A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Change-Makers Gathering Festival at Starlight Stadium in Langford, a community event honouring and creating space to share Indigenous knowledge.
I worked with the City of Langford organizing the event. Elders and Knowledge Keepers hosted cedar weaving and drum-making workshops, and language lessons, storytelling and drumming for young children. There was also an Indigenous community art piece, singing and drumming and a bannock taco lunch.
The event was created to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together to share learning and create friendship. Everything was free, including the food.
This year, we had nearly 20 youth volunteers who assisted Elders and families, were hosts to all the guests, and supported the partnering organizations on-site.
VicPD and West Shore RCMP attended and both brought canoes and shared information on Indigenous partnerships.
The youth volunteers, 17 of whom were Indigenous, rotated through different stations at the festival.
Before the gates opened, I spoke with the parents and community leaders who brought the teens, and I shared what the teens would be doing at each station.
I explained how the canoes and RCMP and VicPD tents were one station. The youth could give tours of the police vehicles to children and share their knowledge of paddling.
The parents’ faces lit up and they thought it was really cool. I let the parents know that if any youth didn’t want to spend time at that booth, they didn’t have to.
Then I rallied the youth together and explained all the different stations they would rotate through, letting them know that the RCMP and city police would be on the rotation and about the chance to offer tours of the police vehicles.
They were excited and happy about it. I asked if anyone wanted to skip the booth for personal reasons, and no one did. Many asked to go there first.
Sometimes there is a stereotype that all Indigenous people don’t support police. I am not saying all Indigenous do support police, and I do acknowledge that there have been Indigenous people who have had poor interactions with police.
What I am saying is that not everyone has the same feelings about police.
It bothers me when people automatically assume that I as an Indigenous person would not support police. I have heard this sentiment from many Indigenous people.
I have just finished my two-year term as president of the B.C. Association of Police Boards, and am also four years into a six-year term on the Victoria-Esquimalt Police Board.
I have never had one Indigenous person question my work on these boards. The most common response is: “Good for you” or “I am glad you’re there.”
It’s only non-Indigenous people who question me about why I would ever want to do that, inferring that as an Indigenous person, I would have different views.
Again, I know not everyone has the same views as me, and that is OK.
I live my life acknowledging and being grateful to have the right to my own views and opinions. I am a firm believer that other people can have their opinions, too.
We base our assumptions on what we have experienced, been exposed to, and what people we trust have told us. I am certain there are some people who have only known Indigenous people who don’t support police, or don’t feel safe around police.
I write this column and share this story to offer an example of the opposite.
Seeing parents of Indigenous teens who were proud that their teens were standing with West Shore RCMP and VicPD and were offered leadership opportunities was beautiful. To see Indigenous teens excited to have the RCMP and city police want the teens to stand with them and share with others is important.
I want to thank the City of Langford for hosting such a meaningful event, along with all of the Elders, Knowledge Keepers, artists, singers and dancers and youth for helping out.
And I want to thank West Shore RCMP and VicPD for attending, sharing their work, partnerships and friendships with Indigenous communities and people, because I don’t think that is ever talked about enough.
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