Funny, you don't look like an Indian

One of my Women's Studies students asked me about the Thrifty's incident and if the cashier knew that I was Indigenous. I said probably not and speculated that the whole scene would like have played out differently had I been more visibly Indigenous.

This morning I was thinking about having this ambiguous appearance and how this has allowed me to go places that others can’t.

For the most part I can fit in. I can have lunch at the University Club and not stand out as the lone Indian in the room. Or I can go into a big-house and not look like a gawking White lady.

This, I suppose, has been my gift. Like other gifts that people are born with, this gift is a tool that ought to be used in a good way. Mothering, teaching, befriending, supporting.

Sometimes the gift has been a curse. There have been times when people have been openly racist in my presence, thinking that I was white and was going along with what they were saying. I’ve also observed people being racist through their inactions or their passivity. My gift combined with my position (lawyer, teacher) behooves me to speak, teach, change, lead.

And so, wanting to be a more effective bystander, I attended a workshop on Anti-Racism Response Training. In this workshop, which was developed by Ishu Ishiyama, Ph.D., (Faculty of Education, UBC), we learned about the four levels of witnessing (Avoid, Passive, Active, and lastly Ethical). The goal is social action, education, and institutional change. We learned that there are at least 11 different kinds of responses such as assertive interjections, victim support, and appraoching co-witnessess. You can find out more about Dr. Ishiyama at http://www.meaning.ca/conference/ishu_ishiyana.htm.

The workshop short and snappy and I'd like to see if I can bring it to my students.