Share your reflections on why it was significant for

Tanya/CBC to hold the first lecture of the series in Thunder

Bay.
Tanya Talaga's first CBC Massey lecture series in Thunder Bay has turned remarkable
due to many reasons. She wanted to start her first lecture in Thunder Bay because she
talks about the crisis that all indigenous people went through, a place where the first
people met colonizers, their struggle, and the suicide of young girls. Tanya wanted to
start her first Massey lecture in her community to raise a voice and bring a message of
strength, unity and hope as the event was free for the entire community. Secondly, it
was really important for her as she grew up in Thunder Bay, where her mother,
grandmother, and all grandmothers before walked for thousands of years.
Q. Tanya Talaga argues that the suicide epidemic in Indigenous communities is a
direct result of colonial policies that deny Indigenous people the basic
determinants of health. Share your reflections on this argument, how do you feel
about this argument? Explain your thinking.
After listening to Tanya Talaga on this issue, that the suicide epidemic in
Indigenous communities is a direct result of colonial policies that deny indigenous
people the basic determinants of health, I support her in this argument because every
person should get equal rights without being judged by their colour or religion .
Moreover, Indigenous people were discriminated against unimaginably, so they lost
their culture, language, identity and trust. Many Indigenous people had to fly 400
to 500 kilometres to get a high school education and to see doctors. This
reflects my family when my dad's sister died due to no clean water and no proper
medication during her time in a hostel. Therefore, it is important to raise our voices to
help others receive a right that belongs justifiably to every person; all people should
be provided with basic needs like clean water, proper housing, medical treatment and
education for all. According to Tanya, The Wapekeke Chief sent a formal letter to the
federal government for immediate assistance to help support their children who were
dealing with mental health issues; the chief hoped to prevent young people from
committing suicide, but this letter was denied because there was not enough money to
support those girls, which contributed lead to their death. It is really hard and
unimaginable that for those children that they had to go through such a tragedy; as she
stated, “it hurt the children’s spirit, their sense of pride of who they were and knowing
where they belong” (Talaga, T, 2018). I also heard many sad stories in my GNED
class of children who were taken away from their parents and separated from their
siblings when they were put in residential schools and many were also sexually
abused. It is heartbreaking to hear what they went through and losing their land. It is
hard and devastating when everything is taken away because I lost my homeland
(Tibet) in 1949, and although I was not born in Tibet, I still wish to go back to my
homeland.
Q. Tanya Talaga's overarching argument is "We Were Always Here" (before
European contact) and she presents a number of findings from Australia and
North America. Share your reflections on this argument, how do you feel about
this argument? Explain your thinking.
After hearing her overarching argument, it made me feel sad and it was unfair for all
Indigenous families. I support her in this argument, I could never imagine how this
might impact their lives today. They were forced to disconnect from land, culture, and
community. Tanya stated, “Aboriginal Australians believe about the spirts and
about interconnectedness and creation. This is called the dreaming; the
dreaming is a period of time, that has beginning but it has no end” (Talaga,
T, 2018). I think it is important to appreciate the First Nations people for letting
people stay in their land because I believe most of this territory belongs to them. They
lost their sense of belonging for hunting, trapping, fishing, travelling, and more. This
is why it is mandatory to teach children about Indigenous cultures and values. She
also mentioned some points saying that they found a garbage pile worth from 80,000
thousand years ago, and that is 10,000 years before the first humans left the African
continent. I think this tells us that Indigenous people have been living in Australia for
many years. The other point she talked about was that there have been artifacts found
around Lake Ontario that date back to 5,000 years, and some scholars found evidence
of almost 90 million Indigenous souls living in the North and South America. Tanaya
stated, “the new world, so to speak is already the old world, we were always here”
(2018). I now know that Indigenous people have been living in most of the territory,
and losing their land is hard because it is not just land for them, it means more than
just property. It encompasses culture, relationships, ecosystems, social
systems, spirituality, and law. I feel we always need to be appreciative of
everything.
Reference

Talaga, T. (2018), We were always here [Audio Podcast].

Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-2018-cbc-massey-lectures-all-our-
relations-finding-the-path-forward-1.4763007