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water

To Drink the Water (in honour of Indigenous Land Defenders) (Written Jan 8, 2019)

‘They can still drink their water’, this great humble humyn named Beze said. 

Many times as they spoke (and I refer to them as ‘them/they’- as I believe that may be their preferred pronoun, so i say it with respect!), They kept mentioning this fact- that folks in Wet’Suwet’en  can STILL drink their water, from the source, from the ground, safely. 

Beze said this, as an Indigenous Humyn, who revels in that beauty, of living off of one’s original land.

They mentioned this so many times, because they themselves were born and raised in Sarnia, in ‘Chemical Valley’, born in this place, that is alongside/within more than 60 oil refineries and petro-chemical plants, where they absolutely cannot even fathom drinking their local waters, nor even consider swimming in their local streams, or eating from them either. In fact visitors are advised to wear chemical masks or respirators.

This great person named Beze, is so young, yet I have noticed over these recent years, has truly become wise as an elder, a youthful learning one.   

They kept speaking of the water, that they held in their hands in a jar.  This jar of water was water FROM the land in which we were honouring today- in downtown Toronto to MARCH in solidarity with the land defenders in Wet’suwet’en- land that is being infringed upon by developers, for a pipeline, for dirty oil... that should be kept in the land.  This land is being protected by the indigenous people of that land. 

Beautiful land.  Land that folks still DO drink freshwater off of, and eat the animals off of….the land they know, and are integrated with.  They, are of the land, and know it.

The Story of the jar of water is that it ‘ came from Ambrose- a water protector from Unistoten. He brought us water from the land there, during one of our Toxic Tours.’

Toxic Tours are tours that these beautiful siblings Beze and Vanessa lead in their home-town, Sarnia, highlighting all the industries, and the effects that they have had on the land. And the folks living there.  Here they experienced things such as weekly siren testings, in case of chemical leaks- they say that the sirens are irrelevant, as the people living there SMELL in the air when there’s been a leak, they know the effects, they know leaks happen regularly.

There are significantly higher rate of cancer and miscarriages here.

So this water from Unistoten meant a LOT to this person named Beze- it represents a lot…. It represents everything actually.

When one can still drink the water of the land, that means it is clean.  It is alive, and fresh, and clean- absent of anything that can hurt us, clean enough to wash our babies of creation in.  

That means it has not been tainted, by industrialization, by chemical plants, ‘production plants’, pipelines, tailing ponds from the dirty pipelines L.

That means Pachamama earth creation is in balance. And her waters are still clean, and fresh, and healthy.

Beze held that jar, and honoured what was inside.

Beze had been given that water a long time before, and had been holding onto it’s sacred-ness, so that when this time had come- that we all needed to STEP UP, and stand up in its defense, it was there as proof.  Beze had this artifact, GUIDING them presently, as an indigenous person, as a land defender-  as a person of this earth, DEDICATED, to protecting it, in a very beautiful and gentle and humble way, yet also fierce, and TOTALLY clear, as the water they held in their hands.  

They held that water, in clear honour… THIS is what we NEED to hold on to.

Clean water…. Clean earth.  And all the creatures and people and culture and WAYS that are completely integrated with it. ONE….

I was speaking to my children the other day, the first time I consciously spoke of ‘the elements’. Fire, Water, Air/Wind, Earth.

What are we without all of these alive, present, healthy and in balance?  How can we survive without totally valuing their integrity….their integration….OUR being of THEM, them of us?  Ours to take care of, and honour.

How can we NOT? I am teaching my kids about ‘pachamama’, it’s the word/title I like best about the whole earth/creation/universe/god/jah/mama earth concept.  When we do certain things, we are NOT taking care of Pachamama, and some actions more than others are harmful.  ESPECIALLY as we live here in big city Canada. We hardly know our impact.  My kids will NEVER know it, UNLESS, I teach it to them.

For me, going to this Unistoten solidarity march, this January 2019, where we marched through downtown streets, holding signs HONOURING and HIGHLIGHTING this community and land and INDIGENOUS LAND DEFENDERS aka SUPERHEROS, who just live and put their lives ‘on the line’.  Being present  for a couple hours, immersed in the sacred LOUD powerful important meaningful holy honouring listening reflecting absorbing CEREMONY, of marching in solidarity with folks devoted to the land, and their original cultures- it really nourished me to be there and present.   

I am thankful that I was able to be there. Thankful to have been invited in to move around their drum chanting, hold hands with fellow humyns, who care enough to be present.  ThAnkful to have childcare, and/or the physical abilities to WALK the path we walked that day.  And hopeful that my children will grow up caring and feeling similarly to me, about the extreme importance of protecting and caring for the Earth.

I was thankful to smell and be immersed and surrounded by all the beautiful real medicines that indigenous folks honour of the land…. Smelling so much sage and sweetgrass meant so much to me… it just does. I get it…. To smell it in… and know that it is part of the sacred strong ceremony, sending out our wishes INTO the air, over to folks who need to know they are surrounded by folks all around the world, IN SOLIDARITY.

It’s way more than that though.  These Indigenous Folks are just LIVING, and protecting the land.  They do it, because IT IS THEIR LAND, AND, it is ALSO for us ALL to survive. We ALL live off the land, at our basic Humyn-bodied Existences.   

People have come, and just TAKEN it from them.  Like, really… to reflect on just that, the exploitation of land that folks LIVE on, and with, and to just be TAKING that, to have that taken (and their fucking children, etc)…. It is actually the worst that can happen to anyone.  And that exploitation of indigenous people humyns, happens all over the world. And that makes me SO so so sad, and angry. It is JUST not right.

Going to that march re-inspired me, to continue sticking CLOSE to my values, that genuinely value NATURE, and the folks that live with it, consciously.  It reminded me to HONOUR and support these warrior folks, who are devoted to taking care of it, and protecting it.  With humble, kind, CLEAR, clarity.

It is the WATER we protect. For our children, and our children’s children…. And all coming generations.

What kind of a legacy do we want to leave?…. One of exploitation, and harm, and damage?

Or one of care, and honour, head strong in our care for what is RIGHT?

What kind of legacy do I want to leave to my children?

Definitely one that is largely based in, ROOTED, in our root culture and essence… that of the earth and nature and Pachamama.

Where we ALL come from.

Dedication: this piece of writing, FULL of genuine emotions and intentions and honouring, is actually now dedicated to Dave Vasey. A humyn i saw at this march, a humyn i have seen basically for the bulk of my her-story of being more 'active' as an 'activist'. He took his own live, less that 3 weeks after this march. He was a full-time ACTIVE water and land and earth ad humyn defender. He put his life and body on the line, a quantity of times i cannot even fathom, but hundreds of people are attesting to. He loved and valued the beauty of earth, not to objectify it, or exploit it, but to honour it, and its people, and it's creatures. Purely. I am so sorry it became too hard for him to keep going, he lived for 40 years, and i think he was devoted to caring for OTHER for most of that.  I am sad he could not care for himself properly in the process. and i SO honour him, and attribute much of my courage to step INTO healthy positive version of my best self, when i was more actively participating in the valuable and important RESISTANCE again systems that HARM and EXPLOIT each other, and the earth. I attribute much of my CONFIDENCE to STAND UP- to Dave. He showed via HIS own actions, this was a righteous way to live.  Rest in such peace brother. I am so sorry it hurt so much by the end of your life, and we ALL truly love and respect you for all that you did in your lifetime. Thank you.