Climbing the reconciliation mountain

Campaign offers non-Indigenous people a chance to be part of reconciliation

“I never like a woman who’s louder than me,” she bellowed. I was the alleged louder woman in the statement and she who bellowed was one Cindy Sue Montana McCormack.

Cindy Sue (sometimes CSM to me and just Cindy to longer-time friends from Westdale S.S. and other city parts) was introducing me at the annual general meeting of the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton where we are both employed.

She was referring to our early days when she walked into the West Avenue office where I’d been settled in for a year already. I heard her long before I saw her and hoped the loud voice and louder laugh was just passing through. It was not.

Fifteen years later I am most grateful for that voice, and especially the laugh, despite some of its public proclamations like the other night when she was introducing me. CSM was leading a presentation on National Indigenous Day and had asked me to read my column about said day from last year, humbling me once again.

Explaining how much we have learned from each other about our various personal and community experiences of marginalization, she being a Mohawk woman and me being a Queer person, CSM went on to explain, “I just couldn’t believe someone as smart as Deirdre Pike could know so little when it came to Indigenous issues.” Thanks for outing me, CSM. It’s true. I was stupid. I know you’re not supposed to say stupid these days but my dad didn’t nickname me, “Seldom Swift,” for nothing. I was unintelligent, ignorant and dull-minded when it came to the realities of Indigenous people in this country, claimed and named as Canada right out from under them 150 years ago next week.

I have taken the opportunity of Cindy Sue’s generous spirit and wisdom over years and beers to educate me, a member of the colonizer’s race and her people’s oppressors, past and present.

It’s hard to say whether I’ve learned more from her over our many drinks together or the many deaths we have lived through together.

The gifts I honed in my last vocation as a pastoral associate in the Catholic Church, have been called upon over the course of our friendship to lead the funeral home rituals for three men in CSM’s circle of life: her cherished nephew, her dear niece’s partner, and her beloved little brother. Each different and tragic situations of death. Each another deep notch carved into the roots of our burgeoning friendship as we pondered in silence and through tears, the meaning of life.

Each, in my profound ignorance at the time, isolated from the reality of residential schools in Canada.

Until last year I was stupid enough to believe these three men died without being affected by these schools, conjured up by minds on a clearly misguided and inhumane path. They were never sent to one. Their parents and grandparents never had to endure them.

Thanks to the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, my dull mind was made a little brighter last year through their campaign, “I Am Affected.”

When Lyndon George, Indigenous justice co-ordinator, patiently explained to members of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, “The fact that I am speaking English to you as a first language tells you I am affected,” my eyes were opened.

The second part of this campaign is, “I Am Committed.” This is an opportunity for non-Indigenous people to be part of a collective commitment to reconciliation as identified in the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

To wrap up an already powerful evening, Cindy Sue read the words of Murray Sinclair, chair of the commission. As I listened, I realized I have a long way to go.

“We have described for you a mountain. We have shown you a path to the top. We call upon you to do the climbing.”

I am committed. You?

Deirdre Pike is a freelance columnist for the Hamilton Spectator. Her columns appear every other Saturday. She is getting less stupid as the days go by. Commit yourself at iamcommitted.ca. Reach Deirdre at dpikeatthespec@gmail.com and @deirdrepike.

I was unintelligent, ignorant and dull-minded when it came to the realities of Indigenous people in this country …