Chief Spence: A Peaceful Protest

Posted on January 17, 2013 by South Wind

Indeed, we are living in extraordinary times. The wonders in solidarity unfolding before us have created an energy in the First Nations that will stay with us until death. Our souls sing with joy. There is no turning back. The demands and expectations of the grassroots people must be met. And it will be done in a non-violent way.

Chief Spence has, from the beginning of it, declared the stand she is taking to be a peaceful protest. The human heart knows that peace is what will always work best. A friend of mine said this after hearing one of the chiefs talk of “warriors” being at the ready, “The moose hunter who walks through the forest making a lot of noise will never bag a moose.” I see the wisdom of her words.

A galaxy of tears of pride have been shed by our Peoples because of Chief Spence’s dedication and commitment to the Idle No More cause. The dishonourable and the hate mongers among us are on the run. The pride of the First Nations is something people who promote hate will never comprehend. It makes them afraid. In the depths of their subconsciousness they believe the First Nations are not even entitled to have pride in their hearts. The problem would be quickly solved if the people who despise the First Nations would just pack up their bags and return to the lands their forefathers left, however long ago that was. Finally they would not have an “Indian Problem” to worry about. They would be happy about that and I for one would dance till dawn in celebration of their departure.

The wind has a different taste to it since the brave Chief began her fast. It is strong in a spiritual sense. I breathe it every day and I find myself getting more and more emotional each time I fill my lungs with it, such is its power. The great falls at Victoria Island and the grand river of the Algonquins bless the Chief and all her supporters who work and pray to keep her strong.

I wonder how it ever happened that in a rich country like Canada, the Indigenous Peoples were beaten down like a deranged man might beat a dog. The Residential Schools that our people called “The places where children go to die”, the broken and dishonoured treaties, the propaganda campaigns against us, why did they occur? How can any Canadian be proud of a country guilty of such inhumanity towards their fellow citizens? Why can’t they bring themselves to fix what Canadians of the past broke? Is it not their duty?

The vileness and dishonour of Canada’s past is being exposed to the world. But still the evil continues today. Never again will Canada fool anyone with their cries of “shame” as they point to other countries guilty of human rights violations. The world is watching. The grassroots will not back down. It will all end in one of two ways, with honour at last, or with further oppression of the First Nations at the hands of Canadians. If it is the former rather than the latter which wins the day, Canada will truly be the greatest country on planet earth. And all Canadians will be better off.

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Chief Spence “Discredited”? Not by a Long Shot!

Posted on January 12, 2013 by South Wind

Can a sacred fire be discredited? Can a grandfather rock resting in the centre of the purification lodge be discredited? We honour these things and are humbled in their presence. Chief Spence can no more be discredited than can a moon signalling the arrival of great changes about to take place on the land. Because of her fast, change will occur and nothing will stop it. She is peaceful. She will not allow the hatred so many Canadians have for our people to slow her down.

Ed Azure, an Elder from Northern Manitoba in the “Mother Theresa Caravan“, who had travelled nonstop for over 40 hours with 15 other supporters of Chief Spence, shared a teaching at the sacred fire on Victoria Island. This is what he said as I remember it:

“When we make a commitment or a promise which is meant to be everlasting, we say, ‘This will be done for as long as the waters flow’. The waters of which we are speaking are not the waters of the mighty rivers of our territories. The waters we are referring to are the waters which flow when our generations are born. It is for their benefit and well-being that the commitment or promise is made. For however long the women of the First Peoples are giving birth, the promise we made on their behalf will be kept. It is a sacred obligation that is impossible to break without bringing harm to yourself in the spiritual realm.”

Ed also shared that Chief Theresa Spence in the teepee was giving birth to something that would restore pride and a strong sense of identity again to all our peoples.

Albert, Julie, and Chief Spence. 9 Jan 2013.

Chief Spence discredited? Not by a long shot! People who support her stand against the Government of Canada, and still write poetry in her honour. A young woman (Julie Comber) shown in the photo with Chief Spence and myself sang a song of appreciation she wrote for the Chief. The people who try to discredit Chief Spence, has anyone ever written an honour song for them? People who hate us have discredited her in their minds alone. It is no loss; they never credited her for anything good in the first place.

