Getting Involved with Issues of the day

Tansi? Good Day, I hung out a bit with John Graham on Salish Territory here and there, and he was a good man, kind and gracious. I met a nephew of Annie Mae Acquash early nineties research my 7 fires Films 4 U..., he told me the FBI killed his aunt. Years later I met a Nova Scotia Filmmaker part Micmac in Atlanta, Georgia, (Film/media conferenc,2004_ who produced a film, the Spirit of Annie Mae. There are many sides to this sordid story of sadness and conspiracy. Hearts out to both sides of all relations, who are missing their loved ones this Fathers Day, 2012. I remember meeting the daughters of John Graham East Van prior to his last apprehension, and I heard stories about who turned John in, pointed him out, etc, etc. Terrible for all. As with the filmmaker's film, the daughters of Annie Mae were still looking for justice for the death of their mother. And today, 2012, yes, as one commenter on FB mentioned, that misinformation is out there and if you really believe in something, you got to fight for it, get up, stand up. Perhaps what the writer writes is valid. Is creating a FB page for some issue, injustice, idea, creative stimulation, sales, global connection a sincere means of being involved with the posted images of texts of the FB page? Now with all the liker, dislike buttons, etc, etc, village , invites of all kinds from FB friends, associates, are we really that more connected in the world, to creating change and meaning in a increasingly fragmented physical world, but connected metaphysically in the digital realm. Once something is posted, we supposingly cannot get rid of it. there forever cyberspace. I regret posting pictures on line, and I cannot change how it affected my relations after such postings. Lately news stories online and print about the latest tragedies in Montreal and Edmonton have involved images and texts posted by the perpetrators of alleged crimes prior to the tragedies and police allegations. both involved international manhunts, the images and texts of the perpetrators, and of course stories about the victims and the families after the death and murder of relations. Very sad for all. my heart is forlorn. Back in the days prior to the Net, a colleague and friend of mine did get involved with all kinds of community issues of the day. The marches, the occupations, the freedom and peace camps, and whatever issue affected who we were as aboriginal individuals in a dominant racist society. Vigilance performances twice to support the 1990 Oka crisis was a memorable event her and I produced. Nevertheless, we created press releases, radio carts for community radio, and many other early media programming to get the message out. Today, yes, there is too much information, more often hearsay, hand me down information, all unratified information out there side by side with the ratified information of the Bible, the State, and the family? A complex world, but never the less, creating a page is a good start to supporting the issue, flash mob events, but outside of being a flash in the pan, we still have to get up and get involved with social and community issues outside of the chair we are sitting in. So get up , go meet your neighbour, and help change the world , one handshake and one click at a time. Miigweech, Happy Father's Day Great Creator, we love you on the Net and off it.

Pardon Me, I just want to Move Ahead

Chris Conrad's dilemma is the result of the on-going agenda of the current government to criminalize the individual through a draconian form of legislation that will define the freedom and unfreedom of the individual through ultra conservative restrictions. Restrictions which are a direct opposition to the fundamental core values of a Christian western society which has based its laws on the fundamental values of the Old and New testament. Harper’s attempt to control the criminalization of particular segments of society through super jails, pardon restrictions and throw away the key mentality is not in part to the fundamental value of forgiveness, of which the Creator teaches us to do and resolve if we want to stand before our Creator without shame. Harper and Toews stance against crime is counter production and will be an enormous strain on the taxpayer, and future generations. Conrad, a young man of euro-Canadian genealogy is experiencing what many of us first nation people experienced in our lives, when we attempt to integrate with dominant society. Perhaps not with the racial factor, but with the criminal record factor, of which many of our people have experienced due to the failed assimilation policies of Canadian society. With systemic racism,, no-one want to hire us, give us a chance, or saw our record and showed us the door. Pardons are an integral part of forgiveness and to extend the waiting period for pre-pardoner is not of good form and will only create more misery and despair instead of allowing a pardon to forgive and forget, move forward in a new light. Hy Hy, all my relations COMMENT in response to CBC story below: New pardon rules thwart student's rehabilitation. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/05/09/ns-pardon-change-troubles-man.html

Canada’s 2012 March 23 Supreme Court Ruling, Colonial Racism and Canada’s First People

All you naysayers who disagree with this Supreme Court Ruling,you may rant all you want about negatively disagreeing with the ruling and calling it racist. But this country was built by racists, ruled by racists, and developed by racist settlers alike. Systemic racism on all levels of societal construction from birth, infancy, childhood, adolescent, and adulthood, purely due to the racist colonial history we all share. To vehemently deny societal status and place for this ruling shows that Canada will always remain a racist country. Ideas and thoughts perpetuated through capitalist and economic differentiation of communities, choice and style of clothing, timing of mosaic cultural celebrations, and the educational positioning of class relations and economically defined demographics. Would the rich build their homes by the refinieries and industrail areas?

Take a first nations community's, language, culture and land away, give them nothing but small parcels of land removed from dominant society and expect them to live there and not bother us, started this racist existence consciously and subconsciously for all of us living under the North American dome of societal upbringing, popular culture history, modernist story creations and the syndication of these low art and high art signifiers through dime novels, newspapers, the newly invented film camera. Soon the new settlers of this new land wanted to remove the “Indians” from the land allocated to them through the treaties, and the people are moved again. All the new comers who came from Ireland (The potato famine and death ships), England and others of the old world wanted to start a new life; Developers again removed the “Indians from their allocated smaller parcels of land further away from development. And so on and so on, the relocation continues till we are where we are today, where as one commenter put its “...our society rejects and demotes aboriginals...”

While I sympathize for the victims of all abusers and initiators of violence, far too often alcohol is the demonizing factor, and as one of my later foster mother said, It takes two to tangle..” and far too often the victim is just as much the transgressor which helped initiate the aggression between the two parties. If not my apologies for any offence. I do not promote violence, but when these societal conditions help creat ones sense of worth and knowledge, communcation tools became dangerous. Through the abuse of alcohol and drugs, it was devastating, one case involved Uncles screwing niece after a drunked and anger filled gathering. One situation, brothers beating their own for their mistakes and screw ups during drinking parties; another case grandparents smoking crack with grandkids? Hearing and experiencing this self abuse I had been forelorn and suicidal, but the Great Spirit is with me. Some judges and jurers don't symthpatize for their own reasons; (All affected by the ruling ideology) But nevertheless, for the first people the systemic racism was devastating and genocidal. Worthlessness became the predominant value of the self. From birth, infancy, childhood, and adulthood. Where the after effects of this unnecessary evil killed the Indian in the child and instead of giving them the tools to survive in a Christian oriented educational and class defined workforce, the caregivers of this racist system give them physcial and sexual abuse, children were told that they were worthless, and unworthy of being. When you feel unworthy of being, the only options was rebellion, anger, hate, self abuse, denial and suicide. People say it's all about choices. yes I agree, I choose to live and trust the Great Spirit completely after all, I am a survivor of that genocidal anger, hate, self abuse and worthlessness after my experience with this racist country. A survivor because of my experience with physical and sexual abuse. From the foster homes to being on the street or in the building of Canadian socicety, I have been sucker punched more than once for being an Indian; from behind more than often than in front. Hearing the words fucken Indian behind your back before the fall, you know it is a matter of survival. As I got older, I was able to utilize my sixth sense in some sense of self defense. Even targeted because of my sense of worth today, more vocal, more social activism, stand up for injustice and the dispossessed. After work one day and more work searchs, I left the Vancouver Aboriginal Employment centre and woke up in the hospital two days later, a large swelling on my left side fo the head, and no memory of what happened. Money was still in my wallet, so it was not a robbery. I thank my brother for coming out and help me recover after that assault. In Edmonton, I was chased by people in vehicles to go back to the reserve, drink your lysol; I was on my way to Vancouver wearing a business suit. In all this one native man had the choice to take programs, improve on ones self before sentencing, he assaulted a person, and at sentencing , he talk for a half an hour, cried, sobbed and shared his personal story of all that I write about regarding the the failed assimilation of Canada's First People. One person in court room was not sympathetic and yes, the victim has a right to see justice served. The guy should have taken steps in self improvement, anger management to improve his chances in the sentencing factor. Why didn't he? He even admitted that he should have taken these course. Instead he choosed to give his reasons for his actions in court, and well in a conservation hard nosed province like Alberta, the judges expects the native person to act like the rich white girl, the successful white man or cultural diversed person, not like the Indian that is defined in North American culture! Am I a successful assimilated "white" Indian who survived this failed assimilation period of Canadian History? Failed because the the government admitted complicity by the residential buyoff, with strings attached, and now the building of super jails for the incarcarated, no physical contact, everything communicative is digital? No human contact? Sterile genocidal practice?

