A Life, Lived

Earth on Fire

We're certainly seeing some wild extremes with the weather here in Canada. Last week a town in BC set three records for the hottest temperature recorded in Canada. Then the next day a fire broke out and burned 90 % of the town down.

This meme certainly rings true, unfortunately.

Canada Day 2021

Canada Day 2021 has an odd feeling to it this year.

We are celebrating the 154th anniversary of the nation's founding on the heels of a global pandemic (we hope) that has frankly knocked the stuffing out of many of us.

We are also reeling with the recent announcements of the discovery of the graves of children who died at residential schools.

Residential Schools were a government-mandated policy officially enacted in 1880 with the passage of the Residential Schools Act. (However, French missionaries' efforts to isolate and 'educate' First Nations children date back to the late 18th century.) These schools were designed to 'kill the Indian in the child." Laws dictated that families must send Indigenous children as young as four to these boarding schools. There were no exceptions. RCMP officers forcibly removed children from families who would not comply.

 

The schools were often in isolated areas or on islands, as otherwise, children would constantly try to escape and go back to their families. If geographically possible, parents would camp near schools to catch a glimpse of their children and would be driven away by RCMP under threat of violence. The fact that they operated in out of the way spaces meant most non-indigeneous Canadians never saw them. Certainly they wouldn't see the children being taken from their homes on the reservations either. The mainstream media didn't publish reports about the schools either.

 

The schools were operated by churches. Approximately 50% were Catholic, and the remainder were Protestant denominations, including Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, United, and Baptist. Children were not allowed to speak their language or practice any of their cultural traditions under threat of beating. There are stories of children being killed because they refuse to stop speaking their language or refused to dress in the uniform. These stories have been around for decades yet many Canadians were oblivious.

 

The schools were overcrowded and often unheated. Children were underfed due to budgetary constraints, and also as a form of both control and punishment. Survivors of the Mohawk Institute tell the story of a dump opening up near their school - children would scavenge in the dump because the food that they found there was better than what they were being served at their school.

Sexual assault was sickeningly commonplace and often doled out as punishment. Many otherwise healthy children wasted away from depression and homesickness. Some drowned trying to swim home. Others froze to death as they tried to walk home.

 

In 1907, the Department of Indian Affairs' 'Bryce Report' documented a 40-60% mortality rate at these institutions, mainly from tuberculosis. The same report showed that 90 - 100% of children suffered severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Despite this information, the schools remained open for another 90 years.

 

 

This is not new information. Residential School survivors have been telling us they're there for generations.

 

From 2008 - 2015, Canada engaged in one of the largest Truth and Reconciliation Commission processes ever undertaken. This was a bold step and Canada remains one of the few countries that has taken this first step to reconciliation. It concluded with 94 calls to action, most of which have not been actioned, further eroding Indigenous people's trust in Canada.

 

Call to Action 75 states: "We call upon the federal government to work with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried. This is to include the provision of Calls to Action 9 appropriate memorial ceremonies and commemorative markers to honour the deceased children."

See, they were telling us those graves were there.

 

On May 27, 2021, the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc Nation hired the services of a ground-penetrating radar team and confirmed what was already known. The remains of 215 children lay beneath the soil. "We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify. To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths,” stated Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir. “Some were as young as three years old."

 

On June 4, 104 potential graves were discovered by the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation at Brandon Indian Residential School in Manitoba. Of these, 78 may be accounted for (but that does not mean that those children were not also abused and/or died of preventable disease). Chief Jennifer Bone says, “We must honour the memory of the children that never made it home by holding the Government of Canada, Churches and all responsible parties accountable for their inhumane actions.”

 

And most recently, as many as 751 unmarked graves were located near the former site of Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, associated with the Cowessess First Nation. Again, some of these may be accounted for. That does not diminish the horror.

 

Six or seven generations went through this barbaric system that was focused on destroying their identity. Generational trauma is a significant issue to this day. The next time someone brings out a bad cliché about addiction issues in the indigenous population or housing conditions or whatever - talk to them about the impact of the schools and generational trauma.

 

You need to know that these discoveries will continue. There were 139 residential schools in Canada, and nearly 150,000 children attended them over the course of 117+ years. But the graves are not the only horror. The true horror is the fact that we've known about all of this for generations, and that we allowed it to happen until 1997. The shame is the ‘schools’ themselves. The graves are just a physical record of what happened.

 

If you feel bad, that’s normal. But sitting around feeling guilty helps no one, especially not Indigenous people. Instead, consistently challenge these comments about ‘short 19th-century life expectancies' and ‘that’s not a mass grave.’ Challenge the people in your life who use racial slurs or anti-Indigenous rhetoric. Write to your MP and demand that they action the 94 TRC Calls to Action. Share and amplify posts by Indigenous people, and include the Survivors' hotline. Listen to what local Indigenous people are asking for, and then help in any way you can – that includes donating generously to Residential School survivors. https://www.ctvnews.ca/.../how-to-support-survivors-of...

 

The reaction to this is a bit perplexing to me. Some are saying that they never heard of residential schools before. It is true that there was little (nothing) taught in schools about the residential school system. That being said - the TRC was big news. public apologies were made and Canada paid out billions in damages to the survivors. I do not know how an adult could be so disconnected that they were unaware of this.