Let us promise now to stand with Chief Spence and women like her and follow their lead, for as long as the waters flow, for as long as the waters flow, for as long as the waters flow, for as long as the waters flow, for all of the coming seasons, for each moon the future will bring, we will stand in support of our women and follow the strongest of the strong among them.

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Does a Hate Monger Know Anything About Honour?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by South Wind

An emotionally half-baked colonizer suffering from “Am Superior To – You” (AST-Y), a nasty virus now plaguing Canada in epidemic proportions recently said, “It´s time to dismantle the Indian Act and to do away with Indian reserves”. He advised that Northern reserves “with no economy” be “razed” and the people living there go south. This guy had all the answers for what should be done with us brainless “Indians”. AST-Y had him in a death-grip, poor fellow.

Parliament Hill from Camp Spence 9 Jan 2013

View of Parliament Hill from Camp Spence on Victoria Island. Will PM Harper listen and act honourably on Friday 11 Jan? Photo: ©juliecomber.com

You might as well expect the trees of our territories to pull themselves free of the earth and then walk on their roots to where the government of Canada wills them to go, as to expect the same from peoples who have lived in their territories since time immemorial. Like the trees we were placed here by the Creator. No man – white, black or yellow – will ever remove us from the lands we love.

There is a lot of talk right now about the audit recently completed at Attawapiskat and people are expressing their opinions in regards to the report. Hard-hearted colonizers are looking for the nearest lynch rope because of it. But Chief Spence is not a crook.

I wish folks suffering from the AST-Y virus were as interested in putting the original treaty made between the Cree of Attawapiskat and the Crown under their microscopes as they are about scrutinizing the band´s books. It would give them a clear view at last of just how treacherous and dishonourable their governments, past and present, were and are in their dealings with the First Nations.

Most Canadian citizens are unable to even imagine (not that they want to) what it has been like to walk in the moccasins of a First Nations person for the last 150 years. If Canadians want to be genuinely proud of their country, they need to have a pure understanding of the words “treaty” and “honour”, and to know that the definition of these words is what must intertwine with the sacred threads of this country´s soul. Whoever removes honour from a treaty made between nations is nothing less than a pirate and a cut-throat.

It´s as if the thought of finally doing something honourable has driven the hate mongers over the edge. They have scratched the bottom of their filthy bag of tricks but are not able to come up with anything original. So they rehash and recycle the same old racist B.S. their hate mongering ancestors began almost 150 years ago. The only difference is that the hate mongers of the past demanded that the First Nations be placed on reserves. Today, the hate mongers are demanding that the government do away with reserves. When will they make up their minds, or do they even have the ability to do so in areas affecting the First Nations?

I humbly make a request of all decent and honourable Canadians that we stand with Chief Spence in prayer to ask God to remove hatred from the hearts of all peoples living on the ancestral lands of the First Nations.

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Chief Theresa Spence – They Call Her a Terrorist

Posted on January 7, 2013 by South Wind

The Indigenous Peoples of this land are the first of Canada’s founding nations. As Aboriginals we are fortunate that Kichi Manido (God) saw fit to place us here and to trust in us that we would forever be “keepers of the land”, wherever our territories are found in this country.

Flags at Camp Spence, Victoria Island, 5 Jan 2013. Photo: ©juliecomber.com

My heart swells with pride when I see so many decent people come to this country from all other corners of the globe to assist the Aboriginals in bringing health and well-being to all things alive on the land. Millions of people come to prosper and better their lives here, to take a place on the fertile land and to benefit from what the rich resources of the land are able to provide, things such as the best schools and hospitals. These resources that make this country great were not brought here by the Europeans. The resources were already here, and were being cared for by the Indigenous peoples. It is such an awesome country. There never was a settler or colonizer who ever set foot on this continent that did not wish it was their people who had been the first people here. Some people without indigenous blood in their veins envy us so much that they have adopted our identities. They have rejected their own and lift the pipe in ceremony as if they were truly Aboriginal. But this a story for another day.

We are loved by many Canadians because of the fact that it was our gentle breath which was first felt on this continent, by all other life living here. Our steps were soft on the Earth. But way too many Canadians are not happy that we were here before them. They believe we are in the way of progress (or what I call “Development and Destruction”). Instead of honouring and respecting us, they despise us. They want to keep us down and will stop at nothing to do it. Residential schools are a good example.

