Very frequently, people call this project the Six Nations Guitar. And very often, I'm asked if I am First Nations myself, since there is so much First Peoples' history built into Voyageur. Of course, the project is actually called Six String Nation (think Fast Food Nation, Leaf Nation, etc.) and I'm not of aboriginal heritage myself but I am nonetheless proud of the First Nations and Métis stories that are included in the guitar and proud of the First Nations and Métis friends and communities who contributed to its construction and the First Nations and Métis artists who are among the thousands who have brought Voyageur to life through music.
The whole point of this project was to be a reminder that we are doomed as a country if we fail to recognize and celebrate our own history and culture and we are equally doomed if we limit the picture of ourselves simply to French-speaking and English-speaking donut-munching, beer-swilling hockey fans. We come from all over the world and we just have so much more to offer the world.
In many ways I think Canada's aboriginal peoples are the perfect model for that. For the most part, the larger society doesn't know their history, their cultures, their contributions or their artists and they fall victim to the worst kinds of stereotyping and marginalization. Canadians in general suffer from this lack of recognition in the rest of the world. By the same token, the renaissance of local history and culture on Haida-Gwaii is a model for all Canadians as well. It is robust and diverse and modern and dynamic and speaks proudly and profoundly to the whole world, as so many Canadians of all backgrounds demonstrate every day. Canada is a better place because of its aboriginal people in spite of the often tragic and shameful history of that relationship. National Aboriginal Day is an occasion to reflect on that relationship and renew it in ever more positive ways for the future.
So on this day, let me thank the Dene, Dogrib, Gwich'in and Inuit people who have been so welcoming here in Yellowknife and recommend John Ralston Saul's Fair Country and Ian Gill's All That We Say Is Ours and wish you all a happy National Aboriginal Day!
Posted at 8:44 PM