In closing, after this Supreme court ruling, the provinces have to take in consideration the racist colonial history of Canada and how that embedded racism is still in society, its education, political, and cultural apparatuses, its leaders, judges, prosecutors, police, and teachers; all who have abused their public responsibilities and societal trust by positioning the native child, man and woman in lower social and economic definitions of class and political statute. Unworthiness of “being” purely because of the colour of their skin, because of the inter-generation pattering of ideology between euro-centric grandparents, parents and children, and how the position of native people are defined around the dinner table and on TV. Catch phrase from popular culture has been the definitive signifier that signified the lower status (caste) principles that shaped the conscious and subconscious of today’s societal relationship with North America’s first people. Until we remove the notion of us versus them mentality between the indigenous people of this continent and the descendants of our colonial history we share, nothing will ever change when it comes to how the pre-dominant mass consciousness sees the first people of this continent as a people of being unequal in educational, political and cultural status. So all you naysayer, I would sooner drop a wagon of dung in your back yard than listen to your vehemently racist rejects of this national court ruling. Here in redneck racist Alberta, we need this reading so that all those redneck racists running the justice system and jail system understand their racial historical upbringing, get their head out of their ass and paint a truer picture of justice and restitution. Instead of regurgitating the lecturing Canada’s first people to be like all the other euro Canadians because we all make choices and have to live together responsible. If you have not walked in the moccasins of Canada’s first people, then keep your racist close minded mouth shut. Hy hy, Miigweech, all my relations

Green & Blue Screen EXPERIMENTS 4 DAM T5H Indigenous Liberation and The Hawaiian Resistance | IsumaTV

Green & Blue Screen EXPERIMENTS 4 DAM T5H Indigenous Liberation and The Hawaiian Resistance | IsumaTV

Redford's irrational choice based in old colonial thinking

See link below regarding Alberta's conservative party's infractions: My wonderment about Redford’s her choice of backing Horner instead of Mar is concerning. As we read in the media we know that Mar commands a promising lead. I can only interpret such irrational positioning as thinking old school in her Canadian colonial background. After all the Asian immigrants were not treated as bad as the Natives, but were looked down upon as well by the colonial mindset of the colonial years, the modernist years, the contemporary period, and now this new millennium. Her white imperialistic positioning is showing through her smiling racist teeth. And Horner, well he looks too much like settler mentality rationality, which we do not need. Even though I am not a conservative, as least Mar's ethnicity will be a lot warmer than the old cold stone of Alberta's conservative racist past.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/09/23/calgary-redford-horner-second-ballot.html

Those dirty days of Colonialism, a backwards time

A blog on the August 17th CBC web story
Backwards, I agree. I can only quote from my friend d colleague Gitxsan Writer, playwright and poet Neil Benson who I worked with in British Columbia after our film and video training program was completed at the Chief Dan George Film Video training program in 1986. Life took us down a different path till 1989, when the late Ahasiw Kitocigan Maskegon-iskwew (Donald Ghostkeeper) asked me to do a performance piece for the International Pitt Gallery. Having finished my degree at SFU, life was not a bed of roses in the employment department.

Working from Ahasiw request, I decided to track Neil down and visit. He received a Canada Council Exploration grant for his new works & as I read his work I noticed how his writing style was considerably different than my writings. He read his poems out to me, very visceral, cutting images of colonialism affecting the language & culture of the north west people who lived off the salmon for thousands of years. I asked him about his work & style. It was a matter of translations, his mind, & tongue is Gitxsan, so he had to translate his mother tongue to English, & then work the foreign language to suit his culture his voice. Instead of allowing the colonial trappings of British Royal imperialism to destroy the mother tongue in Canada's First People through assimilation policies & residential schools, he kept his mothers tongue. Whereas the words that formed the poems & plays I wrote were very westernized, colonially correct in its narrative structure and development. Indians & Dogs (90, 92, & 94, & now on the net) was the result of juxtaposing his & my words together into a scripted, multi-media and oral traditional performance piece. Neil wrote, "colonialism is the dirtiest word in the English Language"

Re CBC story: First Nations children still taken from parents

Story at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/08/02/pol-first-nations-kids.html

As a survivor of the 60s Scoop, and a Métis aboriginal, I am still stereotyped as an NDN due to the historical conditions that form the structure and mindset of dominant society. As an indigenous performer who toured aboriginal communities in BC as a modern dancer and actor with different companies, I have seen the problems of some of these communities and talked to the inhabitants there. All around good people, with strengths and failures like the rest of us, we are no different from the urban people living in and around the cities in this country. Family is important to us. We are breaking the cycle of dysfunctionalism that took over our communities, when the European Settlers came to live on this land and push the original inhabitants further and further away from mainstream society. After all this was a couple hundred years since Squanto and Pocahontas were commercialized, and after paintings of some of the original inhabitants drinking rum off the ground, the image of who we were stuck in the minds of the high and low brow new immigrants who arrived off rat infested ships reading dime novels and Ferdinand Cooper Novels about "wild savages" running off with the white man's daughter. So it carries on in history as you people came coming over here in droves and droves of opportunists looking for your pot of gold in the new world. You guys killed most of the buffalo, what else can you destroy? hum? That's a good idea, kill the Indian in the child, and the Indian problem will be resolved! As long as the historical conditions continue to signify the Indians as worthless and unworthy of being, we will still have individuals within families struggling with their self-esteem, raising children. We need healing programs and support programs, not welfare police. Hy hy

Regardng Globe and Mail article: Dismantled sweat lodge exposes rift in Christian, traditional teaching

Original article at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec/dismantled-sweat-lodge-exposes-rift-in-christian-traditional-teaching/article2066299/

It is sad that this community is so divided. After a century of failed assimilation policies, one community has recovered relatively from the draconian laws of the 19th and 20th centuries. While I accept the Great Creator as the ultimate Spirit encompassing all that is good, Jesus, and angelic spirits, humankind has twisted the words and teachings of Jesus and created a century of fear and distrust between native and non-native people. The Elders and authorities of this community have been duped into thinking that now their religious beliefs are part of the tradition of the community, while at the same time the social ills of the community arise out of behind the veil of civility and Christianization of a people who were always connected to the holy trinity through our own relationship to Jesus when he visited us here on Turtle Island. He told the people that he may not come back because he was going to be killed in the old world and when he was killed, he came back briefly to tell the first people of what happened. This teaching passed down to me by a medicine woman, tells me that what is being taught in the schools, dormitories and previous institutions of the assimilations years, has purposely changed the world and historic view of many first people, and demonized their own history and culture which was part of the Great Spirit/Creator long before the European culture of ships sailed to Turtle Island. Yes, take the community to the human rights courts, because the Elders actions are unacceptable but understandable due to the brainwashing actions of residential schools, reform schools, boarding schools and mainstream society which painted the aboriginal person as heathenistic and void of spirit and worth. Shame on Canada for creating this form of division and mistrust through your failed assimilation policies of Canadian Society.

An Open Letter to my one of my former media students from IMAG, now a great visual artist, See on FB

To me Judy, I relate to your story, more in fact that I was called the shitbox, the etc, etc, Tired of the negative aspects of our existence, Your car was a shitbox, but you are a good person, we create negative images within and around ourselves because of the forms of the dime novels of the modernist period, which ironically re-gurgitated back to its early filmic adaptations avec comic movies of this day, la de da! Mine was a "pile of crap", "jezuz Donald u #%#%$# uo again" and we push ourselves into what "they" have painted us for 500 years! Great to see the art today of our contemporaries, emerging and established artists, what does this have to do with my car, naming it, blah blah blah? I attended a workshop Monday with the Rubaboo Festival, and a wonderful lady Joanne Daniels share a wonderful perspective on who we are as people and why culture is so important avec the spiritual and the Cosmological nature of our breathe, our place in the world, and how our breathe is left on our path, intertwining avec ancestors, ancient ones, aho, let it be. So naming our "pony" was essential in our travels to bless our pony, name it because as we are the ones who are able to shape matter, matter exists as a breathe even in the things we create. Thunderbirds, thunder, so deep within the earth's soul and beyond, we as a first people were taught these words long B4 the Old World arrived. As Jesus walked among us, he said I may not come back, because they might kill me, and so it was so. While away Jesus comes back and shows that "they "did kill him, but he will be back soon. Jesus was of many great aspects of the Cosmological beings here and today, and I feel that a great weigh has been lifted off my being, and the car is a gift from the universe for work I have done, and more work that I must do, Spirit Pony I like. Green is a natural colour, don't you thing? Part of the Woodlands, the little people, and deep and around Mother Earth. Deathtrap, well, that's more like the trap door in my opinion, It will happen when it happens, so let’s forget about that till we are dead, then we can stay asking questions , creating spiritual art in the dead zone between life and beyond. Keep up the Great work, Hy hy Miigweech! ;-)

Anti-Harper rally draws hundreds to Ottawa core

All you conservative Harperites can go to bed each night knowing that you are all complicit in the many lies perpetuated by this fallacy of a government. When the system collapse and the economy is in ruins, you can thank the ultra right wing fascist and fools who lied their way into power stepping on the disadvantage, the dispossessed, and others less fortunate than yourselves. Brigette DePape did more for us as a people with her actions than anything you conservative idiots think you can do sucking up to their lies. To see Stockwell's wife hold the ridiculous We love Harper Stop sign , shows they do not have a creative or original thought in their minds or their body politic, and are desperate to show that they are on the right track as a people supporting a corrupt government. To see that fat cat cow smiling like the fascist pig dog she married shows how scary these euro centric systemic racist fools are. Get rid of these people immediately and send them back to their ancestors land

