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When I was five I was put on a bus

and sent to Catholic school

not unlike my mother who was five

when she was put on a train

and sent to residential school,

both feeling that gut feeling

that this was not going to be

a place we would like.

My parents told

my older sister

to watch over me

but she had long ago

grown to not like me,

let alone protect me.

As we waited to go in

that first morning

a group of boys decided

they did not like my brown skin

The biggest of them came at me

but I was prepared

as I had already been beaten up

when I was four, again

because of the colour of my skin.

So the big kid and I scrapped

and soon the sisters were on us.

We were sent down the hall

as all the other kids

and their glorious uniforms

went down into the classrooms

to begin their first day.

The big kid and I were told

to stand against a brick wall

and the main Sister Superior

of all the sisters told us

if we wished to punch,

then punch the wall.

So we did.

As my five-year-old fists

smashed against the wall

and soon blood formed on

my knuckles and the Superior

smiled and praised the Lord.

She told us that was enough

and I kept swinging

as the big boy cried

and said he was sorry. But I wasn't.

The sister again told me to stop

and I threw one more punch

at the wall for her and one more

for Christ who the whole time

stared down from his cross.

And that was the first day

of my time with the Lord.

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When I was five I was put on a bus and sent to Catholic school not unlike my mother who was five when she was put on a train and sent to residential school, both feeling that gut feeling that this was not going to be a place we would like.

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The following works that I have selected for my mixtape are very influential and educational pieces. It is a great representation on Indigenous communities and people, as well as being able to listen to their stories. I chose the painting “Still Dancing” by Johnathon Labillois because of its representation to lost Indigenous lives and the awareness that it brings to the public. Autumn Peltier, a 12-year-old activist is involved in this mixtape because of her influence on others and her passion to making a change. I also chose the poem “The First Day” by Joseph Dandurand because of his discussion on racism and the negative effects of it. Lastly, I chose the photo “This Is Indian Land” by Stan Williams because of the powerful message that provides to the public. My mixtape allows these Indigenous people to share their stories, as well as demonstrates the beautiful creativity of the Indigenous culture.

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In January of 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police moved in on blockades set up by members of the Wet'swet'en Nation to protect the unceded lands from destructive pipeline construction. Members of the Wet'swet'en community in British Columbia were protesting the B.C. Supreme Court injunction to allow pipeline workers through two checkpoints, and were met with violence and brutal policing.

In solidarity, rallies were organized throughout several communities on Turtle Island, also known as Canada. With his camera, Stan Williams was able to capture the strength and collective resistance demonstrated in the streets of Tkaronto (the Mohawk origin of the toponym "Toronto").

Williams, who is Mohawk and Anishinaabe, is a photographer who works in Tkaronto, Six Nations, Grand River, and Garden River First Nations. His upcoming exhibit, "This is Indian Land," highlights the front-line struggles and expressions of self-determination in Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island. The exhibition will be part of the upcoming CONTACT Photography Festival in May.

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Photographer of "This is Indian Land" uses images to drive forward a revocation of colonialism in Canada - Photographers Without Borders

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In January of 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police moved in on blockades set up by members of the Wet'swet'en Nation to protect the unceded lands from destructive pipeline construction. Members of the Wet'swet'en community in British Columbia were protesting the B.C. Supreme Court injunction to a

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https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/i-am-indigenous-2017/peltier.html

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Even at the tender age of 12, Autumn Peltier speaks with the wisdom of someone much older.

"I'm going to be an ancestor one day," says Peltier, from her home in Wikwemikong First Nation in northern Ontario. "I'm still going to have great-grandchildren on this land and I hope they are still able to drink the water."

Despite her youth, Peltier is already a veteran activist when it comes to the issue of clean drinking water - not just in First Nations communities, but across the country.

"I do what I do for the water because water is sacred," says Peltier, who was honoured by the Assembly of First Nations as a water protector.

Since water doesn't have a voice, Peltier says she wants to lend hers to the cause. Even if that means taking on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as she did last December at the AFN's annual winter gathering.

"I am from this land. My ancestors are buried here on this land. This land is our land and it's part of me and part of everything I am and everything I do."

Peltier was chosen to present a gift - a traditional water bundle - to Trudeau at the event. She had a speech prepared, but when she began thinking about the government's decision to approve Kinder Morgan's expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, she began to cry.

She says told Trudeau: "I'm not happy with the decisions you've made for my people."

"I understand that," she says the Prime Minister told her.

For Peltier, protecting the water is very personal: It's part of what it means to be Indigenous.

"I am from this land," she says. "My ancestors are buried here on this land. This land is our land and it's part of me and part of everything I am and everything I do."

Peltier explains the unique relationship between women, as the givers of life, and the importance water plays in sustaining all life.

"Women are sacred vessels. They carry the water for nine months while babies are in the womb and so we all come from that sacred water," she says.

"We all need water. We wouldn't be able to live without water. Nothing would."

Her inspiration is her aunt, Josephine Mandamin, who has walked the shorelines of all five Great Lakes and is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.

Peltier says she has mixed emotions around the Canada 150 celebrations.

On the one hand, she has relatives who served in both World Wars and is proud to live in the safe, free country they helped build.

