Ray, what fascinating stuff! A couple of quick comments, but more later. One is on dancing. Back in the 1970s I worked with the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, which under Justice Thomas R. Berger, held hearings in many northern communities. When, well into the evening, the hearings were over the drums would come out and we would all form a long line and dance. It was a celebration of people being heard and their words carrying weight. The other comment is on the residential school system. I recall walking on the grounds of one of the schools, by then long defunct, and being told that I was walking over the graves of kids who had died in the school. On a more positive note, I worked with the Council for Yukon Indians on their land claims for several years after retiring from government in 1987. I recall saying something negative about residential schools to Vic Mitander, the CYI's, Chief Negotiator. His response? "Look Ed, if it hadn't been for my stay in a residential school, I wouldn't be negotiating here."
Even if the church run residential school system is long gone, schools remain a problem in the far north, especially in small communities. When I was in Sachs Harbour on Banks Island a few years ago, people I talked to were very worried about their kids finishing grade 8 locally but then having to go to Inuvik or Yellowknife to do highschool. On a personal note, does your ancestry have anything to do with the Trail of Tears? Please don't answer if you don't want to, but I'm curious. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Ray Harrell To: 'Ray Harrell' ; 'Ed Weick' Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 4:22 PM Subject: RE: Crossing the Divide: From: Ray Harrell [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:10 PM To: 'Christoph Reuss'; 'Keith Hudson'; 'Arthur Cordell'; 'Ed Weick'; 'Darryl or Natalia'; 'Sandwichman'; 'Mike Spencer'; Tom Lowe ([email protected]); 'Michael Gurstein'; '[email protected]'; 'Sally Lerner' Subject: Crossing the Divide: I talked to Mike tonight and got his permission to post this to the list. I couldn't get it through the server so I'm sending this way to see if it works. I felt uncomfortable after my post to Ed. This is such delicate territory. Blunt seems to be brutal. Hopefully this article will more capture the spirit of what I was trying to say to Ed. I admire Ed and what he has done and tried to do. I also admire what many of you are doing and have done with your lives. Sometimes I don't express that enough. In an attempt to escape the problem of formatting I've made this into a PDF file. Mike and I worked hard on this and believe that there is a book in its expansion. This chapter was written for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada on the issue of the abuse in Indian Schools by Canadian teachers and church leaders. It is about the chasm between the two cultures as a result of the facts of the History. I would welcome any comments. For those who might question the relevance to the list, I would simply reply that there is a lot in here about the future of work and the problems of cross cultural work in the U.S. and Canada. Ray Evans Harrell, NYCity July 27, 2010
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