Brigette Depape, upsetting the politics of ratified complacency

The politics of complacency. We on both sides of this argument are swimming neck deep in it. What exactly is the issue here? That she is a young woman who upset a patriarchal bastion of colonial thinking, affirmative culture governing, has upset conservative thinking women, who feel that this woman was wrong for standing up and voicing her concerns with two words for 20 seconds in a political and monarcharistic domain? She was interrupting a speech pronounced by the Governor General. Stop Harper. Period, a stop sign symbol she posted those words on, hid the subversive "propaganda" under her skirt, and stopped the ideologues for a fraction of a second as the colonial guard took her arm and escorted her off the political stage. A media and political stage in a colonial building that reeks of the imperialistic and colonialistic history of a British Empire. A empire that utilized the Letter of Patent, Vatican doctrines, and mercantile greed to define and build the society we called now Kanata, Canada. A place where land was stolen from the first people, women and men subverted to colonial rule, and the women settlers stayed in the kitchen, made babies and let the "men" govern the country. It took women to upset the status quo in a male history, and herstory is being written now, as this performance artist, playwright, and ex- parliamentarian employee utilized her intelligence, aesthetics of will and action to create 20 seconds of change. Twenty seconds is a life time in the media and Worldwide Net, She has got people thinking, writing, arguing, grandstanding, empathizing, ridiculing, and others wondering, what the big fuss is about?
Is it a question of semantics, semiotics, basic signifiers who many of us identify with? Stop. (A stop sign) and then the word Harper. Next it’s the throne speech by the GG, not too far from the page, an array of judges, and then all the men and women and servants of parliament? Her Father disagrees with her actions, her mother and sisters support her. Others say it was the wrong place, shows her disloyalty, and that she was wrong. Under all those basic signifiers of that twenty second protest, we have the rule of law. The notion of “Stop” in a family , state, church, school or other societal apparatuses is drilled into us from the time of infancy. An affirmation of what is right or wrong to do. A stop sign, is that an extension of the word stop or is it a traffic signifier? Hers, it was a stop sign for the political highway, the governing and construction of law, language, and society under the affirmation of the affirmative culture which stood shocked for 20 seconds. How dare this girl do that in this building. Then we come to the word Harper, Stop Harper. Conservative party, of course they are going to demand her head, such public shaming in such an important institution like the house of parliament! Her sign over-powered the majority signifier of this media moment, the conservative governing party, awaiting the queen’s representative’s ratification of their mission statement and intentions as the governing party of Canada. With the Governor General as the royal signifier, her timing was impeccable and rightly timed, as she no doubt knows we are still part of the British Monarchy, the Queen’s subjects. Brigette Depape upset this bastion of British royal ratification, by simply walking a few steps and holds her stop sign. It was good that the GG barely flinched during his read, as it will only have been more fuel for the fire, if he stopped, stuttered or was taken back the former page's actions.

In closing, where do we turn to find new people to govern and who agreed with her actions? People say it was disrespectful of parliament. Is it a sign of respect or lack of respect? It’s a respect for life, mother earth and all of us as individuals who voted all the parliamentary people into power, and a lack of respect to us as a people from Ottawa, when we hear about and find out about hidden agendas, political wrangling, manipulation, swaying, and how people in power get complacent because the money’s good and other perks; and then some young woman comes in and holds up a stop sign that read Stop Harper. Our votes did not stop him, but can our conscience, our activism, our uprising, our Arab spring? Well, that’s where the ridiculing came in and I write, don’t be too smug out there in Kanata Land (Canada) because the “Indians are restless” The Natives are restless! We are leaving the reservation, and more than willing to take up arms to upset the status quo of all the complacent societal beings of democracy, and scream , enough of the consumer materialistic culture people strive on, we are taking back mother earth to heal her and protect her for her children, young people , adults and elders who care for mother earth under the arms of our Creator, not some granite building called the house of parliament, Politics in stone, Good work . Brigette Depape, we can change the diapers of the ruling class, and you started the first wipe!

The killing of Kinling Robin Fire carrying a pipe

It's funny, when I sent a letter to the Edmonton Journal regarding the killing of Kinling Robin Fire March 30th in Edmonton. I mentioned racial profiling, and nothing published. The Mainstream media only prints what the masses want to hear with respect to justice and policing, and if we point out the motion of racial profiling, it is dismissed immediately. It is how the Affirmative Culture reifies the notion of what is normal, the everyday, and how meaning and control is learned through family, church and state. Where all the apparatuses of institutional signification are utilized to create classes relations, economic and ethnic, and racial definitions, historical place and contained thru the perpetuation of conquering definitions, and cultural conflict bantering, i.e.: 'Once he gets off the reservation, " Don't go NDN on me!", "Red N#$er!", Savages, etc, etc! The authorities rookies, chiefs, administrators and working police grow up on this "Indian" positioning, the media grows on this historical positioning, and it stays ingrained in the masses heads, minds and hearts, because, well they are the conquerors, all because of the Papal Creeds from the Vatican, Letters of Patents from Kings, and all those dammed Mercantilists who saw the $$$$$ in New World,
So through the high art forms, and the low art media, the New world savage was slowly being torn down bottle by bottle, barrel by barrel, and debased lower and lower as our people drank rum from the grounds of their ancestors. Devious men, traders, voyageurs, and everyone else in history learned of the noble savage, and how alcohol and infected blankets were the weapons of choice. As our people were politicised onto reserves through broken treaties and stolen land, the new world order thought they had it made.
Who was going to hire a NDN if they left the reserve? It was hard for our ancestors who paved the road through colonial Ville, and the New Euro-cities throughout Turtle Island. Once the early Chromographiques and early camera apparatuses captured our bodies on the land and in their cities, our place in society was sealed forever into the mass sub consciousness of popular culture, education forms, and political legislation. Genocide in a bottle, a skid row hotel, and through domestic violence development because once these societal leaders took our land, family, voice and mother tongue away, How did we communicate in this new world of capitalism, and democracy? Through the self-destruction of ourselves because of how worthless the systems apparatuses leaders and teachers felt about us and positioned us, Worthless, , For my brother and I, a Grade one Teacher told our foster parents once “Oh, those Morin brothers will never amount to anything” Fostering and reservations systems worked their hardest to kill the Indian in the child. Sadly many of us did not survive, and sadly many of us have lived and grown up with this worthlessness positioning. With Kinling Robin Fire, I never met the man, but his family is close to families from my extended family relations even though, the system separated us, we were still connected.
Even though all the victims were in an altered state of mind and body, the police have a duty to serve and protect us, not to blatantly kill us. They can disarm us in others ways than certain death kills. Just as the Native eleven year old boy, they tasered in Prince George. These policing methods of containment are part of a whole system failure to us as Canada’s First People.

Convicted killer won't play on Canadian stage

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2011/04/08/bertrand-cantat.html

I am just a man, at times a foolish man, wise man, or a fun kind of guy. I have made mistakes in the past which I regret when it comes to male female relationships, and how emotionality and physicality overcome the senses and pushing and shoving turns to a swing. ON bother sides of the party too. Unacceptable and undeniably part of the human existence since we learned about possessions, pride, power, etc etc, that makes us human. Laws created, prisons created, time served is time released, and then the human attempts to get back on his feet. IN any society, we are taught to forgive through our Creator. I see here nothing but bitterness, resentment, restitution, and deniability in this affair which has nothing to do with our Creator, forgiveness, giving people a second chance, and allowing life to move forward even though our memories and mistakes never leave us. As Cain has done, this man has done, sadly a victim dies, and time was served. By allowing all this fear mongering, pointing fingers, and transferring ones own anger and retribution to others shows that evil is winning in today’s life and we are no longer living our life in according to our Creator. We must start each day with honesty, humility, and respect for life and all that can be good, or should be. If Jesus, Buddha, or Allah can forgive, why can't we. Must we continue to live by the irrational senses defined through our flesh and lack of it through death, so we strive to embrace life as tight as possible? I have had family members who were killed. Yes I am angry, sad and lost without them. But to wake up each day with potential for goodness and helping others, then we should do that here and globally. Miigweech, O'Siem Gala Kensal, all my relations

Edmonton Journal story about Police association says man shot dead by officer was carrying a pipe

What I find disappointing in this story regarding this indigenous man is the decision to kill a man, who needs help. I would ask; is this a case of racial profiling against aboriginal people in Edmonton? After two days of speculation about the details of the shooting and aggravating circumstances, we now read that the victim was carrying a pipe. And we are expected to take the word of a police association member, who rationalizes the actions of the young limited experienced police officers? Far too often, Canada's first people are in a position of seeking help through inappropriate actions, that are detrimental to themselves and people around them, but does that give the police permission to shoot and kill a man who needs help? Why did the police officers aim at a body extremity that would not cause a fatal wound, which would have disarmed the victims handling of a "pipe" but no, the officers shoot and kill the man and ask questions. In my opinion, this is a case of racial profiling and an independent investigation should be initiated by professionals who are arms length from the police or any police association who is there to protect their officers with no regard for helping this man and his family. Shame on the police and their trigger happy officers who see Canada's first people through the colonial racist beliefs of the 19th and 20th century, which has no place today in the 21st century. Miigweech, all my relations

Condemming Mr Jones burning of hte Koran

Terry Jones' church, Dove Outreach Center
http://www.doveworld.org/


Well, Mr Jones, you really messed up this time. To utilize the actions of using fire to burn the holy words of our Creator is not part of God's plan and is actually just part of the Devil's work I would say that you are actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing to decide to use the auspice of your unholy church to disrespect the holy words of our Creator. Your narrow minded world view just caused the death of innocent people of the UN, and you do not realize what your stupid callous acts have started.