Canadians who hate us call Chief Spence a terrorist and a crook. And through their severe distortion of the facts they would have you believe she is also a fraud, a phoney and a charlatan. They present her to their followings as a bullheaded woman, refusing the kind and understanding hand of a far too generous government. And the hatred grows against Chief Spence like the snowbanks of winter with each recent view seen or heard by people who need hate in their lives.

The white men who attacked a young First Nations woman in Thunder Bay did so and said so, according to the victim, because of the hatred they have for Aboriginal people. The hate machines of Canada produced a violent attack by cowards against a woman. The hate mongers will deny the part they played in the attack and will sleep the sleep of innocent angels tonight. We can only hope and pray that the hatred being promoted does not bring about greater violence against our women.

There were so many who wanted to visit Chief Spence on Saturday, 5 Jan, that she could not see them all and made an unexpected brief appearance outside to greet people. Photo: ©juliecomber.com

Chief Spence is not a terrorist. Who would look at her and say that she is? A beast with a heart of plastic who has no love for the trees and creeks and hills and no regard for the wellbeing of the generations to come would indeed see her as a terrorist. A man who is terrified at the thought of not having someone he can point to and say, “I am superior to them”, would also see her as a terrorist. These people are terrified of doing something honourable. You figure it out. I cannot. If you do, let me know!

Canadians who do not understand just how precious the waters of our country are and/or feel that they, as white people, are superior to Aboriginals need to search their souls for answers.

Please continue in your prayers for Chief Spence as she gallantly continues her peaceful protest.

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Idle No More and Unity with Our Chiefs

Posted on January 5, 2013 by South Wind

Nina Wilson, Sheelah Mclean, Sylvia McAdam, and Jessica Gordon, in a land where visionaries seem to be as scarce as are lush green pastures during an extended drought, you descended onto and into the hearts and souls of the grassroots people like a rejuvenating, purpose of life, invigorating rain. And look at what you have grown! The crops of pride in oneself for being of Indigenous blood and of being an agent for activism and peaceful protest have sprouted to life and are flourishing coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. You did it, hurrah! History will note it and we, the grassroots people, will never forget you for it.

Idle No More has shaken up the chiefs. Our leaders who slept with eyes wide shut on the job, have had the ice water of reality thrown in their faces by the Idle No More movement. Whether they are chiefs of small impoverished bands, or lead one of Canada’s rare wealthy bands, the chiefs have been put on notice by the grassroots and have been told to “shape up or ship out”. Fair warning has been given. What supporter of Idle No More did not believe that a major reason for this movement being founded was to force our chiefs to act courageously and wisely on our behalf? After all, the chiefs are our recognized leaders and like it or not, it is the chiefs who are going to be in direct negotiations with the Prime Minister and government officials at bargaining sessions in the future. Like most other grassroots individuals, I am an “everyday person”. But what credentials do I, or most other grassroots people possess that would qualify any of us to negotiate treaty rights for the communities of today and for the generations of tomorrow? I would prefer to leave such complex negotiations to our duly elected chiefs, the strongest of the strong, like Chief Theresa Spence.

Albert with Chief Spence, 2 Jan 2013. Photo: ©juliecomber.com

I was privileged once again, 2 January 2013, to speak with Chief Spence. She spoke of the importance of unity. Listening to her, I was reminded of a memory of when I was serving as a firekeeper and the fire spoke to me about what is gained by being unified and of what is lost when division occurs. The fire told me this: “Only when the sticks of wood touch each other will a fire have a definite purpose. The fire can then do what is necessary to bring security and comfort for all who gather around it for that purpose. When the burning logs are pushed apart, the flames will cease to be seen. Alone, the logs without the touch of other sticks of wood will only smolder for a short while before expiring, leaving smoke behind to blur the people’s vision of something which had once been great.”

Chief Spence said that love and unity are the answer to all the world’s misery. She added: “Without unity, we won’t get past the poverty we find in our communities now.”

Chief Spence was calm, her physical energy level is low. But still, the teepee where she is making her stand pulses with the strength of her spirit. Her sense of what is just for all the First Peoples of this country is greater than mine, or yours or the Prime Minister’s. There is no doubt that all who have sat with Chief Spence in the teepee have felt it, and are in awe of it.

Division has cost us too much already. Need proof? Take a long hard look at our impoverished communities. Do you not see it?

