Yay! She's back!

Who or what did you think I meant? How well do you know me anyway? How far back into the vague mundane archives have you gone? I'm speaking of course of my Apple G4i Book, who I shall nickname, Guadalupe just because that name has always put a smile on my face. I brought her into the Mac hospital July31st and I just got her back today. She had to have two busted power cord pins removed and a new cd drive/burner put in. Looking at the invoice, I'm now glad I sunk over 300 clams into the extended warrenty 19 months ago.

Anyways, not too exciting, but I am happy to have her back. I'm sitting in somewhat familiar surroundings - the Serious Coffee on Douglas in Mituunii with an iced americano in hand of course ;-D. What is exciting is that I start school again in a little over a week! I'm down trying to find a pad and pickings are slim it seems. In addition to cruising around and calling prospective landlords, I dropped into the Uvic bookstore and picked up about 7 of the 10-12 books I will need this semester. I will keep you, my faithful readers, posted on the forthcoming Decolonizing Adventures of Dubya.

3:55

It's almost the end of the work day, I'm listening to Blackfire and I feel like moshing.

...some people fought back...

I've recently had time to reflect. I've also been inspired by the actions and discussions I have had with certain friends and family members recently. A lot has been said about the current state of affairs of Indigenous people, our people. Quite simply to quote one of my hereos, "we're getting the shit kicked out of us right now." Our adversaries (imperialist settlers, governments and companies who wish only to expolit us, our culture, lands, waters and resources in case it's not obvious) have learned well. For the most part, the aboriginal leadership no longer believe we are at war, let alone a stage of crisis requiring something immediate. Economic development, capacity building, joint-ventures have become the new battle cries. They are our friends now. We no longer want to rock the boat, because we are in it too, trying to get ahead, trying to be progressive, trying to create economic opportunies for the people. [And in case that last sentence didn't reek with enough sarcasm, I say, "bull shit!"]

We are at war. And we are losing and it's even more complicated than it was for our anscestors. To borrow a quote from one of my favourite pop-culture indulgances (BSG): "Our children need to know that some people fought back, and others collaborated." Each of us, each of our communities have Indigenous laws, that supercede the prestige or authority of any one person. It is true that most of those laws are no longer adhered to. Much of our ways have been relegated to the trash heaps of tokenism. And while I agree that many of our practices must adapt, I believe that we cannot truly thrive as Indigenous people unless we breathe life back into our sacred principles and responsibilities.

Knowing this, it begs an obvious question: What am I doing right now, to further the revival of those laws, principles and sacred responsibilities?

bananas give me heartburn

It's confirmed. Bananas give me heartburn :( After careful testing, data gathering and analysis I have determined that I can no longer consume peanut butter and banana sandwiches without paying the price. Damn you Jimmy and your JD Squishy Ways!!! I used to have the gut of a young man...sigh. Ah well. I must take full responsibility.

Speaking of paying attention to these sorts of things, I unofficially announce my intention to begin walking a better path, setting aside the ways W the pirate and adopting the ways of W the student/jedi/aspirant witwaak. This will coincide nicely with my return to school. As some of you already know, I will be returning to UVic shortly, re-entering my 3rd year towards a BA in Political Science. Specifically, I will be taking 5 Poli. Sci. courses this semester: International Security, International Politics: Mideast, International Politics: East Asia, Early Political Thought and Aboriginal (:p) Self Government. I will be leaving my cushy brown bureaucratic job and returning to school full time, and thus will begin the simplified living of W. I'm sure I will be counting on the generosity of family to help out with salmon and other game to supplement my KD and Mr. Noodles. In addition to the spartan living, I will be selling my car, keeping my moto, but riding my bicycle more. Over the past 2 years I have gradually gotten rid of lots of "stuff" so the transition shouldn't be too much of a shock.

Yesterday, I decided to simplify my cyberlife as well, and I'm happy to announce that myspace has won the battle of the pseudo-networking-thinly-veiled-singles-sites and I will be closing my bebo and hi5 accounts shortly, once I find a reliable person to carry on the management of my hi5 Eduardo Galeano group. The cool tunes ultimately won the day, although the bebo quizzes and polls are kinda fun in an obbessively narcissistic way (to quote one sarcastic Gitxsan sister).

Next fun task: Look for a place to live in Mituunii. Wish me luck!