As you I assume know, the word is the word, and the spirit of the word is part of God's tools and that we humans here on earth may call our creator different names, but God, Allah and Buddha are one and the same but painted through different aspects of history and cultures. God is very angry with your actions and I would suggest that you apologize to the people overseas that your stupid callous acts angered. I cannot believe that you and your associates would do such a stupid, hateful act because of your narrow self righteous point of view. You will be held accountable by God, and brought swift and condemning justice

Adapted Greek tragedy banned on Sask. reserve - Saskatchewan - CBC News

Adapted Greek tragedy banned on Sask. reserve - Saskatchewan - CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2011/03/31/sk-play-banned-first-nation-110331.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d9548b16d1de468%2C0

This banning of a contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's play is akin the burning of books in the 20th century in Germany, where a people's voice was denied. The actions of these community leaders is completely unacceptable and the Canadian theatre community should hold these Chiefs and Band leaders accountable and demand immediate resignation of their community position as respectable community leaders
One would ask a simple question; why was the play banned? Reading the news story, it is because of the theatre company’s interpretative direction, of which these people in power did not like what the artists painted. And that is what we do as artists, we paint a picture of the world we share, scars and all, and people do not like the picture of themselves due to negative perceptions, then, the people in power must change and admit failure due to their past indiscretions, and learn again to regain the trust of the community they govern.
If the mirror artists’ paint is to close for comfort, then there is a ring of truth on the contemporary version of Shakespeare’s words.
And that is what we are dealing with here colleagues, friends and enemies, the power of the written word, the freedom to express ourselves in a democratic society. With this closure and banning of the play before it opens, these leaders’ actions are parallel to the actions of leaders in another time, where voicing one’s opinion against the people in power can have you imprisoned, shot, or just simply disappear. And of course throughout history we have many incidents where people in power abused their authority against artists, writers or others who spoke up against the social, political and economic injustices carried out due to abuse of power, greed and the corrupt actions of people in power.
And what do these actions by these so called leaders create in the minds of our children who live in our communities and have the potential in life to do great things for society? They will see that if they expression themselves in a view that is not favourable by those in positions of trust and leadership, that they will be punished. They may then settle with life instead of realizing their potential in life.
Perhaps we can look at these people who banned the play as insecure, subconsciously dysfunction due to the century of intergeneration colonial conditioning of Canada’s first people due to the residential schools abuses and assimilation policies of the 19th and 20th century, but I would basically say, that these people’s actions are due to not wanting to see the truth versions of themselves due to their abuse of power and control. Rather fascist in today’s society and void of any sense of dignity, honesty, humility, respect or grace. Let’s hold these people accountable

One NIght Only, this MArch 20th Empire Ball room, Indigenous Singer/Songwriter Donald Morin

B.C. lawsuit challenges solitary confinement rules : MY Reply to the naysayers commenting on my comment of Globe and Mail article of March 7th., 2011

MY Reply to the naysayers commenting on my comment of Globe and Mail article of March 7th., 2011
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-lawsuit-challenges-solitary-confinement-rules/article1931853/

GlynnMhor of Skywall, Northern Princess, and you others who negatively applied to my comments. I heard all your illogical reasoning b4. Redneck, self righteous, arrogant, sarcastic, self-serving, indignant, incredulous, colonial, and reeking of all that euro-centric validation of whose right and whose wrong. I would say It is the system's fault why this woman is the way she is, intergenerational abuse due to residential schools, abusive foster homes, family members whose language and culture were beat out of them, and drugs and alcohol replaces spiritual values, because the government and its system of churches, schools, prisons and justice servers had it in their legislative mind and policies to kill the NDN in the child. Grey nuns who used religion, guilt and physical abuse to destroy the worth and life of our children.

All you say that; we got to get over it, others have been successful, get a job, get educated, while northern princess fool, systemic “Indian” racism is invisible and insidious, and un-seeable by the black, yellow and white race because colonialism has positioned the Indian below all other cultures due to how the historical real, the spectacle real and the erotic real defined the “Indian” in popular culture. You colonial simple minded , limited educated euro-Canadian simpletons, can get an education if you do not understand how semiotics, signs, ideology and cultural propaganda has helped define that little brain you people use to write your simplistic, sarcastic replies to my comment about this G and M articles.
You all may not take the blame for what happened, but your simplicity in reasoning has made you all complicit to the tragedy of Canada’s first people, I still say, you people void of compassion and understanding of all the issues involved with this native women who is in isolation , can go to your Christina hell, because of your lack of empathy and your fullness of pride and illogical hatred of who we are as one of God’s chosen people to help each other in these troubled times.
To the ones who understand my writing , peace be with you all too. Miigweech


BELOW, my first comment on articel and commenters on my words:

DAM_ba
3:47 PM on March 7, 2011
As an aboriginal person, who was as well abused as a child, I empathize with this woman's pain. a system takes a person's language, culture, hertiage, and family away, and gives them abuse, hate and life devoid of any love , you would develvop into similar conditions, assimilation policies are the reason's for this woman's pain, Give the abuse and hate that was given to this person as a child, you tend to give it back to the "other" because that is all a person is taught when you deal with the failed assimilation policeis fo Canada

For all you people void of any understanding or empathy to why this woman is the way she is; can go to hell, because your lack of compassion will take you there
Friendly Anglo
I also was abused by a family member. Doesn't mean I have to become one.

I survived not because of my upbring, but in spite of it.
Ned Chiwalski
So what you're saying is that it's society's fault for creating the animal that she is??
Nice try!
Bendygirl
Dam_ba - abuse can destroy the soul of any person it touches. Truly. It is painful and traumatic. I know this from personal experience myself. My compassion ends where a person believes that their past entitles them to harm other human beings with impugnity - aboriginal or not. There are many aboriginal people in this country who were subject to abuse and assimilation policies who do not behave in this manner - and they may have mental illnesses, and post traumatic stress disorders and they are also haunted by terrible demons. They do not inflict their pain on those who did not cause that pain. That is the salient point here.

Peace to you.
GlynnMhor of Skywall
That's a typical Politically Correct indian response to just about any problem:

Blame Whitey.

The logic goes:

My life is messed up (waaa, waaa).

Somebody Else messed up my life (waaa, waaa).

So Somebody Else has to fix my life for me.

And I don't need to change.

Northern Princess
Oh come off it people. I will not take any blame for what happened in this country 3-400 years ago, sorry! Times were different, thinking was different and reactions were different, get over it. Sick and tired of hearing how the poor aboriginal was treated. Heck they could live better than some of us with all that the government gives them. Some have done extremely well in their lives and don't blame anyone for their lot in lives. Get a job, get educated (which I know that the government can pay for that for you) and do something with your life. We all have to do it, why not you? Get over yourselves.

How about moving to Lybia where the government treats his people so much better than you have been treated in Canada? Now that might be a great experience. No houses given, no ski-doos or 4-wheelers, no net fishing, no unrestricted hunting there either, but you can protest all you want and maybe you'll get away with your life and freedom. Life is so hard for you in Canada isn't it? Give me a break.

Allan Ross
6:49 AM on March 8, 2011
It wasn't hundreds of years ago NP - it was within the lives of the survivors of residential schools. I'm not exonerating the natives from some personal responsibility but you can't ignore the systematic destruction of their society and culture by the predominantly white government. If we actually want to improve our country then we need to take responsibility for what has happened within our lifetimes and work to improve the future for First Nations peoples.

NDNs & DOGS, A MOMENT DEDICATED TO FRIEND

Dedicated to the late Lisa Sazama

I was shocked to hear about Lisa's passing Sandy Scofield informed me, and I am sadden by this news. I met Lisa around 1991 - 92 through my former artistic partner. Jimy Sidlar. Jimy is a great singer songer writer performer and actor. I first saw Jimy as an actor in Peter Barnes Noon Day Demon and hired him for the role of Danny Dog in the Experimental multi-media work NDNs and DOGs. NDNs and DOGs was a chaotic and intense performance script adapted from the poems and writings of Neil Benson and Donald Morin after Donald Ghostkeeper asked me to do a performance event based on the indigenous issues of the day (1989-onward) After dialogue with Neil and studying all my writings and plays, the script was re-written numerous times till the first 1990 performance event at the International Pitt Gallery in Vancouver, then at the Earth Voice Festival 1992, and then at the 1994 National Native Youth and Multicultural conference at The Hotel Vancouver. As an inter-disciplinary artist, I directed the first two events of which both were learning experiences in accordance to the Aesthetics of Performance, It was with the 1994 event that Lisa was the theatrical director of the Hotel Vancouver Show, while I constructed the multimedia around the direction of her two actors, Jimy and Donald.

She was an extraordinary artist who had a strong and clear methodology regarding her directing and her involvement in the rehearsals and her direction created in my humble opinion, the best performance of the three produced shows of my work as a writer/producer/director.

You can see and hear her briefly at my NDNs and DOGS web-documentary of this unique period of my life. My condolensces to her loved ones at this sad time of all of us, who were touched by her grace, her artistic geniosity, and her kind and caring nature.


