Truth & Reconciliation Call to Action 88

We call upon all levels of government to take action to ensure long-term Aboriginal athlete development and growth, and continued support for the North American Indigenous Games, including funding to host the games and for provincial and territorial team preparation and travel.

#WordWednesday

happify

First, let's be clear. I made up this word. It means to make someone happy, and I don't believe in it.

"She makes me happy." or "Presents make me happy." But here's the thing – I really do not believe that someone or something else makes me happy…or unhappy. I think that what we mean is that certain events, actions and people are more pleasant, and so we feel happy (or some other pleasant emotion). But we all know that those very same events, actions and people can at times feel unpleasant. What's the common factor? It clearly can't be the event, action or person who has "made" me happy or unhappy, so it must be me. My emotional and mental response or reaction to the pleasantness or unpleasantness is the key.

For example: A man and woman have a fight. He brings her flowers by way of apology. She feels happy and forgives him. The flowers and their implied message seem to "make her happy." OR She's still angry and doesn't forgive him….and the very same flowers and the same implied message do not "make her happy." So it's not the flowers, and it's not the implied (or even sincerely spoken) apology that "make" her happy or not happy. It is in her to decide how to feel.

Of course, another person's actions or an event might make it easier to feel happy or unhappy, but it's still an internal decision, in my opinion. So I can happify myself, no matter what others do or don't do.

Truth & Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 87

Tom Longboat, just one of many superb
Aboriginal athletes throughout history. 

Sports and Reconciliation

We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.

Truth & Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 86

We call upon Canadian journalism programs and media schools to require education for all students on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations.

Truth & Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 85.ii

We call upon the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, as an independent non-profit broadcaster with programming by, for, and about Aboriginal peoples, to support reconciliation, including but not limited to:

ii. Continuing to develop media initiatives that inform and educate the Canadian public, and connect Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.

Writing Quotation

If you're struggling with a character, write 20 things about the character that the reader will never know about your character. These will naturally bleed into your writing and provide a richness even though you don't share the detail.

– Barbara Poelle, agent, Irene Goodman Literary Agency

Truth & Reconciliation Call to Action 85.i

We call upon the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network [APTN], as an independent non-profit broadcaster with programming by, for, and about Aboriginal peoples, to support reconciliation, including but not limited to:

i. Continuing to provide leadership in programming and organizational culture that reflects the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples.

Truth & Reconciliation Call to Action 84.iii

We call upon the federal government to restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada, to enable Canada’s national public broadcaster to support reconciliation, and be properly reflective of the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to:

iii. Continuing to provide dedicated news coverage and online public information resources on issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians, including the history and legacy of residential schools and the reconciliation process.

Truth & Reconciliation Call to Action 84.ii

We call upon the federal government to restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada, to enable Canada’s national public broadcaster to support reconciliation, and be properly reflective of the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to:

ii. Increasing equitable access for Aboriginal peoples to jobs, leadership positions, and professional development opportunities within the organization.

Truth & Reconciliation Call to Action 84.i

Media and Reconciliation

We call upon the federal government to restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada, to enable Canada’s national public broadcaster to support reconciliation, and be properly reflective of the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to:

i. Increasing Aboriginal programming, including Aboriginal-language speakers.

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 83

We call upon the Canada Council for the Arts to establish, as a funding priority, a strategy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process. 

[Note: Here on Manitoulin Island, 4elements Living Arts and Billings Township have partnered with numerous Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals and groups throughout the years, including a number of projects this summer. Visual results include sculptures and historical markers in that township that show both Indigenous and settler activity.]

Writing Quotation

Once your writing is out there, you can't control how other people perceive it. All you can do is stand in your truth.

-- Eden Robinson

#WordWednesday

Malapropisms are vaguely related to mondegreens in that they're about mis-speaking. However, where mondegreens are often charming or even make sense, malapropisms are at their best when they are ridiculous.

A malapropism is the unintentional misuse of a word through confusion with another word that sounds similar. A huge part of Archie Bunker's appeal was his liberally sprinkled malapropisms. Here's one example: "It's a well known fact that capital punishment is a detergent to crime!"

Check out many other good malapropisms(Bunkerisms?) at https://thelastdrivein.com/2015/07/02/the-archie-bunker-malapropism-dictionary-of-mangled-english.

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 80

We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 79 continued…..