Video: George Galloway on Israel and Lebanon

The Coup

What a weekend! I need another weekend to get over my weekend. Saturday night me and a few comrades went to see The Coup in Victoria. It was a kick ass show. It was off the hook. They raised the roof. Haha, What are the kids saying these days? Groovy? The shizzly dizzly bizzly? The Coup almost defy classification...I mean if one had to choose, one might say hip hop, but they also come with a real band, with real instruments which is always cool for a live show and one can't forget tha FUNK. Their tunes are easy to dance to and they came with enough energy at the right points to get at least Fish in a moshing mood. On top of it all, they are seriously political and socially conscientious, which is exactly what the Goin' Coastal crew are into. After the show I bought their new CD, Pick a Bigger Weapon (notabley, Succha and I - aka, the "friendly fellas" bought our CDs - while Fish and 'Rica were given their CDs free...lol). I highly reccomend you either buy or charm your CD...check out a few tracks at: http://www.myspace.com/thecoupmusic.

Anyways, back to my sedate bureaucratic life to get the rest I need from my action-packed 3-day weekend (I didn't even tell you about the other two nights and days full of action, adventure, vino, a lil veritas, intrigue, chillin', swimmin', family fun, card playin', ah the pirate days are numbered...)

Birthday Wishes for Mom

My Mom. Where do I start? She loves us kids so much It's overwhelming but certainly appreciated. She inspires me to become a parent myself, and not just so she can have more grandchildren but to share life experiences and unconditional love...sigh. I am a fortunate son indeed. And she still spoils me. Last week while we were at Costco, she told me to pick out some stuff for my return to student life, that she was going to pay for. Of course it being Costco, I ended up with 12 bars of soap, 4 tubes of toothpaste, two giant bottles of shampoo and 16 of the lastest, snazziest 5-blade razor refills. I can't even begin to start how much this woman does for me and my sister and her husband and my new nephew. We are truly blessed.

Mom, you are my foundation and support and I will be forever grateful to have been born your son. You are a constant source of love, encouragement and inspiration. I appreciate your patience and understanding and the way you listen to my wacky points of view and love me anyway. I love that you worry when CSIS sends an agent to talk to me but you still support my desire for truth and justice for our people. I love that you encourage me to stay positive and not give in to the dark feelings and depression that so often accompanies this lonely road. I know that I will never be alone with a mom like you.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today my pops, Wickaninnish of Ahousaht is 62. He is truly one of my heroes. Like all heroes he has made his share of mistakes but he is a man of principle and integrity and I could not be more proud to be his son. About 19 months ago we almost lost him - he suffered a heart attack. Today he is the epitome of physical health, watching what he eats and walking my dogs twice a day. Last August he became the proud grandparent of my sister and Gord's son, Kashus.

Especially during these times of political pragmatism, I am honoured to have a father who is committed to authentic Nuu-chah-nulth principles. He inspires me to do the right thing, even if it hurts financially or otherwise. He has the spirit of a warrior and a strong love for our Nuu-chah-nulth ways, teaching us the language of our ancestors.

Dad, I love and respect you dearly and look forward to the day when you can share your teachings with my children as well.

Your son, Na'cha'uaht

Dad

Kleco Allah C'est Friday!

It's Friday afternoon and as far as I can tell, the quietest time on the internet. I'm listening to Al Green's "Let's Stay Together." These songs don't bother me anymore. :D Progress! It's a wonderful tune...gotta love that old soul music. Once again it reminds me of Sunday mornings when I was still running around in PJs. Imagine it's about 9am and you hear music coming from upstairs. My father has the stereo cranked up and he's listening to Al Green, Sam Cooke, The Four Tops, Temptations, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye. He's groovin' on the couch reading the newspaper and mom is in the kitchen frying bacon (hey, it was the 70s!) The sun is shining. You run upstairs, hair all messy, sleep in your eyes and get some love from the 'rents. Next you go see if you can bug your older sister. Despite your ability to annoy her, one day you will both grow older and the love between you is stronger than you ever imagined possible, but for the moment there can nothing more fun than to make her mad while she tries to catch a few more winks, until you get chased around the house screaming and laughing with glee and fear at the same time. Just some fond memories.