At the same time, however, she is also aware of the toll those years have taken on Indigenous people.

"We lost some of our ways, we lost our language, we suffered the impacts of residential school," says Peltier.

"My people should be celebrating resilience because we are still here and we survived the whole time."

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Autumn Peltier, 12, has been honoured as a water protector by the AFN. She is passionate about fighting for the environment - especially when it comes to issues of clean water.

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The First Day. “Joseph Dandurand.” Poetry In Voice, poetryinvoice.ca/read/poets/joseph-dandurand. Accessed 27 July 2023.

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Jonlabillois.Com, jonlabillois.com/product/still-dancing-2. Accessed 26 July 2023.

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User, Guest. “Photographer of ‘This Is Indian Land’ Uses Images to Drive Forward a Revocation of Colonialism in Canada.” Photographers Without Borders, 9 June 2022, www.photographerswithoutborders.org/online-magazine/photographer-of-this-is-indian-land-uses-images-to-drive-forward-a-revocation-of-canadian-colonialism.

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“Autumn Peltier.” CBCnews, www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/i-am-indigenous-2017/peltier.html. Accessed 27 July 2023.

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I chose the poem “The First Day” by Joseph Dandurand of the Kwantlen First Nation to include in my mixtape because it addresses the topic of racism and the negative effects it has on a person. At the beginning of the poem, Dandurand addresses that he was sent to a catholic school at five years old, in which he ultimately knew he wasn’t going to like. In this school, he was bullied and beat up for the colour of his brown skin by a group of boys; “As we waited to go in that first morning, a group of boys decided they did not like my brown skin” (Dandurand). That line is a representation of the injustice manners that Indigenous people lived with. Dandurand was very young in this moment, and he was already experiencing discrimination due to his native culture and the colour of his skin. He was then told by the Superior Sister to let out all of his anger by punching a wall, and Dandurand followed her instructions. He released out all his built-up anger and punched the wall as hard as he could until there was blood dripping from his knuckles. Dandurand was only five years old, and the amount of hatred and anger that was inside this little boy shows how horrible the effects of racism are. Without doubt, I believe racism is the worst possible issue in our world today. This poem is a perfect example of how damaging racism can be for a person, and even worse for a child in Dandurands case. When a child is opened up this type of hatred towards them, it sticks with them for the rest of their lives. This poem spreads awareness about the negative effects of racism and can hopefully educate the public to better understand the effects your words can have on a person.

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I chose the painting “Still Dancing” also known as “Missing and Murdered” by Johnathon Labillois of the Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation to include in my mixtape because of its representation of lost Indigenous lives and the awareness for this issue it provides. In the painting, the artist put together a collage of the missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. In 2014, violence began to impose on Indigenous women, and the police provided no assistance or acknowledgement to help with this issue. The goal of making this painting was to donate it to the Montreal Native Women’s Shelter to raise awareness of this issue, hoping to educate the public. This is such a beneficial way to raise awareness because it shows the amount of Indigenous women impacted by this issue, as well as spreading information about the dark side of Canada. Labillois hopes that by sharing this painting with the public, it would bring this issue to minds of many people, and hope that none of these murdered Indigenous sisters, mothers, aunts or daughters be forgotten. Overall, this painting provides a strong message by educating the public about Indigenous issues that are still relevant in Canada.

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I chose the photo “This is Indian Land” by Stan Williams of the Mohawk and Anishinaabe First Nation to include in my mixtape because of the powerful message it provides, and the awareness of Indigenous issues happening in Canada. Williams took this photo to highlight the front-line struggles and expressions of self-determination in Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island. In 2019, Canadian police moved in on blockades that were originally protected by the First Nation community living on Turtle Island. This action resulted in violence and police brutality. Rallies and protests were organized throughout several communities on Turtle Island, and this was captured by William’s camera. In this photo, there is a young Indigenous girl standing in front of a large “This Is Indian Land” sign, claiming that she is trying to get her land back. I believe that this photo is so powerful because it educates the public on what is happening in Canada, and how Indigenous people are still being discriminated. The girl in the photo is also filled with so much emotion, giving off a visual of strength and determination.

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I chose the Activist Autumn Peltier of the Ojibway/Odawa Wikwemikong First Nation to include in my mixtape because of her influence on others and her passion to making a change. At only 12 years old, Peltier was not afraid to speak up about the lack of clean water across Canada. She was taught about the importance of water as a child, and her appreciation to water has only grown as she got older. According to the Indigenous culture, water is the giver of life and has an important role of cleansing and purification for humans. When Peltier found out that this clean water wasn't completely accessible across all of Canada, she decided to use her voice to speak up about this issue. She was able to raise awareness across Canada about this issue, even being able to speak directly to the Prime Minister to make change. To Peltier, protecting water is what it means to be Indigenous, and she is proud to be a spokes person on this topic. She explains, “I am from this land. My ancestors are buried here on this land. This land is our land and it’s part of me and part of everything I am and everything I do”. I believe that Peltier is such an inspiring young activist, being so driven and passionate about her native culture. Even at such a young age, she was able to prove that anyone is able to speak up about a topic that inspires them. She has raised awareness to the movement of clean water being a necessity across Canada, sharing her words of wisdom to the public.