Laws of Matriarch

I posted about these pressing issues a few weeks back, and it’s disheartening to see that there was no response. It feels like the struggles we face often go unheard.  For those of us off reserve, it seems that we’re expected to navigate the same COVID-19 survival funds as everyone else. Some folks automatically receive top-ups, while others must go through the application process. But life on reserve is a different story altogether. The lack of services is glaring, and it often feels like our needs are overlooked. On reserve, many of the funds intended to help keep families safe at home have been largely retained by the band council, leaving little for those who are truly in need. There are no services for food delivery, and the available food programs are often insufficient, with the same soup kitchens that were already in place not operating every day. My mother, like many others on the reserve, has been struggling to get by. Businesses on reserves often operate without licenses...

I know that many of my Gitxsan relatives have faced shaming when they’ve tried to advocate, raise their voices, or protest against the ongoing genocide that Canada perpetrates against us. Yet, this was not always our reality.  In the past, we stood strong together to protect our communities. All nations would come together to safeguard our women, children, and our sacred lands from the encroachment of outsiders.  Today, I see a spiritually strong community, with some of us managing to survive the ongoing assimilation efforts intact. However, the connections within our community have frayed. Even when those who should be present at feasts come to contribute and witness, there is a significant gap in our communal ties. Despite the government-funded programs that exist, gambling remains a primary source of income for sports and activities within our communities. Yet, Canada continues its genocidal practices against the Gitxsan and all Indigenous peoples. This is our crucial momen...

--- On June 1st, my beloved grandchild Diversity, just 15 years old, took his life. It’s a tragedy that has left our family shattered. Diversity had a history of suicide attempts, with one of the most significant occurring on November 8, 2020, when he came to stay with me in the Lower Mainland. The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) had an open file for him, though I can’t recall the reasons behind it. He had already been hospitalized in December 2018 after multiple attempts to end his life. During that time, Diversity bravely shared with me the horror he faced: sexual, physical, and mental abuse at the hands of his stepfather, Mike, since he was only six years old. After being assessed and treated in a psych ward, the so-called specialists in Prince George barely scratched the surface of his PTSD. They seemed more interested in the novelty of having a transgender patient than truly supporting him. Their diagnosis? “Transgender.” That was a failure to understand the dep...