What a week. Last weekend my buddy, Scott got married. It was beautiful and I was moved...Yes stoic W is capable of shedding a tear or two in the name of beautiful things :.I And then Pirate W took over, a little vino and old high school mates and underlying thoughts of Hezbollah/Israel/Lebanon/Palestine/The Godfather (not sure where that came from) and dancing to 80s and 90s tunes...yikes. I am humbled and plan on seeking reinstatement to the Jedi Order...lol.

Today at work, I was reminded of this poem I wrote last September. It made me smile. I've actually been in a really good mood the last two days. I had a good chat with my father yesterday as well as my friend Lahalawutsaa't. It's important for like minds to keep working together and reminding each other "what it's all for." Even us true believers get down from time to time (see the last 8 months or so of W's life). It is important to remember that there is a better way and that there is a difference between acknowledging reality and accepting it. Viva la rebellion!

O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!

I don't know why I thought of such an obscure reference. I'm speaking of Act 3, scene 1 from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps the themes of doomed romance and tragedy still resonate with me. The line by Mercutio in response to Romeo's bended-knee placating of his enemy Tybalt accurately captures how I feel about my father's home community Ahousaht, giving Premier Campbell a Nuu-chah-nulth name.

I'm trying to work through the logic of the move, and of course my cousin, A-in-chut (AFN Regional Chief and Ha'wiilth) has provided some reasoning. He states the honour is not without consequence and is intended to push him the right direction. I hope so. And unlike so many other times with "aboriginal leaders" where the talk is big and the action is absent, I hope everyone is sincere about this.

I guess I am not the diplomat that people have always thought I would be. Am I regressing or just fulfilling my role? Perhaps I will feel different in time. I don't know. What would happen if we all compromised? Would we all get along? It sounds like it might make sense. Yet I can't ignore this profound sense of indignation. I once wrote that amongst all the things that younger (perhaps naive and immature) Indigenous people detest about the behaviour of our mainstream aboriginal politicians, it's the submission and seeming indignity that is hardest to take. Perhaps I will feel differently in time. Perhaps.

fyi...websites updated...

kumtux and the Nuu-chah-nulth Stop The Violence websites have been updated. I can't believe it has been almost three months since I updated kumtux, but today I announce the launch of Wasase a larger movement that I have been involved with, in addition to the local stuff. Regarding the local stuff, if you go the updates page on the Stop The Violence website you will see we are attempting to keep the ball rolling on this important initiative to end internal violence and promote a return to balance in our families and communities. Whew, someday I'm going to have to consolidate these webs...

July 11th - Fish's Revolutionary Birthday

On this day in 1990, my buddy Fish says he was born. Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the so-called Oka Crisis. Specifically, it is the anniversary of the failed SQ raid on the Mohawk barricades at Kahnesatake and the immediate set up of the Kahnawake sympathy blockade of the Mercier Bridge. Hard to believe I was 17 at the time and as apolitical as I may have been, the stand taken by our Kanien'kehaka sisters and brothers will always resonate with me and inspire me. Someday soon, I hope inspire other 17 year olds to stand up with dignity and respect.

kleco, kleco!

[I recommend York and Pindera's People of the Pines for a detailed account of the history and crisis.]

#48 - Completed

Number 48 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days was, "Not use my mobile phone for a whole week (7 days = 168 hours)." Well as some of you may have noticed I was a little hard to get a hold of - Risky even went so far as to leave an excessively profane yet humourous message - at least I was laughing even if he wasn't - on my voice mail on the last day (yesterday). Actually it was kinda nice to not have one electronic leash on for a whole week. As it relates to organizing and da revolution, I often wonder what life was like before MSN, Gmail, e-mail, listserves, news groups, message boards, cell phones, text messaging, chatting, faxing and morse code...are we really more plugged in or are we unplugging from RL (real life)? Certainly organizing the last lil shindig I participated in was made easier by e-mail, but there's also something irreplacable about live, human contact. At the very least, I recommend unplugging as often as you can and connecting with real, live flesh and blood peeps - ironic to make such a statement on my BLOG, I know. btw, imo :p lol, lmao, ttyl

dubya dubya dubya

Viva la Nuu-chah-nulth rebellion!

brrrrrr......

Fake smiles after Roots and I take a 6am dip in the Pacific Ocean in Tla-o-qui-aht territory.