NDNs and DOGs Hi-Res Digital Release-May09

Donald_Morin | Myspace Video

Live 3 Song Medley by Donald Morin

Lecturing and Teaching with Skype; A First at The University of the Fraser Valley

Hats off to Sophie Isbister for her seamless writing and editing at the cascade student paper about my online lecture and presentation of my media work. Here is the link: http://ufvcascade.ca/2011/02/15/teaching-with-skype-a-first-at-ufv/comment-page-1/#comment-3170

Christine Elsey's work is important at the academic level of deconstruction, evaluation, and applying direct action and ideas to how we manufacture literacy.

Manufacturing Literacy as in The Literacy Manufacturing Company, of which was part of and is part of my ideas as an artist today and since the 1990s. Beyond the systemic conventional terms of a dying colonial world, we manufacture our literacy through our connection to the Great Spirit, the Creator, and to his/her angels and how we teach our children Yes the Affirmative Culture Literacy has always existed and its system with all its apparatuseses of definition and control. great and small are being exposed in the new WikiLeaks literacy and that is good.

Chaos happens today now in the Middle East because it is the time of the end, the slow march towards the end of time. A New Literacy is being created, so stop, stay alert and be prepared to do great work in all you do. Hy Hy The cyber surveillance tools of all the terrologues in the free world may watch us and look out for the agitators, anarchists, militants, sabatours, provocateurs and terrorists, but hell, they have been calling us those signifiers every since they got lost in these woods during contact. So stand up, show your power, and that you are not afraid to fight the terror machine. Feed the poor, heal the sick and get ready for the war! Hy Hy, O'SIem, Gila Kesla, All my relations.

CBC News - Saskatchewan - Sask. First Nations call cigarette seizures 'unconstitutional'#socialcomments

Finally More of our People are taking a stand againest the colonial monopoly Canada has on our sacred tobacco. The time is right for revolution, stand up against the system of decay around us that they call Canada. Take back what is ours now!

CBC
News - Saskatchewan - Sask. First Nations call cigarette seizures 'unconstitutional'#socialcomments

lecture video excerpt from U of FV presentation.wmv

Online Interview of Christine Elsey published in UFV student rag and online at Interview pertains to Online lecture and media presentation I did for Native Studies Class at University of Fraser Valley

http://ufvcascade.ca/2011/02/15/teaching-with-skype-a-first-at-ufv/

1999 Metis Sauvage European Tour Digital Magazine Revisited | IsumaTV

1999 Metis Sauvage European Tour Digital Magazine Revisited | IsumaTV

Harper says 'Canada shone' in 2010

Right. After a discussion this morning with professionals in the various services of working with Canada's first people, we all agreed that Canada's relationship with Canada's first people has not succeeded and that systemic racism invisible and visible is in Canadian society. So, PM Harper, quit spreading the lies you create. You only perpetuate the status quo of systemic racism in Canadian society and pulling the wool over all non-native Canadians, who buy into the current lie about native/non-native relations in Canada, and North American society.

The day a Slain yachtsman's daughter [who is] 'pretty tough' made the news

Theses commenters lost the point of the news and made it a social discourse of left and right winged political debating.

Commenters!, What exactly is the problem here? It is a news story that happened. Done with , victims and crimnals. A fact of life on this world. Why judge the two sides? Let the Creator settle justice in his/her time. Let us take care of the survivor, mourn the dead, and let the proper authorities capture the perpertrators,. If that is humanly impossible, for what ever reason, let it be. If we truly search to understand the Great Mystery of Life, we would work hard, help others, and judge no more. That is why we have the sytem today. Our imperfect human form of life, justice and death, but that is allwe have, and we all pick sides, right or wrong.
Good luck in your argumentative state, but do you feel better where it counts or in an instant physical emotional gratification from trying to beat down a way of thinking that is not your own? Take care

wasted resources spent on Cariboo grow-ops targeted by B.C. RCMP

Const. Michael McLaughlin says, These newcomers to the pristine Caribou region have no regard for the land that they occupy; streams are being diverted, growth-enhancing chemicals and pesticides are leaching into the soil, and garbage is being left behind,"

Sounds like he is talking about the capitalist expansionists who are ravaging this land. Sounds like he is talking about Canadian society and what they did to this land after contact

The plant is part of the Creator's garden, it is the white system that is criminalizing a part of the Creator's garden, why should we believe an ideological based law that is not part of the Creator's will?

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/12/03/bc-rcmp-grow-op-crackdown.html#ixzz17A0xBiNK

Some words regarding the the opinions from the CBC commenters pertaining to the Dec 3rd. CBC story of First Nations group, province disputing child welfare.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/12/02/sk-foster-care-reserve-1011.html

Canadian farmer writes: "If the tribal councils don't care how the kids are doing, why should we?"

That is not what the news story mentions you opinionated person. Quit putting words in the mouths of our leaders. As a survivor of the fostering system, I say after provincial social agencies created a genocidal pattern of abuse in the foster homes of non-native people who used the system as an adoption wheel to bring in extra money, and abusing our children, why in the world would we let our children with you people again?

We have a right to take care of our own children, and all you Naysayers can keep your stinky euro-centric Canadian nose out of it!

CBC closes commenting on the WikiLeaks stories

CBC's comment tool is closed for these wikileaks stories! Why is that? The true colours of the USA are being exposed, the arrogance, the roughshodding, the bullying, the racist sense of superiority of military and diplomatic might from the beast of the belly

Shaking Our Artistic Hands with the Devil

Shaking Our Artistic Hands with the Devil
From Alumni SFU Inter-disciplinary Indigenous Métis Artist: Donald Morin, BA

Re: SFU Visual Arts & Goldcorp: "Framing Cultural Capital

Attention: Jeff Derksen, Ian Angus, Alexandra Henao, Cecily Nicholson, Irwin Oostindie, Jayce Salloum, Carole Taylor, and all other interested individuals and colleagues

Dear Associated Colleagues of SFU and Salish Territory now know as the lower mainland of British Columbia
As a SFU graduate and artist who has studied two semesters of visual arts along with my performing arts and the SFU film program, I raise my hands up to all of you who help create this upcoming dialogue forum regarding Goldcorps 10 mil donation. Miigweech.
I personally find it deplorable that SFU has accepted this buy off donation from Godcorps.

What is more incredulous is the trilateral position already taken by the university:
• the immediate designation of naming the SFU downtown campus to the Goldcorps Centre for the Arts,
• half of the funds going towards the capital costs of running the facilities,
• and the endowment created to support programs aimed at community engagement in the DTES

Without even asking the downtown eastside community for some input in how such a donation can help the community before accepting the money.

Considering, the whole notion of Goldcorps past history in its mining developments, I am ashamed of being part of SFU's history for their immediate acceptance of this sellout donation without proper consideration of the more urgent needs of the residents of the Downtown East, the lack of cultural protocol with respect to the first people of Salish Territory, and the lack on including a Salish First Nations Artist to this important dialogue event.

As a first nations man who spent close to thirty years on Salish Territory and many years in the downtown eastside as an activist/artist and community member, I learned much about cultural respect and my self worth as an "Indian" man who moved to Vancouver 1980 from Edmonton to realize my potential in life. Where at that time, society's expectation of native people then were only seeing us as drunks, in jail or dead. Moving back to Edmonton Dec 2009, it is sad to still see the judicial system still stereotyping native people in the same light, and certain members of Canadian society still have systemic racist views of Canada's first people.

It is good to see that people are concerned about this donation, but are they the right concerns? Will this dialogue event be seen as a lame afterthought, when it comes to the lateness of the press release, because suddenly people hear about this donation are of concern, and SFU organizers realize they do not have proper community discussions and involvement when Goldcorps first put the money on the table?
And then there is the issue of cultural protocol. Considering the sad and sordid history of the Downtown Eastside Missing women and the strong percentage of aboriginal people in the area, where do these people fit in with this donation?

An artist paints a picture of a missing woman, a dying native on the street, and we all done our part in helping less fortunate people through our work as artists?

I see this late release as a case of poor insight and planning to be sending this press release out now considering the date of this event. I can only assume that there may be a limited crowd of people involved due to this later publication of this event.

What will the result of this event be? Considering the language of the press release, I see it as a rather pretentious event of artists, moderators, and intellectuals complaining about the ethics of such a donation to real people with real concerns, but still the money has been taken, plans have been initiated and discussed, and we can all go away thinking that we are doing some good for the community talking about it.

Meanwhile the residents of the DTES are struggling to survive, eat, maintain a roof and wean themselves of the substances some have fallen into, while the old timers in the area area sit in their rooms they have and will never see the benefits of this sellout donation.

My critics will say, well, there are already many social agencies out there helping these people, and I am missing the point of this donation and discussion. But I would refute that argument, by saying that the university can go against the status quo of community relations, and use that money in a context that will take all your departmental disciplines in consideration, and use that capital to build and improve the current housing conditions for the residents, create all types of employment for the residents, invest in improving the health, body and mind of the residents, and use that endowment fund to help all the people of the DTES instead of just the artists and their subjects.

Any further real concrete action for the university and this discussion panel to do is to tell the university to give back that money to Goldcorps and instruct the corporation to go into the downtown eastside community, and create real change for the residents without any sort of public acknowledgment or recognition.

Does the university have to be involved at all? No, I see this as a public relations ploy by this corporation and my former university, and now with all you colleagues being involved, everyone is grandstanding themselves around this donation because, it is a news worthy item and we can all get something out of this fiasco, and the residents get nothing but what is offered later, much later, once the money is implemented in the system and the infra structure develops and everyone gets their piece of the pie, and the status quo remains the same.

