Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Dec. 5th, 2022

[Christopher Kulak]

To get back to “Bella the Brave”, I guess Bella is my most petite little girl. She's very quiet. She's a scholar and a dreamer and a lover of Johnny Cash music and Elvis Presley, the old things that I guess she listens along to as I listen to my old-fashioned music.

She's kind of an old soul and maybe feels out of place without an iPhone 14 and all these things that everyone else has, but maybe that's what has made her a little different, in that we promote more of these old-fashioned family values in our home. We always tell our girls, “You've got to stand up for what's right and what you know to be true in life.”

Even though she didn't fight back with her fists that day, she came home, and we could see her pain on her face. She slowly opened up to her mom about what had happened and how she'd been shamed. That's brave to not lash out and to hold it until you can speak to someone with wisdom, to seek wisdom from someone who can give you wisdom.

That's how we try to raise our kids: to try not to be too reactionary and try to take the time to listen the other side. When someone's wrong, you look for community around you to help you deal with that. Society has forgotten how to do that. There are a lot of people lashing out on social media and attacking people and not doing a lot of listening.

Bella is brave because she's a small little girl who likes to trap rabbits with her dad and wear sweatpants and go into the woods. It was hard for her to put on that skirt. Sometimes she feels like her skin is a little bit pale to be feeling like a native person, but in her heart she's anishinaabekwe. Her culture and her ceremony give her that, and her ancestry.

I told her: “You wear that with pride. That's where you come from. Your Auntie Farrah Sanderson made that for you, and it comes from all the hard work from your ancestors who worked so hard to keep those traditions alive.”

When we went to the backyard to take the photographs for the newspaper and she put her hand in the air to signify her defiance against this racism, it really spoke to me as well, because in Russian our name, “Kulak”, means “the fist”. That's the significance of the fist, and significance of the skirt is her first nation ancestry.

Together, I guess that's how I showed her how to be brave. You don't have to necessarily lash out to be powerful, and now a little girl from Cote First Nation is pretty powerful indeed.

That's all I have to say on that.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Meegwetch.

That's some pretty powerful imagery that you shared with us as well. Again, I just cannot wait for the opportunity to meet her and to celebrate this with your family.

If I could, I'll turn now for my remaining time to Senator McCallum.

It's been such an honour to get to know you through this work, Senator. I wonder if you could go back to the talk about inclusivity, and how this is about building those bridges, and it's really about the unification piece.

[Senator Mary Jane McCallum]

Thank you for your question.

I'm sorry that I didn't acknowledge all the MPs for all the work that they do, especially MP Atwin for agreeing to sponsor the bill. Thank you.

It was easy for me to look at inclusivity because I had already heard a story about Isabella and what she had done. I just modelled after her. When you look at inclusivity and when I look at where we came from.... I was in residential school for 11 years. I know colonialism, as do a lot of people, whether they're indigenous or not. Where we come from is not where we're going, because we came from exclusion. We came from marginalization.

I looked at what Isabella and Chief Cote modelled. It was being inclusive and wanting to do the right thing. That comes from our ancestors.

I did not acknowledge our ancestors. In their time—and our leaders today—they persevered. They are adamant that we would not remain where we were. If Canada is going to progress, it's going to have to do it walking side by side with indigenous people. If it doesn't, we're not going to progress as a country.

The inclusivity is so important in this bill, because we've always wanted to be a part of Canada. This bill will do that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Mrs. Atwin.

Mrs. Gill, go ahead. You have six minutes.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Kulak, Isabella's father, Senator McCallum, Mr. Cote, Ms. Wapistan and Ms. Redfern.

Senator McCallum, thank you for humbly and selflessly pointing out that the bill belonged to a young girl and a community, not you. As I see it, our job, as parliamentarians, really comes down to making room for others. Isabella did what she felt was right. Like her, we want to do what is right, while humbly representing first nations and indigenous people. I wanted to acknowledge your comment, senator.

Now, I'll turn to the issue of children. Ms. Wapistan and Mr. Cote spoke about children and young people, more broadly. Pride and culture keep coming up in the committee's discussions. Ms. Wapistan added respect to that.

We are talking about enacting a national ribbon skirt day, but all the witnesses have told us that it's about more than ribbon skirts. Ms. Wapistan, you represent Quebec Native Women Inc. Tell us, if you would, what January 4 means to indigenous women, young women and youth?

[Member spoke in Innu]

[Marie-Josée Wapistan]

For the next generation, the ribbon skirt represents their pride in their kukums—grandmothers—and in their mothers. It's important to be proud of our strength. In our everyday lives, wearing a ribbon skirt is an expression of who we are as indigenous women and a way of honouring our mothers and grandmothers, who wear it every day.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

It's about the message it sends, then.

I must tell you how humbled I was—I'm using that word again—when the Innu nation honoured me with a ribbon skirt. I didn't feel worthy of it.

For first nations and indigenous people, the ribbon skirt is a very powerful symbol. It sends a very powerful message. As you mentioned in your opening remarks, it's also a medium for information, awareness and communication between nations.

I wore the skirt, which depicts Joyce Echaquan. The purple represents women, the red represents missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and the orange represents the survivors. There are other symbols as well, and I am reminded of how powerful those messages are.

Do you think the skirt can be a way to inform and educate, and to forge ties with indigenous people?

