On July 1, I was here, there and seemingly everywhere as the community of Outlook hosted another Canada Day list of events.
You know the routine, and you were probably there. Heck, I may have even seen you. A festive morning parade, some great tunes played by some talented musicians down in the regional park, kids activities to keep them entertained, ball games down at the diamonds, free swimming, and some explosive fireworks to cap the day off as Canada celebrated its 156th birthday. (You don't look a day over 137, Maple Leaf Nation, I assure you)
That afternoon, I found myself down in the parking lot of the old swimming pool after snapping another round of photos, killing some time on my phone. I hit up Facebook, and in my browsing, I came across a post from a page that I belong to known as Old Saskatchewan, a First Nations-centric page that typically features posts from people highlighting old landmarks around the province, or old-time family photos of people or farmyards, documenting the lineage of ownership and things of that nature. Kind of a 'Saskatchewan through the generations' page.
On this particular day, that of course being Canada Day, the administrator of this page decided to "remind" its members of something, although on a dive of the page's admin content over the years, it was the first I've seen of such a post, so 'reminder' isn't quite the word I'd use here. The admin's post read as follows:
"Reminder - there shall be no “Happy Canada Day” posts today - Today we wear orange and wait for our children to be returned home"
Oooooookay then. Before I jump directly into this, please allow me to "remind" readers of what Outlook did on Canada Day two years ago.
It was 2021. We were a year and a half into the COVID pandemic, but by that time, people were just looking to break free of all the damn masks and restrictions and try to enjoy a little bit of normalcy again. Well, Outlook looked to achieve that on July 1st of that year, with a slew of Canada Day events to keep everyone entertained.
As well, at that time in our country, the flurry of news capturing everyone's attention seemingly on a daily basis was about the discoveries of mass graves of Indigenous and First Nations children in locations dotting Canada's landscape. It was nightmarish, haunting, and it goes without saying, but it was also a very delicate subject depending on who was in your conversation circle.
As a result, headlines also popped up detailing the decisions being made in communities here and there that involved cancelling Canada Day events in light of the gruesome discoveries. In my opinion, it was perfectly okay for any community in our great nation to make the decision to cancel or postpone their own Canada Day events because it's *THEIR* community and anyone who isn't a resident of said community should have no say in the matter. To each their own, I said.
What I loved was the fact that the town of Outlook not only went full steam ahead with its planned events, but the itinerary included shining a bright spotlight on the topics of murdered First Nations children and the hope for reconciliation. That was in the form of a mesmerizing hoop dancer named Terrance Littletent, whose performance left the massive audience breathless on that particular July 1st.
Here's a brief article I wrote on Terrance's performance from that day:
"The highlight for many during Outlook's Canada Day celebrations on July 1 may have been the skillful and eye-grabbing dancing on display courtesy of Indigenous artist Terrance Littletent, who held the audience at the Jim Kook Rec Plex in the palm of his hand with his hoop dancing routines.
For Littletent, who calls Regina home, everything is held within the hoop. From the First Nations perspective, the hoop contains the past, the present, and the future. To Littletent, it's his ancestors and children; all the ways of understanding his home and his place in the province of Saskatchewan may come from the hoop that he swirls, twirls, and loops around his body in seemingly a thousand different ways.
For the audience in Outlook, Littletent's dancing to the beat of the drum by his family members was an attentive and inspiring performance. Prior to his demonstration, Littletent referenced what Canadians have been seeing in the media lately surrounding the horrific discoveries of mass graves at the sites of residential schools, which have shed a disturbing light on a part of Canada's history.
Littletent asked for a moment of silence prior to his performance, of which the Outlook audience - several wearing orange shirts in solidarity - was right there along with him."
Now, let me address the Facebook post I mentioned earlier that I saw on Canada Day just a few weeks ago.
Telling Canadians not to wish each other a Happy Canada Day - ON CANADA DAY - is kind of like telling your little children not to make a lot of noise when they see their favorite characters in real life on the streets of Disney World. It just can't be done, people.
That said, I can understand where this page administrator was coming from, but only to a certain degree. You see, while there are many dark incidents and stories from Canada's past (tell me a country who has a squeaky clean history and I'll show you a green dog), I like to think we've certainly made great strides in the generations that have since passed. Events like Terrance's incredible performance on July 1, 2021 in Outlook was living proof of that. It truly was one of those moments where I couldn't be more proud of where I come from, as Outlook strayed from the timid and fearful "We Won't Celebrate Canada Day Because We Don't Want to Offend Anyone Right Now" route and instead went the polar opposite direction, going out of its way to shed light on what was happening in our country and spotlighting an amazing artist who brought the conversation forefront.
I tried to show the administrator of that Facebook page my point of view, but she wouldn't hear it. I tried telling her of the strides that Canada has made, as well as what communities have been doing in trying to educate people on the atrocities of the past, but again, she wouldn't hear it. It was her playground, and everybody had to play by her rules. Don't say Happy Canada Day because *I* don't want you to! It's childish, it's immature, and it's downright refusing to acknowledge what communities across this great nation are trying to do in terms of national reconciliation, but again - not my playground, not my rules.
I'll just say this. For people with such a mindset as her's, which is almost literally stuck in the past and refusing to acknowledge the present, their existence is fast becoming a lonely one.
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