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Have an Honourable New Year

Posted on January 1, 2013 by South Wind

Happiness – who in their right mind does not want it? Chief Theresa Spence certainly does. She is willing to absorb a lot of pain and misery, to the point of placing her life at risk so prolonged happiness could be known, not only for her own community, but also for all the Indigenous Peoples in Canada. If you desire proof of Chief Spence’s commitment to our happiness, check out the teepee on Victoria Island. She is making her stand against tyranny in it, growing weaker with each passing hour. Her body is slowly deteriorating because this brave chief has been refusing solid food for more than three weeks now.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our wish to one another (politicians included) at this time of the year was to “Have an Honourable New Year”? I will not be making promises or resolving to do things better on New Year’s Day. When someone asks me in 2013, “Do you want your potatoes fried, mashed, or baked?” my answer will be “fried, of course!” When it comes to potatoes I’m weak. But potatoes are only potatoes and if I consume a bit more French Fries than is physically good for me, so what? I will not be infringing on another person’s human rights by doing so. Fried potatoes are fried potatoes, human rights are human rights and basic human rights are a birthright of all human beings, wherever they are found on this planet. I may be weak in the area of fried potatoes but I am now and forever will be strong in the defence of human rights of human beings (politicians included) wherever violations of their rights are occurring.

Courage – it is one of our seven grandfather teachings. Do we need to be courageous to fight for the human rights of others when we see abuse and neglect of a human being taking place? No, of course not. It is natural for a human being to fight against human rights violations and unnatural, dumb, cowardly and against God, not to. Ask Chief Theresa Spence if it was courage which pushed her to make a stand. As an Anishinabe Kwe, courage is a trait Kichi Manido (God) instilled in her before she even left her mother’s womb. The fact is, the Harper government pushed her over the line. She has had enough of seeing her community in their resource-rich ancestral lands living in dire straits and is doing what she feels she has to do to put a stop to it. Her protest is an honourable one. It is a peaceful one and it is a noble one.

Let us all vow to be honourable in 2013. We all should at least make an effort to do so (politicians included).

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert  “South Wind” Dumont

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Chief Theresa Spence – The Eagle

Posted on December 30, 2012 by South Wind

All eagles are messengers of Kichi Manido, none among them is more blessed by the touch of God than is the next. All are equally sacred. We welcome their presence at our ceremonies and draw strength and comfort for ourselves when holding even a single feather from this bird who soars the highest and sees the furthest. The eagle is our special guide. Without the eagle, it would be more probable that we would lose our way.

Albert with Patrick Etherington after meeting Chief Spence, 29 Dec 2012. Photo: ©juliecomber.com

There are courageous people, too, who sacrifice of themselves in the name of our future generations. Let us heap praise and honour on them, for they are far too few in number. Such human beings were plentiful in our territories long ago. Where did they disappear to? Lost perhaps, within the cruelly oppressive walls of the Residential Schools Canada forced many of our children to attend. Many who would have become great leaders were also felled in the emotional realm, by any number of the laws legislated by successive Canadian governments to eradicate our identities from our own lands. Outlawing of our spiritual beliefs and not allowing us the right to vote, to name just two examples. Because of what Canada did, we find today that the light which was a strong bold leader has been greatly diminished.

But a flickering of light in a place of darkness has become a grand flame. A fire we will forever remember as the one we gathered around to guide our path at a time of great change for our people.

Theresa Spence is a chief with real courage. She is not afraid of the government of Canada. She is willing to sacrifice her life, if need be, so future generations of her people will find their rightful places in the decision-making processes of all areas that impact the First Nations of this land.

Because of Chief Theresa Spence, the gauge measuring what the community will expect from one who accepts a chieftainship has been elevated to a great degree. The weak and lazy leaders will disappear one by one. The strong and true will take over and follow in the noble footsteps of Chief Theresa Spence. Like the eagle, she guides our way.

The short moments I visited with Chief Theresa Spence are moments I will recall in the future, at times when I seek the inspiration and strength necessary to fight courageously against human rights violations, wherever they occur in my ancestral lands.

Chief Theresa Spence does not sit on a white horse with a sabre raised skyward while shouting a battle charge. Nor can she take on villains 20 at a time, with bone cracking fancy kicks and chops. She is gentle and soft spoken. Her heart is full of compassion for anyone anywhere who lives in misery brought down on them by dishonourable and spiritless colonizers who are so greedy they cannot bring themselves to share the riches they reap from indigenous territories.