In closing, while I accept and give credit to the organizers of this event for creating dialogue in [demanding] " a more active role in shaping [their] position at the university and [their] relationship to the community, nothing is really going to change for the residents of the community outside of the artists who will utilize the downtown SFU Centre for the Arts.

I apologize of I have offended anyone in this dialogue, but what is our role as artists in contemporary society if we do not address immediate basic issues of survival for our fellow humans accepting nothing in return. Miigweech, Gila Kesla, O’Siem, Hy hy, all my relations
Miigweech Donald Morin, BA

http://www.isuma.tv/dammedia http://myspace.com/donaldmorin
http://www.google.com/profiles/donaldmorin http://www.youtube.com/Willy2Frencheater

DAM Comments on CBC story of U.S. pornographer targets Winnipeg aboriginals

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/11/04/man-winnipeg-aboriginal-pornography-website.html#socialcomments-submit#ixzz14MTYRmWB

DAM COM
Regardless of accusers’ talk of victims taking substances, who has not sinned and is able to judge these victims? We as aboriginal people were taken from a language, a land, family, extended families and place in horrible homes where the adoption parents used the cheques on themselves and left the children to struggle and struggle trying to be the assimilated person like the euro-Canadian immigrants, and travelers who came here and stole what was not theirs. THE assimilators stole our true Identity, our mother tongue. An identity as a people which goes back to the days of Jesus among us, and the Great Spirit who made you and I writing here. Grow up you zealots of the new century, the time has come to separate the left from the right, the light from the dark, and we will see who judges who!!

Supreme Court to hear case over Quebec’s controversial ethics and religion class

In response to article published in The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec/supreme-court-to-hear-case-over-quebecs-controversial-ethics-and-religion-class/article1767535/


The security of our children is paramount. Ideologically, and physically. It is an important debate. How do we help children to understand the different religions, and cultures of this world? It is not as simplistic as teaching a westernized curriculum of mosaic or multicultural values of who we are as Canadians, Americans, indigenous, class or people of diverse cultures.

Parents want to choose? Is that a form of protectionism? How do we look at ourselves and understand a family's interpretation of another culture, religion and history? I.e. stereotyping, propaganda, church values, family history, generational history, it is a complex issue.

All we can do is each pray to the Creator in their own words, thoughts, and prayers, and perhaps we can find what is best for our children and not directed by state ideological apparatuses bent on form control and mass order.

Clinton tackled for oilsands comments

"Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. has said its pipelines pose no threat to the environment", they say there is no guarantee in life, and it is rather arrogant for the corporation to say that. Let’s not forget the accidental rupture some time ago in Burnaby when an independent contractor made a mistake. Oil is oil; IT will destroy everything it touches No matter what clean up attempt is initiated.

The Creator will take that arrogance of man and humble us to our knees, as we slowly devour ourselves to survive. Life's Windigo's is here there and everywhere, If I can quote an old pop songs from way back lore.

We must stop this pipeline, stop our dependency on what is suppose to stay in the ground to keep the world balanced We are slowly dying driving faster to nowhere. Clinton is a realist as she knows the system will not change and the cost of our freedom is climate change, pollution, less resources and a human race who can not see their own demise every morning we go to work or play. Our polluted bodies die, our soul goes where it will go, free of oil, but still the human race can not change, because we are living in the end of days. Aho all my relations I am, that I am! And it will be down.

Alta. child welfare system needs to change: report

Story closed for commeting, why is that? The majority of the children under care are first nations. Is the government hiding behind legislation in their positioning and conditioning of indigenous people? Has anything changed for our children since the 60s Scoop? Tell us something we do not know. Stop taking away our children! have a good day, and week ahead.

All 33 Minors rescued in Chile! Rescuers remaining!

Thank our Creator, all "33" men were rescued. Very important number considering Jesus lived 33 years, now we have the resecuers to rescue, God help them all. God bless the survivors in the belly of our rocky life!

Prostitution laws struck down by Ont. court

The protection of our life givers is paramount. The old saying about "the oldest profession” rings true throughout history, the bible, other teachings, writings and the modernity of our popular culture. Women and men have a God given right to their bodies, and how one cares for the human body and what we do to our bodies.

God gave us that choice, and we deal with the consequences when the physical body is returned to our Creator. It is written that we must treat our body like a temple for our Creator, keep it clean and pure. Yet. the reality here on earth is vastly different than what we all ideally would like if we were free of our urges, senses, and idealization of whom we are as a body and how we live our lives. Morally or immorally, but then who is the judge of our bodies, our choice in private, and what people do not see.

Trudeau mentioned something about keeping the state out of the bedrooms of the nation? Does that apply here? Perhaps, for sex between two beings can happen anywhere if we were animals. but we are not, and we must protect our body, spirit and mind from falling into the primal instincts of our nature. Prostitution will not go away, as long as we have immoral people, who have lost respect for the human body, and replace love with lust. Yes, protect the vulnerable from exploitation in this sexual trade of relations, but as well protect our woman without prejudice, malice or judgment and do the right action, without bowing down to fundamentalist or the religiosity of institutions, and organized political fronts of conservatism.

Kelly A H Bird Presents An Exosphere Production In Association with New ...

Kelly A H Bird Presents An Exosphere Production In Association with New ...

Edmonton hospital asks homeless for advice

See: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/08/17/ed-royal-alexandra-hospital-homeless-survey.html


It is good that such institutions are look at other ways of helping less fortunate people than ourselves. Instead of judging the homeless, the street bums, why not go out and buy them a coffee, sandwich, and ask how they are? Do they need to know where to go to need help, is life that busy and fast that we forget about the founding values of Canadian society? Bad apples in every crowd, so do not judge all people on the street with the same brushes. I was looking for work downtown Edmonton & saw a native man bandaged over his left eye, He was weak and softly asking for $. No passerby could hear him, did not care, & didn’t pay attention to this poor soul. I gave him a smoke, told him I was not working and sat near him as I waited for the bus. It was sad to see all these people walk by, as this man held his cap out and tried to survive. I dug in my pocket and gave him the two quarters, but felt bad because I still had a loonie. Late Chief Dan George's son Len George told me once that if you see someone who needs help, dug in your pocket and give what you have in change. It is the right thing to do. Today I see signs saying give to social agencies instead of to the people on the street, Why do we follow the rules of society when it comes to helping the less fortunate, instead of trusting the teachings of your/our Creator totally by helping the less fortunate regardless of ones judgment and assumption of their background, ulterior motives, or the degree of their empty stomach or brain; if you consider the ones who have bad motives regarding charity like the woman who faked cancer and defrauded many as a result of their good grace and charity? People on the street are our equal, Help them, karma exists be on the left hand or right hand? U decide.

The Duck Wife At The Edmonton Fringe 2010 | IsumaTV

The Duck Wife At The Edmonton Fringe 2010 | IsumaTV

MY PERSONAL REPLY TO CBC WEB ARTICLE: Oka developer met with protests

MY PERSONAL REPLY TO CBC WEB ARTICLE: Oka developer met with protests

Ducharme says he has the rights and deeds for the land on behalf of a financial institution, and implies the Mohawks committed heresies. Having finished my first feature film in 2004 based on the incident of Oka, 1990, After years of study, research, and travel to the Mohawk territory in my younger days, I have met the late Joe David, As well as members of the Gabriel family. Wonderful people who spoke the truth regardless of the stereotyping and racism that is steeped deep in Canadian History, Alanis Obamsowin's film Kanasatake 200 years of resistance is also a great film to understand the history of the area, which is the results of this current valid form of resistance. The Whiteman’s malaise. The title deeds are worthless when it comes to broken treaties, manipulating priest from the Oka area and its history, and how the euro centric ancestors of that territory's history stole the land from the Mohawks. Duchames sounds like that guy from Pale Rider who shows Clint Easton’s character his piece of paper saying he owns the land. White devils again manipulating the media and council people
See the article at: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/08/06/que-oka-conflict.html#socialcomments

Donald Morin, BA
seen and heard at
http://www.isuma.tv/dammedia
www.myspace.com/moredammusic
http://www.reverbnation.com/#/donaldmorin,
http://www.google.com/profiles/donaldmorin,
http://www.youtube.com/Willy2Frencheater,
http://myspace.com/donaldmorin

DAM T5H3K8 and The Indigenous Hawaii Resistance | IsumaTV

First section of My New Experimetnal film I am developing!

DAM T5H3K8 and The Indigenous Hawaii Resistance | IsumaTV

Drunks force Winnipeg business to close: owner

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/07/22/mb-kraut-king-close-downtown-booze-winnipeg.html#ixzz0uRX9gF58


The implication of this CBC news article is that the people who move in & around this location are always 1st nation’s people who are extremely intoxicated, & that "...the ...aboriginal leaders need to step up and do more to address addiction problems among First Nations people..." The article also mentions the MLCC fining the hotels that sell liquor to the " disadvantaged people who wind up drinking...illegally in public places..." While I empathize with the business owner, I would ask, is only 1st nation people who are causing the problems, or a combination of euro-Canadian & native people, along with some of our multicultural friends, who are being disrespectful to others in public places? The historical conditions that helped define the pathos of these people is entrenched with the endless dreams of fame and fortune, growing up in a society that endure two world wars, endless conflict, & the lose of land, language, & culture as a result of colonial practices, immigrational distanciation, & the development of life in a new country, new environment and a new sense of values and shortcomings. Sadly 2 say Canadian history is full of successes and failures when it comes to the conduct of the self in relation to the other. Is it a question of race, genes, destiny, stupidity, or simple series of bad luck situations and the lack of will to do better in life? How long do we strive to reach our potential in life, instead of just settling with life? We all have choices in life, and ultimately The Great Spirit allows us 2 success or failure in according each day's progression of life and death. This world creates vices for us all, but it is the ones on the street that shows the true mirror of who we are, if we judge & condemn others B4 our Creator.

