I was just thinking of this on the way into Winnipeg this morning. We really need to empower our women. It's really important.
I was talking to Chief Kennedy in the restaurant earlier. We were talking about how strong we have to be as a person, especially the female of the family, because you're the one always worrying about your family. The man doesn't have to worry about the kids, because you're going to take care of them, right? That's just the way it is. We have to be strong regardless of what it is. We have to be the ones to wipe those tears away and we have to be the ones to send that child off to school.
There are males out there who do that; I really have a lot of respect for men who take care of their children, men who are single parents. That's important. The child needs at least one parent, for sure. If you can't have both parents, that one person has to be there.
But to me, there are not enough of these programs and services out there to empower our women. In my community, I try to speak to them, whether it's a cousin or a niece. I try to take them with me when I go somewhere, or to an assembly, for them to see what is actually out there. They need to see that.
Sometimes in our communities, we confine ourselves to that little line that's in our communities. A lot of our people are so comfortable in our communities that they don't see what's outside that. They're so happy to be in their own homes. They're so happy to come home to that house and so happy to wake up in their own home that what's out there is not as important as what's at home. But they also need to see what's out there.
I had the opportunity to leave. I struggled when leaving the reserve. I did. It took me a while. Even as a child, I never saw myself leaving the reserve; I thought I was going to live there forever. That was my dream. But when I did leave, I finally realized that there is more out there.
That's what we need to do in our communities. We need to show that there's more out there and that you can come home afterward and share whatever experiences and education you have and help your community. That's the way I've always seen it.
Thanks.