My home is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Lekwungen and SENĆOŦEN speaking people. I am a settler of Scottish and English descent.
The federal government declared June Aboriginal History Month and June 21st National Aboriginal Day. To me this is problematic. As a nation we choose to celebrate First Nations, Metis, and Inuit at this time, and yet nowhere on the government webpage do I see any indication of a conversation about the ongoing oppression of aboriginal people. One reality of life in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and here on Coast Salish ancestral lands is the racism that is invisible to non-aboriginals.
As a Zen Buddhist who has made a vow to wake up and to be of benefit to all beings, I am sometimes struck by silence. Nowhere in my life am I forced to face up to my unearned privilege, and the possibility that something is very wrong here.
Yet when I recently made a point of attending the Wsanec Gathering near Brentwood Bay, First Nations speakers –including Elder Tom Sampson, Rueben George, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip -were clear that many BC tribes are under siege by big companies wanting to mine resources at the cost of the health of their people and the ancestral lands. This is a David and Goliath situation playing out over and over again in various parts of BC.
What is this unearned privilege, and doesn’t my suffering count, I ask myself?
The answer is that everyone suffers. We all have struggles in our lives, from general unsatisfactoriness, to abuse and violence against us. As humans we suffer, so yes it counts, because suffering is hard, but also a great teacher. However, in terms of rebuilding our society to be more equitable to indigenous people, no, my individual suffering isn’t what this is about.
‘Unearned privilege’ is the term meaning that many non-aboriginals don’t have to deal with another level of struggle: the hidden racism of Canadian society. This hidden racism plays out in difficulty getting jobs, renting that apartment, lack of opportunity, angry looks, disbelief, and assumptions about dishonesty and sobriety. This hidden racism allows violence against Aboriginal Women to go under the radar of mainstream society until finally after hundreds have gone missing, the new federal government is launching an inquiry.
As a person trying to shed old habit patterns to become an ally in the struggle for equality, I often fall into the trap of shoring up my self-worth with the thought that I am righteously fighting oppression.
As a Buddhist I try to notice when I’m building myself up or putting myself down. These are natural enough habit patterns, but are part of a knee jerk reaction to life’s struggles that cloud clear-sightedness.
So am I doing anything to fight oppression? What exactly have I done recently? Hmmm, right, just as I suspected, my righteous fighting of racism is mostly in my head. My mind has been so busy boosting my ego with thoughts of what a good person I am, that it neglected to push me to actually do anything useful.
In rallying non-aboriginals to support First Nations in protecting our air, water, animals, and people, GC Stewart Phillip, speaking at the Wsanec Gathering recently, gave us 3 rules: show up, speak up, stand up!
GC Philip also said, use the wisdom of thousands of years of First Nations' life in BC, plus the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, plus the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and get to workÌý
And as Elder Tom Sampson said, as well as moving towards reconciliation, we should also be restoring the land, and returning it to the bounty of earlier days.
Here are some resources:
For showing up: check out the many meditation centres in Greater Victoria.
For speaking up and standing up:Ìý
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Soshin McMurchyÌýis a junior priest with Zenwest Buddhist Society,Ìýzenwest.ca, and serves as the Buddhist Chaplain with the University ofÌýVictoria Multifaith Services. She works part-time at the Greater VictoriaÌýPublic Library and lives in Victoria with her partner of 39 years.
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