Sage for Our Warriors and Elders from Turtle Island to Hawaii | IsumaTV

Sage for Our Warriors and Elders from Turtle Island to Hawaii IsumaTV

103 meg repro of First rough edit and early start of Donald Morin's Experimental film depicting an unique approach to Indigenous Resistance and Hawaiian Indigenous Sovereignty Issues. More work has to be done on translations, text notes and the Hawaiian One Law government March and rally.

Response to Elder criticizes native omission from summit and native protest comments on CBC news story about Natives protesting peacefully

CBC did  not publish article, so here it is: 2nd. story about Elder omission is at link below:

Some people have 2 understand the fiduciary relationship of Canada & her 1st people 2 the original treaties & why there is a lack of treaties & broken treaties which exist. We can thank Cabot, Champlain, Cartier & others who were looking 4 a passage to India. Cabot thru the King’s Letter of Patent, set sail & the rest is history. The new immigrants, traders took advantage of our ancestors because they had the best resources. 2day we still struggle with this historical embedded racism yet some people will never understand why we must fight for our rights & benefits, because those treaties are law which last for generations 2 come. Treaties were signed because of the land that we lost. Dead or no deed that is old world written literacy thinking that has no argument here today. The cultural , political, economic apparatuses of this country romantized the 1st. people’s history The dime novels of the time, the melodrama forms & newspapers of the Wild West defined our relationship to each other since the modernist period 2 the literacy of your local papers & media 2day. The historical real, the spectacle real, & the erotic real has defined your coveting of who we are as a people due to this modernist period, I write about, but as well to the romanticist period, with novels like Ferdinand Cooper’s Last of The Mohicans, or the story of John Smith & Pocahontas romanticized our relations to each other. This ideological condition developed out of the progression of North American Pop Culture as the masses bought into the desires of a material capitalist culture. From how your grandparent’s great great Grandparents, the “Indian” was painted in the derogatory light then, as it is 2day. Why? Because of the lack of correct education about the history of the 1st people.


That is why there was no Elder at SUmmit, because these politicians are not properly educated about Indigenous history with the moonyass!
 
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/g20streetlevel/2010/06/elder-criticizes-native-omission-from-summit.html#socialcomments-submit

The Lies of Aboriginal Day

The best of Aboriginal day to you all even though Canada does not live up to the ideals that bind us together as a people or a country, as statistics defines Canada's first people and our relations to your economic, social, cultural, state apparatuses and your skid rows. So shame on Canada on this propaganda day for the immigrant Canadians, who will never really know us as a people , only as how the system paints their picture of who we are before contact, after contact, and during the time of you occupiers!

Response to CBC article: G20 police arsenal includes plastic bullets

The fact that they are practicing is down right scary. Sure, they say plastic bullets and tear gas, but it takes one projectile in one vulnerable place of the human body to destroy ones right to voice their dissatisfaction with leader who are over-consuming Earth’s resources.


Practicing to shoot first to justify their over-priced weapons of death and authoritative control shows how the current ultra right conservatives do not care about people. People who want to change the status quo for he care and betterment of Mother Earth and her children. To spend the excessive money they have on security, so they can practice using guns is unacceptable. Cancel the G20, recall this current government and fire all these security personnel.
 
CBC artile at: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/18/arwen-weapon-summits.html#socialcomments-submit

A response to commenters on a CBC article Renew Aboriginal Healing Foundation: MPs, See link below for Comments by dumb people

Free sky and LaRock, Your negative comments and hatred, and racial ideals will be the downfall of your existence. Without compassion, grace, and humility, you will never enter the Creator's garden, but head to the place where fire and hate fills your dying space. Treaties maintain the current relationship to the modern world, because our ancestors knew that they must consider their future generations, when the treaties were singed and the land of the area know as parts of Canada were transferred to the Old World explorers. Treaties that exist today and helped develop the relation that we have now with Canada. Treaties that are utilized to provide aspects of life for the first people, but it is because of the greedy mercantilists, capitalists who went beyond the legal aspects of the treaties and manipulated land and resources form the first people. GO over the treaties of the time and educate yourself and see that your comments and negativity is full of hot air. You guys get over it, move on and realize that the relation exist between Canada and her first people exist today because of your forefathers, and swindlers who undermined the first people and began to perpetuate the racism and bigotry that exist today. SO you Euro Canadian post immigrants and immigrants get over your inadequacies, your insecurities and learn to love your neighbor and understand how the past affects the present which in turns affects the future, where we will all be judged. SO smarten up you racist fools. grown up and learn bout your past and see that we are all in the same canoe traveling down the same river of life together as one human family helping one another.


To see comments and CBC article go to: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2010/06/17/aboriginal-healing-commons-report.html#socialcomments-submit

In response to CBC story of Boy, 11, slams residential schools legacy

Good on the 11 year old boy to speak out. I too, barely over a year old was apprehended along with my twin brother from our six sisters & brothers and two half sister and brother because of the racist policies of the 60s. Split up from my twin & surviving 16 foster homes by the time I was four, (Found records of my stays in 1994) It took a long time to realize, understand, and deal with why I was so full of hate and forlornness as a child with native life skills programs & doctors who one told me in 1983, come back in 8 years when you feel hopeless. ( I did not go back, even though 1991 was a time of change for native people after the Oka incident.


From self destructive patterning due to not liking myself, acting crazy , impulsive and always being intense, I was determined not to end up dead or in jail because this where society stereo typified us to be or end up in. Leaving racist systemic Alberta at 24 was my only choice as nothing was gong to change in redneck Alberta, and sadly after returning to Alberta 29 years later, nothing has changed in this city. Native people are still shunned, looked down upon and treated badly by the police, peace officers, and the courts of the justice system.

Moving to Salish Territory 1980 was a turning point for me 2 realizes my potential in life instead of just settling with the status quo. After a film & performing arts degree, I did what I had to do to survive. Under qualified, over-qualified, getting work was still problematic due to the racism in the film & television industry even when I got a job at CBC news, one producer during the production meeting, says, well, the Injuns are at it again, and this was a white middle class educated woman. 2010, we still have much work 2 do 2 eliminate racism in Canada.

See story at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/06/16/man-truh-reconcilation-commission-foster-care.html#socialcomments-submit

Start of Human rights complaint against MasDonald's restaurant

I was having breakfast in the restaurant, and Morley Potts was giving heck to the manager over something. Fearing it would escalate, I decided to go off the native man some help. I listen abit and Morley says you can't do that The manager say he is going to call the police, I say to Morley "let's go outside, it is best to walk away.


After I was outside, I asked Morley what happened. Morley told me he was going to the washroom doing number two and praying to God in his private room, when the MacDonald Manager peered over the bathrrom stall and invaded Morley's privacy, MOrely said , What are doing? What;s wrong with you, After he cleaned himslef, he opened the bathroom door and went to talk to him.

He spoked to the manager and said what's wrong with you, Manager said he going to phone the police, Morley said go ahead. Morley thought why did the man want to peek over, of all people, what's wrong with him. why?

A critique of Canada’s desire to change legislation of the Pardon me: Forgive me ( Inresponse to CBC story of May 12, 2010

A critique of Canada's desire to change legislation of the Pardon me: Forgive me ( Inresponse to CBC story of May 12, 2010

For a Christian society which invaded, conquered, assimilated, and exterminated Canada's First People on the basis of changing the infidel and heathens to Christianity, forgiveness was a major factor in accepting the first people as part of the euro-centric family, society and state. Forgiving ones evil ways is a Christian fundamental and major component of the Christian mission, mandate, and future direction. How can we go on as a good Christian democratic society if we as a country do not forgive others? If we as a people elected this government then we must stop this misdirected legislation as it will only stigmatize sincere people who want to move forward in life and cannot remove their pardon due to the lack of compassion and understanding required in order to forgive others so we can move forward as a whole, not fragmented as Canada is today due to the self righteousness of others who think that we should just leave all people convicted of a crime to lose opportunities to change and lead a productive life. While I empathize with victims of serious crimes, we still must understand that this physical life we have is not the end of life or seeing our loved ones, our dead family members, or people we care about and love. The afterlife is another component of Christianity, and victims should not forget that component of our lives. Staying in the present is important in life in moving forward and time s does removed past grief. Seeing our perpetrators receive forgiveness may bring up anger, resentment, but all negative emotions and feelings created moments which we may regret in this life and after. If we are really Christians and care for our fellow human, forgiveness is a must .The government and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews must retract his words

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/05/11/f-background-pardons.html#socialcomments-submit#ixzz0nizIIRUh

A remnder of what we must do to change the status qo, reprinted

"...To change the stereotyping, the cultural norms of two centuries is going to take more than school board recommendations and passage of levies or school board orders, it is going to take two to three generations of re-educating of the ruling classes children, and the restructuring of the educational, cultural, and political apparatuses of North America and any euro-colonial country affected by colonialism. It is going to take a re-education of the masses who strive on the sports competitions, and the audience participation jingles. It is going to take time and the disruption of sported related industries and the elimination of mascot related sports games and themes. It is going to take a total elimination of two centuries of colonial history and the re-education of the masses. Regardless of the rebuttals against changing the mascot's image or name, these moronic culture opinionators will never see beyond their point of view because of how invisible, the notion of ingrained systemic racism is embedded in the subconscious realm of popular culture literacy and how one sees what is normal or a way of life in this world. Not until we have a total disruption of the North American way of life will we see change or have an understanding of the old world view of colonialism and all its entrapments and entitlements...."

