#artifact8

[georgehumcdns3600]

ARTIFACT 8: Gord Downie’s Secret Path

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/arts/with-secret-path-gord-downie-is-illuminating-a-way-forward-to-indigenous-artists-1.3810699

Secret Path is an interesting artifact because, while it is not an official expression of Canada 150, it has been tied to the theme of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in advance of celebrations (Globe and Mail 2016: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/gord-downie-cries-as-afn-honours-him-for-work-telling-story-of-first-nations-boy/article33218309/). It tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a boy who died running away from a residential school. This artifact can be contrasted with the Liberal government’s attempt to use the Royal Tour to demonstrate reconciliation, as it is a direct acknowledgement of the brutality of Canada’s residential schooling system. However, it also raises questions of allyship. The CBC article linked praises Downie for using his status as an artist to tell the story, but it remains important for these stories to emerge for Indigenous Peoples as well. While dialogue and acknowledging the truth is an important step in reconciliation, it is important that events are not appropriated and reinterpreted. While this does not seem as if it was an issue for Secret Path, care should be paid to avoid this potential issue. This artifact is thematically similar to the 4Rs movement (artifact nine), which seeks to facilitate dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

[georgehumcdns3600]

ARTIFACT 3: Haida Gwaii Royal Tour Footage (2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IyWK-4H4VQ

Between September 24th and October 1st, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Western Canada. The royal visit was timed for the lead-up to Canada 150, and another Royal Tour is being planned for 2017 (Ottawa Citizen 2016: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/government-eyeing-royal-tour-to-coincide-with-canada-day-celebrations-in-2017). Many items on the itinerary ostensibly touched on the theme of indigenous reconciliation, with the royal couple meeting several First Nations and participating in traditional ceremonies and activities. Artifact three is a still from the Haida Gwaii portion of the tour, where the royal couple was invited to participate in a canoe trip. This image is particularly interesting as it subverts two of the core themes of Canada 150: promoting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and connecting Canadians with their natural environment. While it is somewhat hard to see in the picture, many of the Haida wore shirts emblazoned with ‘NO LNG’ to protest the controversial approval of the liquefied natural gas facility near Prince Rupert (Global News 2016: http://globalnews.ca/news/2975504/royal-visit-2016-royal-couple-caught-in-no-lng-protest-on-trip-to-haida-gwaii/). Additionally, many BC chiefs refused to attend a reconciliation event held earlier in the week (Huffington Post 2016: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/26/royal-visit-bc-chiefs-reconciliation-event_n_12200730.html). These protests are an elegant rebuke to the thematic priorities. While the events throughout the itinerary can be interpreted as Indigenous Peoples being asked to “play Aboriginal” as part of the spectacle of the Royal Tour, this protest resists the “symbology produced within the parameters” of Canada 150 (Adese 2012, 496). These acts turn an event designed to propagate the image of reconciliation on its head to highlight the disparity between rhetoric and reality on the two related themes. While the event is used to market a multicultural brand, this act subverts this and demonstrates a disregard for environmentalism and substantive reconciliation on the government’s part (Global News 2016). Part of the branding of the ‘Canadian Way’ seeks to appropriate Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples in spite of increasingly poor socio-economic living living conditions (Nimijean 2005, 36, 38), and this act introduces reality into the rhetoric.

Critical reflection and relation to other artifacts:

I found this protest to be a very elegant way of leveraging the large media coverage surrounding the Royal Tour. By embedding the protest within the event, there was likely more media coverage than there would have been for a more traditional protest. As such, the rhetoric-reality gap that could have gone unnoticed by the public was clearly presented. Similar tactics could be used to protest other rhetoric-reality gaps where actual policy does not match the brand or image that the Liberal government is trying to promote. While it may not result in a change in policies, it could influence public opinion and highlight issues that might go unnoticed by the general public. This artifact is related to artifact eight, Gord Downie’s Secret Path project. Both artifacts speak to the theme of reconciliation, though Secret Path tells the story of a boy who died running away from the residential school system rather than presenting a sanitized image that presents “nostalgic recollections of pasts filled with harmonious relationships” with Indigenous Peoples (Adese 2012, 485). The reality is presented, rather than the rhetoric.