[Marie-Josée Wapistan]

Yes, when we wear our skirt, it's about everything it represents. People in every indigenous nation wear ribbon skirts. Through the skirt, we are thinking about Joyce Echaquan and our murdered and missing sisters.

The four colours of the ribbon represent the colours of the four directions: yellow, red, black and white. All of that encompasses the strength of indigenous women, who proudly wear those colours on their skirts.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

As you pointed out, wearing your ribbon skirt is incredibly symbolic for you. At the same time, it can have a tangible impact on society.

What do you hope this national day will achieve? What are your hopes in that regard?

[Marie-Josée Wapistan]

Today, we are in an era of reconciliation. If we want to walk that path, we have to include our customs and traditions, and for women, wearing a ribbon skirt is one of those traditions.

Everyone—indigenous youth and women, our grandmothers and grandfathers, the people of Quebec and Canada—should be proud of those customs and traditions in this era of reconciliation.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

My time is already up, Mr. Chair.

[Member spoke in Innu]

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Mrs. Gill.

We now go to Ms. Idlout for six minutes.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[ Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.

Before you ask any questions, I need to clarify that Inuit women do not use ribbon skirts as a tradition or culturally. Inuit use amautiit and kamiik. We use those as regalia. They're all handmade. I think that's understood. Inuit women do not use ribbon skirts.

I ask you now, George and Christopher, don't you think that you are using an assimilationist policy that governments have used over the years by lumping us all in one?

[Chief George Cote]

I know that not all first nations or Métis or Inuit do use the ribbon skirt the way we use it in our community. Within our community, we just wanted to ensure that the people, the schools, our government, our regional authorities and the Good Spirit School Division that we use the ribbon skirt for our children, for our grandmothers and our mothers.

Women are the very most important part of our communities, and in order for them to identify themselves as the homemakers of the communities, they wear these skirts at the ceremonies and the traditional activities and at home if they can, so that's what we wanted to instill. We're not using this to do any kind of assimilation with the federal government or any other first nation or Métis or Inuit community. It's just something that we did as a community along with the family to bring a positive outward appearance of our nation to our community and to educate the people about our traditions. We left it at that.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]

Thank you.

Madeleine, I think, would have said the same thing had she been able to speak. Maybe she will speak later when the technicalities work.

Thank you for understanding that it does not apply to Inuit women traditionally and culturally.

I have proposed an amendment to the bill and I'm going to read it:

Whereas the ribbon skirt, while not a symbol common to all Indigenous cultures in Canada, is important to many of them;

George and Christopher, would that be acceptable as an amendment? This is the proposed amendment.

[Chief George Cote]

Yes, it's acceptable to me.

I talked to Mary Jane here and she wanted to make a recommendation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Mr. Kulak, do you want to add any comment to that?

[Christopher Kulak]

I didn't get the translation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Perhaps, Ms. Idlout, you can repeat it.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]

It is, “Whereas the ribbon skirt is important to many indigenous people in Canada, while not a symbol common to all Indigenous cultures, is important to many of them”.

[Christopher Kulak]

I'm not receiving the English translation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Did you hear anything there, Mr. Kulak?

Okay, I don't think he's hearing it.

Yes, go ahead, Chief.

[Chief George Cote]

On reviewing what was proposed through the amendment, which is, “Whereas the ribbon skirt, while not a symbol common to all Indigenous cultures in Canada, is important to many of them”, with Chris's and Lana's blessings, I would say no to the amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Chief.

Since it was brought up, you're certainly entitled to comment on it. We will, as a committee, be reviewing the amendments after this session.

Your time is up, Ms. Idlout.

Let's have one last go to see whether Ms. Redfern is able to blast through the ether so we can hear her.

Go ahead, Ms. Redfern.

[Madeleine Redfern]

I'm so honoured to be in front of the committee.

I want to thank and acknowledge those who are bringing forward this bill, and especially the bravery of Isabella.

I think many or most indigenous women in this country, including our children, have experienced systemic discrimination. I'm really sad that Isabella went to school displaying something that clearly was important to her culture, her family and her community and it simply failed to be respected as special and unique.

As our member of Parliament from Nunavut has explained, the ribbon skirt is not actually part of our culture and our tradition. The amautiit, which are what we wear for carrying our children, and the kamiik—boots—are all handmade and require immense special skill. There is absolutely no intended disrespect to the bill. As I think Lori has explained well, in the spirit of inclusivity, it's just to simply recognize and acknowledge that ribbon skirts are not really part of our culture.

Maybe the language in the proposed bill to bring about that level of inclusivity or that recognition of the distinction between the different cultures is to not try to undermine the spirit and the intent of the bill. We as indigenous women, we as women, and the fathers of our children want to be able to proudly wear our traditional clothing in the schools, in our ceremonies, at our meetings and in our conferences as a way of demonstrating that we do exist, and what we wear is an incredibly important way of demonstrating that our culture is strong and alive and that we do want to advance it.

This is not to disrespect Isabella, her family and the folks who are sponsoring this bill, but I do think a very small amendment to the bill would bring about and foster that level of inclusivity, because it is something that our children have also experienced, that our people have experienced when we do wear our traditional clothing. The goal of this bill—as we totally understand and support—is to try to recognize and demonstrate that we should be able to do this proudly without fear and without discrimination.