation initiatives and as well as westerns forms of the dramatic arts. I can not go on without mentioning the early works of Buffy Saint Marie, Lee Maracle, Chrystal, and many others, I have not been taught about , or searched in my spare time. The tradition side of the people was there , but on the popular culture realm , North Hollywood was happening, and work was work if one can get it. Late 80s there were pockets of cultural appropriation groups having discussions and debates, During the Chief Dan George Program , all cultural protocol factors were followed through the touring and training of all people involved at the time. Good people involved in the early days. There was blowback against these ideas, one non-native artist refuting aspects of colonialism once when I brought up particular factors at a cultural appropriation forum at the East Cultural Centre, very early 90s. The organizer, a senior colleague had my back. On other fronts, the late Donald Ghostkeeper was implementing Indigenous Programming at the International Pitt Gallery, (The former Helen Pitt Gallery) My multi media piece Indians and Dogs combined time for western narrative story forms to space for oral story telling which crated an interesting usage of time and space and was an allegory to contact, of which the late Grace V. Mirehouse so astutely saw and mentioned to me after a community performance at the Native Education Centre In 1997 in Vancouver. BC. This performance script was the result of studying Neils written works and all of my written works of the time. His language patterning developed from his mother tongue to my very assimilated western form of language patterning in terms of vocal rhythm, sentencing structuring and how each cultural value defines who we are as a people. I started writing that work when Mr Ghostkeeper asked me to create a new work, of which I pondered and worked on for two years. I was working as a studio director and hall monitor 1990 and it was an explosive time early in 1990 for Native/Non-Native relations. As one prominent news producer at the time for CBC S.R. initials, As I sat in a daily news production meeting, she strides in pronouncing "Well, the Injuns are at it again!" as various people turned around and look at me. Roger Packer, my news monitor mentor did not say anything. The Oka Crisis happened and the cultural explosion occurred national wide, and internationally. It was a time for me an opening up of my voice as a graduated student artist after my degree of 1989, and I was fighting for our voice as a united people in all forms of creative expression of the time. Even one of my early plays (Old Windigo ) was shot down by a younger junior writer of the time , of which I took such criticism hard and wrote another draft sitting somewhere in my pie of archives ha hah. I was just writing about a topic similar to a playwright mentor I have known since those days of my youth (1982) and I mentioned my first play Two Way Street which was shot down because of many factors then , but not as encouraging as other artists, and mentors I approached in those days. Different Generations of Indigenous Artists and Cultural groups learning slowly and at times explosively the inter-generational trauma results of colonialism and all its cultural forms of aesthetic and critical forms, debates, dialogues or condemnations of popular culture , popular forms, people, places and things. I seen it, I experienced it as a student, a teacher, as an Elder and today as a man walking the streets going home to do the work I do. Individuals losing all forms of control and thought and movement as drugs and trauma take over ones life; spilling milk erratically everywhere, doing the "dance" as ones says. Losing a culture of oral traditions, and ones mother tongue and gaining a culture of dysfunctionality , a popular culture of dysfunctionality and the Hollywood Hallucinations paints the dreams and aspirational of mass culture consumers everywhere. Stories being regurgitated over and over again as the bottom script of the pie becomes the top again. since film was film and video was video Indians were everywhere stuffed in a can, tape cassette or box to package with the latest toy or fad. I worked in it, I exploited it for economic gain, my career and my learning path. I differentiated between the pap, the protocol and made good and and choices in my life and perhaps today I can still make good choices for a better way of growth and understanding. As one of my professors and teachers taught back in the day avec Performance of Society, Jerry Zaslove. The cultural politics of each period of history, at one point in time finds the demon , or creates the demonic myth to attached all society's evil trappings on; that one scapegoat of the given time. Today's cancel culture is a prime re-creation of such mythification of the duality of vice and pleasure in a world caught with the veil pulled down and Lies become truths, and "someone" tends to wash their hands in the equation. Here it is loaded with the tidbits of a Canadian Cheap popular culture version of Network. I am as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. Bang Crash, Kaboom, as the TV, Internet, and all Social Media Devices are thrown out the window! Again! In my career in all its inter-disciplinary forms , dysfunctional pathways of inter-generational explosion's, trappings , ingestions, and other methods of self damnation to understand my "colonial " past, it has has shown me all the positive and negative aspects of "Indianness" in the Historical real, The Spectacle real, and the Erotic Real.) How we all relate to forms, images , words, and songs on the level of history defining such idea, or how the spectacle defines such forms, or how the erotic defines forms. Erotic real in the sense of how the body, our bodies, your body defines the forms that define what is normal in society, what is immoral, wrong, and so on. , The ideas and forms behind this quagmire of discontent, hate, and years of work, determination and perseverance of both sides of the colonial fence has been devastating, emotional, and tragic for all parties involved. The powers that be, whoever they are , whether physical or spiritual are determined to maintain the divide and conquer mentality in society in all cultures, in all races, in all political, economic, educational and class structure of all that defines who we are as a society. Whether religion or politics is a surmountable on another signified level, it goes deeper into the rabbit hole of colonial and its devastating impact on our women, children due to the lose of the mother tongue and all that is indigenous. People only have to google my works online where I mention the devastating affects of colonialism of the first people of this continent and generations after as a result of the euro-centric validation of what is of value cultural , politically, or otherwise in this Affirmative culture I will leave it at that for now. In closing I worked with Michelle om the past with a theatre Company in BC and she was a wonder actor to work with , graceful, humble and kind, plus lots of fun. In my career as an artist, I have not pleased everyone in my life or career. , I have my far share of failures, but as well much successes. I will defend people's right to create and trust their God given talents , and not withdraw from ones work and goals in life. After being knocked down you still get up. Life is not easy today and Michele is on a path of truth , and trusting the Creator's guidance and direction regardless of the corporate or community valuations happening around this difficult topic of the day XXO to all
Addendum a few hours later. When I wrote this, I was awake from, 14:45 pm last night till around 5:30 am this morning. So apologies on typos. I was watching out for them but saw a a few when I woke up again.