Chief Spence, even though physically weak and unsteady from her ordeal, honoured me with strong words of encouragement, and with gifts she wants me to use in my work with our brothers incarcerated in this country’s prison system. Some of the men I work with have lost their way because of traumatic Residential School experiences or had parents or grandparents who, because of neglect and abuse at the schools, did not learn proper parenting skills. Chief Spence prays for the successful rehabilitation of these men and presented me with an eagle wing, an eagle feather and a blanket among other sacred objects, strong in medicine for anyone seeking healing and a crime-free lifestyle.

Chief Theresa Spence is a role model and a hero. She stands in defense of non-violent communication. She will not cower nor will her commitment to our future generations be slowed. The pride I have always had at being of First Nations blood has grown past any point I ever thought possible and it is because of this brave Cree woman. God bless Chief Theresa Spence.

Keep the Circle Strong,

Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Hate Literature

Posted on December 28, 2012 by South Wind

“Perhaps it’s time to pack up both Attawapiskat and Kashechewan, and raze both communities on the way out.”

The above is a direct quote from an editorial which appeared in the Ottawa Sun on 27 Dec 2012. If ever you needed proof that the Government of Canada and one-sided media outlets persist in presenting a derogatory view of Aboriginals, assuring most Canadians will stay ignorant and out of touch with what the facts are, then look no further than the aforementioned editorial. A disgusting piece of work. Decent people want a country where hate literature is outlawed. These laws certainly are not applied when hate mongers are on the attack against the First Nations. Canada’s hate laws? Just a lot of smoke and mirrors. A very sad joke.

Day 17 of her hunger strike, Chief Theresa Spence is surrounded by caring helpers. Photo: ©juliecomber.com

The fact is that Canada mislead the Cree at the time agreements were made with them. Some treaties were negotiated in one day. The Cree signed documents they could not even read and trusted the word of monsters like Duncan Campbell Scott and others. How many times have the agreements the Cree made with the Crown been breached by Canada? The figure is into the thousands. It is not the time to “move everyone south to locales and climes where hell doesn’t freeze over”, as the Sun article suggests. It is the time for a treaty with the Cree to be renegotiated. It is a time for Canada to finally do what is honourable.

As for “razing” Kashechewan and Attawapiskat – do not dare to try it. The small parcels of land known as reserves are the only land base the Cree have left of their once vast territory. They will never leave their territories where they have lived since time immemorial. The First Nations love their home communities every bit as much as an Israeli Jew loves Israel. Ask the Israelis if it would be OK with them to have the Sun’s editorial board head to the Middle East with the intention of “razing” Israel. Ask the Israelis how hard they would fight you if you dared to try. Their answers are our answers. Canada, can you just do what is honourable?

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont.

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Spirituality

Posted on December 25, 2012 by South Wind

The interfaith group I was part of for a year and a half is still going strong. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Sikh and most other faith groups were represented at our monthly meetings. The faith leaders were all of sweet and gentle dispositions and I enjoyed my time with them. It was interesting and wonderful to learn something about the religious beliefs of human beings whose relatives had come from afar to live and prosper in the ancestral homeland of the Algonquin People.

I asked the faith leaders at one of our monthly meetings if they had ever spoken in their houses of worship about the fact that the great City of Ottawa was/is built on lands stolen from the Algonquin people. If any of the faith leaders had indeed mentioned this to their followers, they did not admit to it that day. Why they would not clearly explain to their congregation how it came to be that this territory went from being under the care and stewardship of the Algonquins into the control and development of Europeans is something that does not spiritually register with me. It also puzzled me that most of the faith leaders seemed to be very much at peace spiritually, with living and prospering on stolen land. I believe that by doing so without offering any words of appreciation and acknowledgement to this territory’s first inhabitants is against God’s direction, is this not so? I would think it is the duty of the faith leader, whoever it might be, to demand that governments treat the original inhabitants of this country with fairness and respect at all times. Do we not deserve it? The resources which make this country the richest in the world are resources incessantly stolen from our homelands. Any faith leaders who refuse to open their eyes to this fact should be ashamed of themselves. After all, it is God they have vowed to love and promised to do work as best they can in “His” likeness, not the devil’s.

