Niall is a big deal

My Friend Niall is in the Canadian Art Foundations online art auction. Check his piece out here. Check out his blog here. I just mailed him a box of skulls and bones including a beaer skull with a broken tooth, his request. What a guy, who else gets excited about a package like that?

John Ralston Saul punched me in the chest

I am reading a wonderful book. It is giving me a new framework with which to think about canadian politics, and in particular, our "interculturalisme" or the circle of diversity which makes Canada, and our way of existing different from other places. Saul makes many thoughtful and persuasive arguments towards the adoption of his view of history, and a new way of conceptualizing ourselves.

I hold this author and in particular, his oinions in high regard which is why, last night as I read this passage, it felt like a punch in the chest.

"The desire of many in the established middle classes to withdraw their children from the public school system is deeply irresponsible. To do so is a failure of citizenship; an unwillingness to take the time to help right whatever is wrong in the system; a failure to consciously accept that Canada works because of the mixes created in those schools. If the elite desert them, they betray their country."

pg. 149
A Fair Country
by: John Ralston Saul

He then goes on to blame past governments for the debilitating cuts to education funding that have happened over the past decade, but even so, as a teacher I feel that Saul is throwing down a gauntlet for me.

I have been dubious about entering into the public school system again, and don't totally agree with this sweeping statement, as I feel that for many people close to me, even just a few years of homeschooling and/or attending alternative schools has resulted in a sea change for them. Fortunately I am no longer a student, and thus MAY be in a position to embetter this system, in some small way. I am reminded of the words of Mahatma Gandhi that I "must be the change I wish to see in the world". I will try John. For you, and your wise words, I will try.

Cultural Appropriation

Recently my friend held a talk at the Haida Heritage Center in Skidegate to discuss cultural appropriation.

This is a topic I have been interested in and thought a bout a lot, for years.

During my undergrad I wrote a paper relating to the use of the "imaginary Indian" and it's pervasiveness. The subject is intensely interesting to me and I hope to use this space to share some food for thought and hopefully for future discussion around the topic.
One person often linked to this controversy is Edward S. Curtis, the photographer responsible for the image above, in which Curtis payed Natives to simulate what he deemed to be traditional practices.

Some other food for thought is the new Canadian documentary movie "Reel Injun". You can watch it on the passionate eye here.

Gardeners Growing Community

I am visiting Vancouver for a week and this city is proving to me that they can be green, lush and full of the possibility of community, especially when it comes to gardening. I was told about an article on the cover of today's Vancouver Sun discussing the work of a block's worth of gardeners who have banded their back yards together in Vancouver east side to create a kind of co-operative mini farm including bees, group compost, chickens and lots and lots of food. Read it here. They have also created a 2 page manual for others who wish to start gardening in their back yards, or with their neighbours. It is linked to in the article.

There is also an article about the Dunbar Harvest festival!

All this really reminds me of something that I started learning about while working with SPEC, that is, the idea of the Transition Town Innitiative, as promoted by Village Vancouver and known more broadly though the transition network. To learn more check out this Ted talk with Rob Hopkins

What can I say, I'm hometown proud. But I'm still going back up North.

Battleslugs!

Last year when I came to Haida Gwaii and was on my kayaking tour we stayed a night at Windy Bay in Gwaii Hanas. We happened to be there at the same time as the kids from Mount Moresby Adventure camp. All day these kids kept talking about how they would play "battleslugs" that night. I had no idea what they were talking about, and assumed it was some kind of video game or something. I couldn't have been more wrong.

David Suzuki does it again.

Check out this summer's latest from David Suzuki. He and his family have become well acquainted with Haida Gwaii in the past few years and in this radio series "the bottom line" manages to sing the praises of Haida Gwaii while also covering the gamut of environmental issues. Take a listen, all 10 episodes are available as FOR FREE right here, but only until Sept 20th!

Haida Gwaii Culinary Cooperative

I have started working with the Haida Gwaii Culinary Co-operative here in Haida Gwaii. I am helping out with communications and for the past few days have been working on making some signs (like the one above). It is really exciting. The main focus of this co-op is to provide mushroom pickers and other wild harvesters with a fair price for the products they harvest. Central among these is the "rainforest chanterelle", a beautiful little fungus that is native to the islands. I have been picking some myself and they are scrumptious (above are a few tiny examples, though those are not my hands, they belong to my picking partner). The big brianwave of the co-op is to have developed a very high tech dehydration system which allows them to buy mushrooms at a fair price from the pickers (who ideally are members) and then if they can't sell all the fresh mushrooms, they can dry them and sell them all year round. More on this process later.

Don't Worry, We're Not a Threat

...at least according to George Carlin. Watch this video on youtube to temper your environmentalism, should it be filling you with fear.