The Kim Wheeler Show Week of July 2nd

Kim Wheeler
July 2, 2021

We made it through July 1. It was incredible to see all the marches across the country with the sea of orange t-shirts. Settlers joined Indigenous people to walk in the memory of Indigenous children who died at residential schools.

Earlier this week, in a Facebook group, a person asked if there were going to be fireworks in the summer village I spent my first 17 summers in. I read this query and I thought I would know how this thread would go. But I was surprised when a lot of people were engaging in thoughtful conversation around Canada Day and the unmarked graves of Indigenous children (and possibly adults) on the grounds of residential schools.

The person shut off the comments on her post after the conversation wasn’t going her way. It’s really a microcosm of what is happening in Canada. Some want to understand and learn more, while others just want us to ‘get over it.’

It makes me hopeful to see non-Indigenous people starting to walk with us; and what it means to be Canadian and how to mark July 1 — at least this year.

It’s a difficult time, I think, for everyone. I understand why some people are dug in and want fireworks. I also understand why some people wanted to cancel Canada Day this year as well.

As the July long weekend goes on, for those who choose to ‘celebrate’ with fireworks, I hope you will also take the time to think about how Indigenous people, and especially children, have been treated by this country.

This week on the show, I am talking with Tom Wilson – musician, artist and author. Tom was 53 years old before he was told he was adopted and Mohawk. He always knew something was missing but he just didn’t know what. Like Tom, I am also adopted and half Mohawk.

We talk about what it’s like to be Mohawk without feeling like we have a connection to the Mohawk culture and how we honour our culture in our own way. It’s a conversation that only people with lived experience can really have because we understand one another.

Take a listen for a glimpse into our world.