Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me once again to this meeting.
My name is Marjolaine Tshernish, and I am an Innu from the community of Maliotenam. I work for and with my nation. I also work with elderly persons and various other groups. We support schools, promote our culture and conduct activities to protect our future as well as our traditional knowledge and language. I speak the Innu language and practise Innu culture.
In the context of this study on the integration of traditional knowledge in government policies, we really need to question what the objectives of this initiative are and understand the objectives we need to achieve.
As you know, there are many nations across Canada. We have two language families and we have cultural diversity. Our cultures are different, our beliefs are different, and our ways of thinking are as well. However, many aspects of our cultures are very similar. We attach importance to the stories of our ancestors, our legends, the land and everything that surrounds us in life.
As we can see, the hierarchy of first nations values differs from that of the dominant society's values. In my organization, I work with Innu and non-indigenous persons, and I can see they follow different pathways. Our ways of living are truly different.
The people of my generation have a major responsibility. We are the bearers of our traditions. We must ensure that we pass on our traditional knowledge and language. We are also under considerable pressure to be educated, to earn diplomas and to meet the expectations of the dominant society.
Traditional knowledge is important, as are our elders as well. Their memory is very important, and that must always be taken into account. I know that the traditional knowledge of first nations elders affords major benefits in certain government departments, but I'm not sure traditional knowledge will be integrated in government policies in others.
For example, everything pertaining to sacred practices is part of our traditional knowledge. The way we think is very different from that of other cultures. Our language, Innu-aimun, comes from the land. We use it on the land, and we use it here, on our reserves, in our communities. The translation of Innu words is very complex because of their meaning.
Consequently, that knowledge and those beliefs often aren't consistent with the way things are done in the political system, a system that doesn't suit us.
That political system was imposed on us by band councils, a situation that conflicted with our values and beliefs. We can see that the population hasn't embraced the change, and this has caused conflict between our values and those new systems. Our population seems lost as a result—