The Re-Education of the Pope

"It’s hard when being Native means different things depending on who’s asking and why,” he says.

“And to some people, you’ll never be Native enough,” I add. Page 55, Fire Keepers Daughter, by Angeline Boulley.

I hope they gave the Pope some books, like Fire Keepers Daughter because when he goes back to Italy, his staff will probably ask him about ‘those people.’

What do they want? It’s not only Rome that thinks like that. Canadians ask the same question because we don’t want to know really, despite all the information out there, including Treaties. Identity is tied to the land, humanity and its languages, and animals on that land. Therefore, stolen land results in stolen identity.

Identity is like coins. It has two faces, the interior and exterior. The interior is the most important. It’s the foundation, the bullet proof vest or parka to shield the child from the exterior onslaught.

Having said that, we must admit that the exterior can be a blizzard that threatens to erode the interior. Time and place. We are born somewhere but might end up living somewhere else.

The question of interior identity vs exterior identity doesn’t come up when you are surrounded by people who look like you, talk like you, live with grandparents like you or have pets like you. It becomes an issue when you move away from the center to a ballpark where people see race first, before you say hello.

‘Natives’ are like this. Blacks are like this. Japanese are like this. They all look the same (Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese). Indians in India are like this.

Stereotypes determine how strangers treat you. You know who you are, thanks for the interior identity, so it doesn’t bother you. Sometimes people get scared when I enter the elevator and immediately say ‘sorry.’ It’s a public thing that goes up and down collecting the world. I’m part of the world.

Exterior identity. It is bad news when it engulfs the interior, totally erasing it. Kids will think they are ugly when they are not. They might  deface their hair, face and speech.

Identity is calling yourself Anishinaabe when the rest of the world calls you Indian. “Anishinaabe means the Original People. Indigenous. Nish. Nishnaab. Shinaab,” Page 48, Fire Keeper’s Daughter.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.