Hello Internet Friends!
Today’s post is going to be a bit different from my normal content; instead of being focused on the handmade garment I’ll be discussing some important issues around systemic racism in Canada as part of #CaftansAndCocktails2020
As a POC who was born, raised, educated, and currently living in Canada I have been shaped by a system that simultaneously affords me privileges not afforded by my BIPOC peers while also at the same time denying me privileges of my non-POC peers. This system, deeply embedded in colonialism, has imparted internalized biases though daily interactions and life events as well as through generational biases imparted by my POC ancestors as they navigated both colonialism and immigration to Canada. These biases run deep, in all of us, and it will be hard and life long work to identify and correct them, and this work MUST continue long after the initial ‘shock and anger’ surrounding this current wave of anti-racism awakening has ebbed. This is why I loved the idea that Meg and Loni have incorporated into their planned summer sewing event, caftans and cocktails. You can read more about the idea behind this event and how it evolved into much more on Meg’s blog here. I’m so grateful to both Meg and Loni for the opportunity to talk about the anit-racism work that us Canadians need to do as well as to elevate local Canadian voices.
First, I want to chat a bit about how we in Canada tend to think of racism as a primarily ‘American Issue’. We are very quick to say things like ‘wow, how can America be so crazy’ or' ‘glad I live here’ as if the same types of systemic racism do not play a daily role in the lives of BIPOC and POC here. To me this stems from the missing parts of our history that aren’t readily taught in schools, primarily being the fact that slavery did exist in Canada and the glossing over of the treatment of Firs Nations people during the founding of Canada as well as the more recent history of the residential school system. Our history books are quick to talk about the Underground Rail Road and how American slaves were ‘freed’ when they got to Canada but what’s missing is the history of slavery in Canada and the treatment of these freed people when the arrived. When it comes to the residential schools (a system that was set up to systematically remove First Nations children from their families and culture under the guise of providing better care and education) when they are mentioned they are talked about as a ‘dark time’ in our history and now that they’ve been all closed everything is fine now when in reality the multigenerational trauma of this as well as other efforts to erase First Nations peoples and culture are immensely complex.
For me part of the work I want to do is begin to fill these knowledge gaps since I think the only way that we can ‘fix’ or create a new system is to fully understand the roots of the old one and the motivations behind how it operates. This means listening, hearing, and acknowledging the lived experience of BIPOC people in Canada. Since i’m a true crime junkie and I love to listen to podcasts as I sew and knit I’ve compiled a list of podcasts and podcast episodes that are centered on the BIPOC experience in Canada to help shed some light on the same racially biased crimes and systemic police failures as what we see in the US. Some of these cases are hard to listen to but I believe it’s important to understand how ‘small’ but consistent racial injustices snowball to greatly affect the lives of BIPOC people.
Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo is a series that describes the ‘60’s Scoop’ where a large proportion of First Nations children were taken from their families and placed with primarily white families under the guise of providing them with better lives when the reality of the trauma of this event is very different.
Thunderbay is a series that focuses on the deeply imbedded racial bias that exists in a northern Ontario city and how the continued failings of local government and police force have negatively impacted First Nations people
Criminal podcast episode 138 starlight tours: this episode explores the police practice of taking primarily ‘unwanted or undesirables’ BIPOC peoples and leaving them on the outskirts of cities and towns to find their own way to safety at night in the dead of winter.
Dark Poutine episode 119: the murder of Tina Fontaine covers the life and death of Tina, a First Nations teenager, and the high proportion of missing and murdered First Nations Women in Canada
Dark Poutine episode 132: A Brief History of slavery in Canada and Africaville which explores a seldom discussed part of Canadian history
Dark Poutine episode 124: Highway of Tears which discusses the primarily First Nations women who have gone missing on or around a prominent highway in BC
Canadian True Crime: episodes 56 and 56.5 the Murder of Loretta Saunders who was a First Nations women who was studying the cases of MMIW in Canada and the impact this has on First Nations communities when she her self was murdered, the second episode is an interview with her sister who has continued her sister’s cause.
In addition to these podcasts a book and documentary that are high on my list of things to check out are the book 21 things you may not know about the Indian Act by Bob Joseph and the Above the Law documentary by the CBC. In addition these two articles from the CBC (here and here) on how slavery in Canada has essentially been ‘whitewashed’ are very illuminating.
Finally I would like to highlight some Instagram accounts that Iv’e found to be both very informative and action driven on anti racism work in Canada/Vancouver @defund.ca, @wklyrant, @abovethelawdoc, @blackphysiciansofcanada, @decolonizemyself, @hogans.alley, @blackvancouver, @blm_van (this is the official black lives matters account for Vancouver, links to the other Canadian chapters can be found on their website), and @employtoempower. If you are interested in other resources that I’ve shared on my instagram account you can find those in my ‘Resources’ stories highlights.
Thanks for joining me today for this week’s Caftans and Cocktails with a twist! A little info on the caftan I’m wearing: this is my absolute favourite Charlie Caftan by Closet Core Patterns made with a monstera leaf print! you can read more about this caftan on my blog post here! The cocktail i’m drinking is a Bourbon Slush Punch from Smitten kitchen that I added some home made bubble tea pearls to for my own twist! Let me know if you try it out! it’s really yummy!