CBC News - North - Yukoner's cell 'not habitable,' inquest hears

See link below with respect to my response to this injustice:

The RCMP is a racist institution who hire racist people, who have no regard for Canad'a first people due to ther cultural, political and educational and economic upbringing,. What does that say for Canada as a society? THE RCMP should be dissolved and these people charged with criminal charges. Back me up and pass this around. It si time now to bring some accountablility to the actions of this Racist organization



CBC News - North - Yukoner's cell 'not habitable,' inquest hears

Film, Video, Media transference and Convergence, From Analogue to Digital to Podcasts

CHAPTER ONE:
30 years of Learning about Film, Video, Media transference and Convergence, From Analogue to Digital to Podcasts, My Observations. Based on my current Web stream of Take It Easy When You Talk About Me"

 

Sometime ago, an artist approached me about web streams and pod casts, and the availability of them on the Internet. Digital filmmaking since 1992, I have seen many changes in filmmaking, digital media, and I know I have still so much more to learn.  Digital Media is a complex web of variations, formats, and converging technologies to create the moving image.  Capturing the digital or analogue sound and image varies in according to the technology and capital available to create moving pictures; but more so depends on the creative applications of the filmmaker, visual artist, or amateur working with such technologies.

 

I prefer Arriflex 16mm camera, but today the digital  camera surpasses the availability of such technology, and the immediacy of seeing and using moving pictures surpasses the desire to use "film " today. However upon using film ; how does one transfer 16mm images off the celluloid and 1/4 inch sound off the niagra sound recorder in sync or non-sync applications?. (That is another problem I will mention later.) 

 
 

The filmic way in my younger days at the SFU Film Workshop consisted of re-photographing the image off walls, bed sheets in makeshift studios, or special front screen re-photography screens based at the SFU mountain basement library studio. It may not exist anymore, an old 3/4 TV studio in the basement of the library building at SFU mountain in Burnaby, BC. That was where we (Peter Webb and I) filmed the 16mm Re-photography scenes of "Take It Easy When You Talk about Me". See the slightly altered version of "Take It Easy When You Talk about Me" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKhycWMXScM; my 3rd year 16mm film collaboration with former alumni of those classes. Directed by Peter Webb,

It was learning collaborative on my part as I did not agree with some of his choices on audio usage, but overall, I enjoyed co-creating this short dual screen narrative because of the collaborative script based on the Native Scientist and his petrogyphs experiences. Important was learning about cultural protocol with actor (Buffalo child) and other research in first nation's cultural history. We created two 16mm reels and one 16mm audio track.

The audio track was synced to the right screen of the scientist working in the field when he encounters something strange. We then bring in the left screen with the accompanying narrative to the story. Sound was synced up on an old Steinbeck Editing table. I remember many "B" roll excursions thru Vancouver to film what we needed and as well helping record one "Native" protest of the time for the film, that sound recording involved Michael Playfair recording a protest against Fletcher Challenger Corporation and he recorded words from the protest speech by the late Joe Mathias which the director included in the film. I cannot remember if I was there for the recording, I think I was, someone will have to remind me, who was there. It was a protest at the Canada Place Hotel Complex on the waterfront.

 

Nevertheless, Getting TIEWYTAM to YouTube today was different to what we had to do to get TIEWYTAM on video side by side. After we graduated I remember Peter and I booked time with the SFU Video Communications Lab, where he had friends. We brought our finished edited work print films to the techies and they telecined each edited film roll it to ¾ video tape. Telecine is a method of projecting the film image through a prism device apparatuses to record the image onto video. Frame ratio was a problem as film was 24 frames a second and video was 30 frames a second. Flickering was problematic and today such problems are resolved with existing technologies.

 

 

Onward, we had the techies as well transferred the audio to video and then we used a TV switcher to compose the two video images side by side, inserted and synced up the audio track to the sync beep and voila! Peter gave me a ½ inch vhs copy of the film of which some of the VHS was creased, so I edited it out; that is why the ending of the film is slightly off. The VHS copy sat in my library for years as a personal record of my work, I showed it to old friends like Lenard Fisher (pictured far right) but it was not till 2005, when Wendy Nahanee asked if I could show some work at the 2005 Heart of the City Festival aboriginal film night that I digitize the 16mm dual screen narrative short.

After years of desktop video editing thru my old Amiga 2000 Commodore computer and S-VHS equipment, I accumulated miles of S-VHS, Hi-8 and VHS footage for my film 7 Fires 4 U...Kitchi Manitou, I haven't even shot any 16mm film yet. I finally had funds release in 2000 and I filmed 16mm footage out of the "timely" script. I had the 2000 16mm footage telecined to video. Darryl Bird offered to edit a promo of the shot 16mm footage and existing video archives of the 7 Fires project. His promo is now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHnY1e-uV8s

 

 

 

With the completion of the promo, I re-applied to Canada Council for the arts for further funding. 2,001, I received further funding to shoot the 7 fires project. After discussions with fellow artists, computer consultants, I upgraded my desktop video system to digital media. I secured a windows system with Adobe Premiere editing software, Matrox video hardware, and other video editing software. I remember sitting at the computer for at least a month trying o figure out how digital filmmaking worked.

 

 

 

 

Connecting the wires was not a problem, RCA composite connectors, S-Vhs connectors and BNC connectors all fine, it was the compression rate, or no compression, but as well as usage of the fire wire. Getting the Hi-8, VHS, and S-VHS footage into to the computer at the proper compression ratio was problematic and involved trial and error methods of operation. I settled on combining old and new technologies together to achieve my own sense of satisfaction. I connected my Analogue video technologies to the video/audio input of a mini-DV Camera and went thru the menu section to output the video data coming thru the RCA v/a connectors and S-VHS connector thru the fire wire to the Adobe Premiere Capture window.

 

Upon capture the video data thru the fire at a rate acceptable to me I saved my film and clicked on the captured data in the browser window. Sound and Image show up in a separate window and I clicked play. Seeing the "film" image on the computer was amazing.

 

 

After setting in and out points, I dragged the avi file to the timeline, adjusted in and out points to fade in and outs, added smpte countdown, black video and exported the file as a "movie" file in DV avi. Upon completion of export, I opened up the file in QuickTime Pro and exported the avi file for 'web". Finished exports involved formats for podcasts and webcasts. 3GPP audio/video and Mp4 video for webcasts and pod casts. Ready for mass distribution on the net thru zshare, YouTube, Digital Drum or MySpace.

 

Closing this chapter, I recently recaptured the VHS copy of TIEWYTAM and the "Dazzle " Capture device practically eliminated those creases in the capture, so that was great, and I will have the new version of "Take It Easy When You Talk About Me". On the net soon. Thanks for visiting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald Morin, BA Filmmaker/Digital Artist

CBC News - World - U.S. woman returns adopted son to Russia#socialcomments-submit#socialcomments-submit

I wrote this earlier on CBC regarding the poor Russian Boy rejected by his foster mother,

"Torry Hansen of Shelbyville, Tenn: You are a disgusting person who will be punished severely for your callous actions to this poor vulnerable child. IT is absolutely awful to see that there are people like you in this world. I hope your punishment after t his life is so serve that the evil minions punishing you will yell at you, swear at you, and pull your hair for eternity."


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/04/09/russia-adoption-tennessee.html#socialcomments#ixzz0keLQBPvA


I was angry, Very Sad, but God Bless that littel boy Artyom Savelyev; HAng in there young fellow, I was like you, but trusting God, he saved my very soul. See you soon in life

Donald:
FOR Artyom Savelyev:

I apologize for being so judgmental. I was angry, I saw the picture of the child, I was adopted as a foster child, and had a tormentious existence from child to man. Demons have haunted me, my vices, and my own self damnation for who I was, who I am, and who I can be today. I could have taken my way out if it was not for our Creator. After finding out about my sixteen foster homes of hell from age 1 to 4, then systemic colonial ideals as a child growing up in redneck Alberta, I moved to Salish territory at 24 because here in AB, they expected NDNs to remain in jail or dead. 29 years later I am back to Cree territory, and nothing has changed when it comes to how people treat people or children, and we are the losers of the grand picture of life. God forgive all of us in these days of judgments’, and God help this child, and the child in all of us, so we can start each day without shame. As I am ashamed today. Yes, the woman did wrong, but who I am to judge without knowing all the facts, I read the letter, I was an unstable child, screwed up for years, but through the patience of my last foster parents, I found some tracks to follow. Yet, I know I have so much more work to do, B4 I sleep, miles to go B4 I wake, remembering Robert Frost.






CBC News - World - U.S. woman returns adopted son to Russia#socialcomments-submit#socialcomments-submit