 

None of this should be new. Of course, the proof forced upon people of hundreds of unmarked graves of children who were taken from their families and never returned is horrific and real. No one can ignore that (although some are trying to diminish the discoveries).

 

Back to Canada Day.

 

Some are suggesting that the recognition of Canada should go unrecognized this year. Non-indigenous Canadians are saying they no longer believe in Canada. I find this response strange because it suggests to me that they had this notion of Canada is a perfect place. Any student of history can tell you that such a notion is ludicrous. Canada is a nation formed through colonialism. Any nation that was formed this way has a history of genocide. This is true around the globe. Canada is a human creation - any human creation is flawed.

 

All countries are flawed. If you don't believe your country is flawed than you don't study history.

 

I will be contemplating Canada today - the brutal historical truths and the things to be proud of. I am proud to live in a country that is recognizing its history and is wakening to the need for reconciliation with the people whose lands were stolen by settlers. In many other countries these conversations aren't happening. Heck, in some these activities are still happening.

 

There is much work to be done. Education is critical. Read more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The TRC Calls to Action http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

The Truth and Reconciliation Final Report https://nctr.ca/records/reports/

 

Learn about the real Canada if you don't already know about it and commit to working to improve our country . . . to make it a more equitable nation for all.

Dillon's Distillery

It is unlikely that any spirits drinker in Niagara, or even southern Ontario, is unfamiliar with Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers.

Founded in 2012, long before craft distilling became a thing, Dillon’s has been serving up fine spirits for almost a decade, beginning with a grape-based gin they produce to this day, the gentle, ‘New World’ style Unfiltered Gin 22. That gin was soon joined by another spirit distilled from grape rather than grain, Method 95 Vodka.

Geoff Dillon is a master distiller with degrees in biochemistry and economics and planned all along to use the bounty of natural botanicals, herbs and fruit sourced from Niagara. The distiller has always focused squarely on small-batch spirits, hand-crafted at the production facility in Beamsville on the north side of QEW.

The location in Beamsville, in the heart of Niagara wine country, was chosen in part for its proximity to the local ingredients. They take advantage of the rick niagara soil to grow many of the botanicals needed for their products on their site.

The first products from Dillon’s were made from a base of Niagara grapes that would otherwise have been thrown to the ground during the annual thinning process. Instead, they are dropped into baskets, fermented and distilled at Dillon’s.

But the backbone of Dillon’s product line is its Canadian rye whisky.

“Most people don’t know that Canadian rye whisky can be (and often is) made with as little as zero per cent rye then coloured and flavoured,” says Dillon. “Our whisky is made with 100% Ontario grown rye (eventually 100% Niagara-grown), and I know people will be blown away when they taste it,” he said in 2012.

A big part of the program at Dillon’s is the use of seasonal spirits made from fresh Niagara fruit including peaches, pears and cherries, purchased and processed at Dillon’s with the pure juices added straight into the still for blending. The distillery also makes its own bitters, tonics, sodas and pre-mixed, high end cocktails.

On Sunday we travelled to Niagara for our first real outing in months. Dillons had a pre-order special - you reserved a spot at a covered table on the property and received a cocktail and charcuterie box. To us this sounded like the perfect way to celebrate an easing of the COVID and a return to 'sort of normal'.

I ordered the Cucumber G and T and Paul the strawberry Lemonade.

Both were perfect.

Not long after our charcuterie box was delivered. It was a great combination of nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, bread, meats, cheeses and a grape spread.

All in all, a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Niagara.

Travel Tuesday - the Okanagan Wine Country

Now that I have jab # 1 and life seems to be slowly returning to normal I've been thinking about 'quick' trips to make. This has me dreaming for a return to the BC wine country.

Meanwhile, Canadian Weather . . .

I know I've posted this before but it seems appropriate today since we went from a sweltering 34 degrees last week to chilly 6 degrees today!

Travel Tuesdays - A Walk in the Woods

The Provincial park near us has a nice trail that meanders through the forest. It is particularly lovely at this time of year when the spring wildflowers are blooming.

Travel Tuesdays - Kelowna

6 years ago I was in Kelowna for a conference. We tacked on some extra days to enjoy the area.

Travel Tuesdays - Staying Local - LaSalle Park

Our cleaner was here on Monday so I headed out to explore a bit. It was a cool and dreary day but luckily the rain held off enough that I could get out of the car and walk around a bit.

LaSalle Park & Pavilion is a beautiful 57 acre park located on North Shore Blvd.  It is an ideal destination for families, featuring sports fields, a playground, a wading pool and splash pad and an extensive picnic area.  LaSalle Park also boasts its own marina complete with 219 slips.  The LaSalle Park Marina Association has a unique and very close relationship with the Burlington Sailing and Boating Club which also operates out of LaSalle Park. 

For nature enthusiasts, the park has numerous walking trails and a shoreline dedicated to fish and wildlife habitat restoration.  Visitors should be sure to check out LaSalle Park Pavilion.  The Pavilion was originally constructed in the spring of 1917, an age where community entertainment was at its height.  It was re-built it 1997 following a fire, and once again stands as a community landmark and is used as a meeting and banquet facility.

Spring in Canada

This is about right  . . .

Happy Valentine's Day