The government of Canada and most Canadians do not want their faith leaders to ever speak or even to whisper anything about the past and present injustices against the First Nations. The faith leaders oblige Canada and say nothing, believing that by doing so they prove themselves to be honorable and good citizens. With this inaction, they make the grave mistake of selling their souls to Canada. As much as I care about Canada, I will never give her my soul. My heart perhaps, but my soul, never.

Wisdom – it is one of our Grandfather Teachings. With wisdom at the forefront of our decision making processes we can separate what is “sense” from what is “nonsense”. Would a “wise” man offer gold (money) as a gift to a newborn baby? What need would a baby have for gold? Gold is not capable of loving the child nor does it have a breast from which the baby can draw a life giving sustenance. A baby knows nothing of money and neither does the God I believe in. When the end of my life is at hand, let my soul be taken to a place where technology does not exist and where money is unheard of. This is my daily prayer to Kichi Manido.

Before money came into existence, all the lands on Mother Earth provided for all human beings wherever they were living on this planet. The land produced all things necessary to feed, clothe and house all of humankind. Fresh water was everywhere. Human beings wanted for nothing. But then money appeared and everything changed. Lands were raped of their resources and misery and starvation became common for all the Indigenous Peoples living the world over.

Wherever there is money, there will also be ruthless gangsters, warlords and greedy people who will do what they feel necessary to amass it and they will hurt you severely and without conscience if you try and stop them. Thank you, God, for keeping money and people who sell out their souls for it away from the world I wish to go to after death claims me.

For sure, the world we have created here and now dictates that money is necessary. But we make a mistake of great spiritual consequence when we place concerns of money before the health of our souls and before the health of the waters, the winds and all life placed on Mother Earth by Kichi Manido.

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont

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Idle No More

Posted on December 23, 2012 by South Wind

Five years ago, after reading a newspaper article I had given him, a male friend of First Nations ancestry laid it down and said, “Someone should do something about that”. But he had a busy life and had much to do on that day and off he went into the windowless corridors of his hectic world, without commenting further on the newspaper article I’d wanted his opinion on.

The derogatory view submitted in the paper I had drawn my friend’s attention to was one that far too many Canadians are OK with. They swallow what poisons their souls because they choose to do so. The column told readers (yet again) what a useless lot the Aboriginal Peoples of this land are. The writer described the Aboriginals (my ancestors) that Europeans “found” in these parts at the time of contact as a people who could be described as nothing more than Neanderthals “with stone axes”.

Such writings warm the little hearts of our racist politicians. The hateful columns in the papers motivate the lawmakers to toy with our lives in whatever manner they want to without consultation. And the average Canadian doesn’t give a damn.

The article did not surprise or shock me. It seems to me that the majority of syndicated general opinion writers featured in any of the newspaper chains in Canada have, at one time or another in their careers, with their pens, delivered vicious kicks at the Aboriginal populations of Canada. I, as a daily reader of several newspapers, have read many hundreds of such opinions over the years.

So I was not surprised that day five years ago to see another hateful view of Aboriginals in the paper. What did surprise and shock me was the ‘devil may care’ non-committal acceptance of it by my friend of First Nations ancestry. “Someone should do something about that,” he had said. Yes “someone” should, but who? Not him, he was much too busy to find the time for such petty endeavors as ridding this land of racism and oppression. We always wait for “someone” else to do what the future generations of Indigenous Peoples expect “us” to do today.

Hundreds of people on the Hill at Idle No More, 21 Dec 2012. Photo credit: juliecomber.com

Well my friends, that “someone” has come along at last, in the form of a handful of First Nations women, who have shaken our people awake with their recent actions. The women who founded the “Idle No More” movement and Chief Spence who is willing to die if need be to protect our rights. These women deserve the grandest of honour songs to be sung for them.

They humble me. I swear, these are the kind of women I want as role models for my daughters and granddaughters. With strong women leading us, it will not be long before we, the First Nations, take our rightful place in all areas of governance of this country. Canada will benefit, as will we.

I, as a man, promise to be “Idle No More”. And I make a vow to stand alongside the strong Aboriginal women of this country. They can count on me to defend them and to support them in any way I can. They are truly awesome women.

Keep the Circle Strong,
Albert “South Wind” Dumont

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