Dogs with purpose

As I headed out of town this morning I noticed a dog walking swiftly down Redford Street in Port Alberni. It reminded me of other times I have seen dogs walking briskly down a road or sidewalk. I always wonder where they are going. It's different than a dog who has recently escaped their yard and is bounding between all the interesting smells they come across until they are recaptured by their owners or picked up by the SPCA. And it's different than seeing a dog lying around in the sun or guarding the home. These dogs seem to have another purpose, a drive, a direction. It always makes me wonder what could be so important? Where are they from? Where were they and where are they headed so intently? Just a few mundane thoughts of owner of two of my own mutts...

sigh...

I took this picture as I sat in the back of an obnoxiously big SUV-limo driving on Beach Avenue in Vancouver. I was visiting my old stomping grounds last weekend to partake in a variety of stag-related activites for my buddy Scott. He's getting married in 3 weeks. The day began with my riding like a maniac to catch the 8:30 ferry. I have been having battery problems so upon disembarking from the ferry, one of the deck-hands offered to give me a push so I could jump-start the ole gal. I made it to Fraserview Golf Course in time for our 11:23 tee-off. It turns out Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far in Vancouver. I'm glad I decided on my moto, even though I had to rent clubs and pack what I could in my teeny tiny tankbag. After a poorly-played but fun round of golf I had a quick visit with Ly (of previous FUH2 fame) before heading to the barbeque and subsequent evening of debauchery. I actually ended up calling it a relatively early night at 12:30am after having forgotten my credit card at one establishment and then not being able to find the next venue. I hopped in a cab and headed to chez mama. Ah well, I had fun and needed to catch up on my winks after two previous nights of very little sleep.

Sunday morning, well afternoon, I managed to crawl out of my old single bed from back in the day that my mom still keeps in her guest room and go for the "cure" with Scott. He swears by eggs benny in helping one feel human after a night of mass consumption - even though I was pretty mellow, it was my third night out. After picking up my moto, which by some grace of the Battlestar Galactica Gods started without a hitch I headed to the land of the rich Indians (lol, Squamish) and met up with Old Man Rivers. We had a good chat on the pier near Ambleside. In OMR I trust. Dirka, dirka.

[I can't stand Norah Jones. Don't ask why.]

It has been a crazy-busy couple of weeks and I have been somewhat negligent in posting here. So there was my buddy's stag party. I good friend of mine is going through difficult times and well it just sucks and I wish it were 6 months from now for her. I've had my ups and downs lately as well. I find when I am not distracted by something, meaningful or not, I am feeling exceedingly lonely...still working on the whole being alone without feeling lonely thing. :p

[Break-up songs still suck. I'm glad Mexico got knocked out of the World Cup.]

The previous weekend: Father's Day. I took my pops out for breakfast (note to self: remember to update my list), and then we went for what is normally my only round of golf of the year. I know some of my revolutionary friends are cringing but I refuse to feel bad about this annual tradition I share with Wickaninnish. After golf, and some lying around watching some football on the telly, we had lunch with my sis, her husband and my neph. Here is a picture of his lemon-face:

Intellectual Warriors?

I have always been a reluctant warrior. Most times I have felt the term to be pretentious. More recently, I have preferred to be on the path of being a Nuu-chah-nulth Witwaak. Semantics and subtleties aside, I should update you on my activities this past week. I am beginning the second and last week of an Indigenous Governance seminar course at the University of Victoria. It's called the ILF: Indigenous Leadership Forum (or as I have come to call it: the Indigenous leprechaun Front, for no other reason than to bring some light-heartedness to a sometimes heavy-hearted endeavour). Dr. Taiaiake Alfred has gathered about 40 students and community leaders and activists from all across occupied Canada, the north and even one student from south of the border to further the process of creating political alternatives (to existing federally-funded Aboriginal institutions) that truly meet the needs of our people. It has been challenging to say the least. Despite our commonalities, we also possess many differences as Indigenous peoples. The challenge will be to build upon the commonalities and not let our differences divide us to the detriment of all. It is my hope that a national network will be established that can support local organizing, for my heart remains at home with my people, the Nuu-chah-nulth and Tsimshian. I will let you know how it goes in future posts. Cuu for now...(academic)W

Is freedom overrated?

A friend of mine watched Braveheart again last night and we are both feeling a little frustrated about the current state of affairs in Indigenous/Aboriginal politics. I suggested after lunch, "perhaps freedom is overrated." Maybe people don't want it. Maybe it only matters to the few of us who are cursed with some (perhaps pretentious) sense of awareness or knowing that things are not as they should be....sigh. What say you?