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Meet the artist behind the camera:  KC Adams

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Meet the artist behind the camera:  KC Adams

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KC Adams is a Winnipeg-based artist who graduated from Concordia University with a B.F.A in studio arts.    Adams was awarded the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Making A Mark Award and Canada's Senate 150 medal recipient for her accomplishments with her Perception Photo Series. KC is now an author with her book Perception: A Photo Series that Quill & Quire. chose as 2019 Books of the Year.
https://www.kcadams.net/bio.html

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View the online photo exhibit entitled:  Perception: Lethbridge

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View the online photo exhibit entitled:  Perception: Lethbridge

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Click the image below to view the photo exhibit.

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Read this editorial  article from the Montreal Gazette

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Read this editorial  article from the Montreal Gazette

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"What does it take to break stereotypes about First Nations?" by Tamara Ainscow

This Sixties Scoop survivor writes about how 3 stereotypes about First Nations people still persist today.

Guiding Question:   In our society, what are the most common stereotypes about indigenous people"?

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As a Sixties Scoop survivor, I can attest to how latent and blatant discrimination can be toward First Nations people in Canada.

With an overwhelming sense of injustice being felt across the country in the wake of the verdict in Saskatchewan, Quebec's inquiry into relations between First Nations and six public services could not have come to Montreal at a better time.

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As a Sixties Scoop survivor, I can attest to how latent and blatant discrimination can be toward First Nations people in Canada. Adopted by a non-native family, I grew up on the West Island of Montreal. Because of the racism and stereotypes I was subjected to, my formative years were spent wishing I was a little white boy like my three older brothers and denying my First Nations heritage.

My First Nations' identity was, and continues to be at times, projected as three main stereotypes.

The first is that all First Nations people are stupid, drunk and lazy. Those who hold this stereotype talk to me like I'm "special," but not in a good way. Some can't hide their surprise when I can do basic math, and their eyes bug out upon hearing I have two BAs. At a job interview once, a woman peered down her nose, gave me a sniff and said "well, at least you dress nicely" in a tone dripping with disgust and condescension.

The second stereotype is that natives are spiritual beings, at one with nature. People who believe this tend to look at me with adoration, talk of how they love the First Nations and ask about ceremonies. They seem to think the First Nations have all the answers and can go do no wrong. These people cannot hide their disappointment when they learn I grew up in a homogeneously white suburb and don't practise any ceremonies or do traditional arts.

The third stereotype is that First Nations are primitive savages. People who believe this aren't comfortable being alone with me, keeping one eye on the door. And, it must be said that there are those who focus on the lewd aspect of this stereotype, imagining what First Nations women are like in the bedroom. They tend to look at me with a different kind of disrespect, salaciously, like I'm a sexual object.

Having lived in Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec, I haven't met any First Nations person who embodies these stereotypes.

So, how many people does it take to create a stereotype?

Last year I engaged in dialogue with a Twitter user who commented that all government payout money would go toward drugs and alcohol. He revealed that he noticed a few First Nations people regularly drinking on a corner in Toronto and that's why he propagated the stereotype. It didn't matter that he probably regularly passed seven others who were on their way to school or work who neither drank nor did drugs.

Which raises the next question: What does it take to break a stereotype?

People constantly call on the First Nations to "get over it," yet the same people can't "get over" the stereotypes that underlie their racism. They forget that the First Nations narrative was written by those who hold the power, who used negative stereotypes to justify their actions. The idea that there was an "Indian problem" came of this. That the idea persists is evident by the comments of some social media users who lament that the early colonizers didn't kill off all the First Nations, as it would have solved the problem. But I don't believe the majority of Canadians support genocide, my experience is that the majority want the injustices against Indigenous people to end.

I see this inquiry as a concrete step toward reconciliation. At a time when many First Nations have lost hope it will happen in their lifetime, I empathize and hope being part of the dialogue will help effect positive change for the future.
Tamara Ainscow is a Montreal writer.

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Opinion: What does it take to break stereotypes about First Nations?

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As a Sixties Scoop survivor, I can attest to how latent and blatant discrimination can be toward First Nations people in Canada.

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Meet NDP party leader from Manitoba, Wab Kinew

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Meet NDP party leader from Manitoba, Wab Kinew

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Wabanakwut Kinew is a hip hop artist, broadcaster, university administrator, author, politician. An Ojibwa activist and public intellectual, Wab Kinew began his career as a musician and rapper with the hip hop group Dead Indians. He gained national attention through his radio and television journalism for the CBC, including 8th Fire, a television series on Indigenous issues. Kinew was elected to the Manitoba legislature in 2016, despite controversial tweets and rap lyrics that dogged his campaign. Similarly, revelations of stayed domestic assault charges from 2003 threatened to derail his bid to become leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party, though he was named leader in September 2017.

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Watch this video in which Wab Kinew exposes some common stereotypes about Indigenous people.

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Watch this video in which Wab Kinew exposes some common stereotypes about Indigenous people.

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Click below to view the clip.

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Wab Kinew on the Stereotypes about Natives in Canada

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Meet Canada's literary treasure, Thomas King

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Meet Canada's literary treasure, Thomas King

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THOMAS KING is an award-winning novelist, short-story writer, scriptwriter and photographer. His critically acclaimed, bestselling fiction includes  The Back of the Turtle (winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction); The Inconvenient Indian (winner of the RBC Taylor Prize) , and the poetry collection 77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin.
A Member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, Thomas King lives in Guelph, Ontario.

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Second, watch this video of T.King and some friends reciting the poem.

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Second, watch this video of T.King and some friends reciting the poem.

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Click below to watch the video
https://vimeo.com/39451956

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First, read T. King's poem entitled, "I'm Not the Indian you Had in Mind"

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First, read T. King's poem entitled, "I'm Not the Indian you Had in Mind"

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Open this PDF and read the poem.

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7 Native American girls debunk the common misconceptions about their culture.

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6 Misconceptions About Native American People | Teen Vogue

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Create an infograph of common indigenous stereotypes

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Create an infograph of common indigenous stereotypes

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An infograph is a one-page collection of words, phrases, sentences, and images that deliver information on a specific topic.

1.  Open your online Jamboard and turn to your group's empty slide.
(OR... take a poster paper and a marker)

2.  Read/view/listen to the following 5 texts about stereotypes on this Padlet.

3.  After you finish reading/viewing one text, add some content to your group's infograph.

4.  Exchange ideas about each text with teammates in order to prepare for the comprehension quiz.