We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal organizations, and the arts community, to develop a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. This would include, but not be limited to:

iii. Developing and implementing a national heritage plan and strategy for commemorating residential school sites, the history and legacy of residential schools, and the contributions of Aboriginal peoples to Canada’s history. 

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 79

Commemoration – [It's interesting that this Call to Action about remembering and honouring came up on November 11.]

We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal organizations, and the arts community, to develop a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. This would include, but not be limited to:

i. Amending the Historic Sites and Monuments Act to include First Nations, Inuit, and Métis representation on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and its Secretariat.

ii. Revising the policies, criteria, and practices of the National Program of Historical Commemoration  to integrate Indigenous history, heritage values, and memory practices into Canada’s national heritage and history.

Writing Quotation

A writer is a world trapped in a person. – Victor Hugo

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 78

We call upon the Government of Canada to commit to making a funding contribution of $10 million over seven years to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, plus an additional amount to assist communities to research and produce histories of their own residential school experience and their involvement in truth, healing, and reconciliation.

#WordWednesday

A mondegreen is the mistaken hearing and, then, pronunciation of a word or phrase that is sung or spoken. The term came from a childhood experience of author Sylvia Wright. Here's how she heard the lyrics from this version of the Scottish ballad, "The Bonny Earl O' Moray:"

Ye Hielands an ye Lowlands
O, whaur hae ye been
They hae slain the Earl o' Moray
And Lady Mondegreen.

Eventually she learned that she had misheard, and mis-said, the Lady Mondegreen part. The lyrics actually say that they "slay the Earl O' Moray and laid him on the green." In 1954 Wright coined the term "mondegreen," and over time "mondegreen" spread into (relatively) common usage.

Sometimes the mondegreen version of a lyric sticks better than the original word. The Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" has a line about four calling birds. But did you know that the original carol referred to "four colley birds." The word colley meant black (perhaps a pronunciation of "coal-y"?) Well, somebody heard "calling" and it stuck.

Randy Bachman did at least two shows on mondegreens on his CBC show, Vinyl Tap, and Gavin Edwards gathered a collection of mondegreens in his book, “Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy.” There's even a website called www.kissthisguy.com. Check that out for a few chuckles.

What are your favourite spoken or sung mondegreens?

Truth & Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 77

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
We call upon provincial, territorial, municipal, and community archives to work collaboratively with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to identify and collect copies of all records relevant to the history and legacy of the residential school system, and to provide these to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Truth & Reconciliation Call to Action 76

We call upon the parties engaged in the work of documenting, maintaining, commemorating, and protecting residential school cemeteries to adopt strategies in accordance with the following principles:

i. The Aboriginal community most affected shall lead the development of such strategies.

ii. Information shall be sought from residential school Survivors and other Knowledge Keepers in the development of such strategies.

iii. Aboriginal protocols shall be respected before any potentially invasive technical inspection and investigation of a cemetery site.

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 75

We call upon the federal government to work with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried. This is to include the provision of appropriate memorial ceremonies and commemorative markers to honour the deceased children.

Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 74

We call upon the federal government to work with the churches and Aboriginal community leaders to inform the families of children who died at residential schools of the child’s burial location, and to respond to families’ wishes for appropriate commemoration ceremonies and markers, and reburial in home communities where requested.

Writing Quotation

The truth about stories is that's all we are.

― Thomas King

Writing Quotation

The truth about stories is that's all we are.

― Thomas King

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Call to Action 73

We call upon the federal government to work with churches, Aboriginal communities, and former residential school students to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children.

#WordWednesday

A couple of weeks ago a friend asked me if I knew where the word "godspeed" comes from. I didn't. So, of course, I wanted to find out. Here's what I learned.
You might know that wishing someone godspeed (or God speed) is a way of wishing him or her well. It's a pleasant parting wish that in the 14th century meant, "I wish that God may grant you success." In order to understand the origin of the word in its current spellings and meaning, we have to look at the parts separately. It won't be arduous (or particularly thorough), I promise.

First "G/god": In the 14th century and thereabouts, when spellings of many words varied, the words "God" and "good" were sometimes spelled the same and sometimes differently.

Now "speed," which surprised me a little: Turns out that our modern word "speed" comes from various old European languages, including the Old English word "sped," which meant prosperity, success, luck, wealth. So to wish someone "goodspeed" or "godspeed" or "Godspeed" all meant that you hoped that they would do well.

So there you go. I wish you godspeed as you go about your day today.