  Tracey Lindberg spoke at the Wood Buffalo Regional Library this evening. She wrote the amazing tale of Bernice, in Birdie, a quiet but resilient young woman who overcame incest and trauma by following her own healing journey to her own sweatlodge above a bakery. In you case you haven't heard of the book it is has been on the best sellers list for over a year in Canada and this week was named as one of the top 15 books you need to read as part of reconciliation. Her words about how this book is individually reconciliatory, that inward looking story telling is a responsibility, that told truths by sharing them and talking about them, were immensely welcome. Since the wildfire many of us in Fort McMurray now understand the healing properties of sharing our stories.
Remember her name as her upcoming projects will undoubtedly be equally as threshold bending as Birdie. Her next project is about mother Maggie from Birdie, who disappeared from the book itself, because that story will have its own space and time. She is also working on several other non-fiction projects and starts at University of Ottawa as a law professor in the near future. The most impactful piece of her talk was about reconciliation for yourself. She described her tribe, those who bring light and kindness to her life, and her efforts to expel those who do not. Personifications of light and dark came to mind where there are those who bring nothing but sadness, drama and anger with them wherever they go. I think I flock to them because I too have a piece of me that is dark. Does that make me a bad person, no, just a complex person. We all emulate aspects of both light and dark but I know when I am around people that want to hurt me to heal themselves and when I want to hurt others with words, especially those closest to me (my husband, the saint). That's where reconciliation takes a dark turn. When as Indigenous people we turn to hate, anger, simply darkness, and call that healing. She talked about the shame that may make a difference on the surface but no real systemic shift occurs. I've tried that method. Shaming those who were uneducated about residential schools or reserve systems, thinking it would make them allies. Instead their shackles raised and they took to the defensive. I once had someone yell at me that "the war was won, get over it". Little did I know in the months following that interaction that it was a defensive move to my shaming. Her final point was that if you have a story, share it. There is a book in all of us. Write a little over time, but just write, that is how Birdie came to be, over a 20 year span and partially on napkins, scrap paper and dictated to siri. Her suggestions for the upcoming Indigenous authors, bloggers and storyteller follows: Lee Maracle Maria Campbell Louise Bernice Halfe Greg Scofield Sheila Watt-Cloutier Leanne Simpson Katherena Vermette Dawn Dumont Beatrice Culleton Naomi Sayers Chelsey Vowel Harold Johnson Richard Van Camp
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About me
I grew up in Athabasca, AB and have spent the majority of my life in Northern Alberta or Montreal, PQ. My husband has been in Fort McMurray since the 70s and continues to love this town and all that it has to offer. We are avid outdoor enthusiasts, spending our summer weekends quadding and camping. As Opimian members we thoroughly enjoy wine pairings and tastings and are working on our wine collection. Ralph is a carpenter by trade and has framed more houses in Fort McMurray than I could count and knows the city inside and out. I work all throughout the region from the NWT to Janvier for the tribal council. My passion is doodling and photography which is featured throughout the website (various mediums), writing, Indigenous studies, and learning in general. Categories |
RSS Feed
