In the tradition of Hip Hop, “Here’s a little story
I got to tell...” This past January I had the opportunity to
travel to Vancouver for a journalism conference
with some staff members of The
Window. Not only was I excited about seeing old friends, making new
ones, and getting to know The
Window staff better, I was extremely excited to finally meet the
staff of the all-Indigenous run REDWIRE Magazine.
Right from the get-go the trip was one of
bonding. Our cabbie Butter picked up Copy Editor Andrea Iseman, then me, and then Lisa Kaplan, la jefa,
the boss, our Editor-in-Chief. Writer Kate Burke and Arts Editor Adrian
Roomes carpooled from the West end and we all
met up at the airport. Production Manager Suyeon
Kim joined us two days later.
The plane ride was smooth. I watched TV,
talked to people while lining up for the washroom, and walked up and
down the aisles so as to stretch my legs. About thirty people from
different University newspapers across Ontario flew with us. Some were
cool and some were... well, I’ll say no more. We landed after a
five hour flight and the excitement hit; a new place, a new adventure.
We jumped into a limo and headed for our hotel which was near the water
and a twenty minute walk from Stanley Park.
It wasn’t the greatest of days but
nowhere near the cold that Toronto was experiencing. A vest
and an umbrella would do. I was overdressed and sweating like a mofo! Our limo driver set us up with where to
party, what food to eat, and things to make our trip one to remember.
After arriving at the hotel we hit the streets to get acquainted with
our neighbourhood. We were surrounded with a
7-11 on the corner, several diners, fish and chips and sushi
restaurants, the best shawarma joint I have
ever been to, a library that some said they would be using but of
course didn’t (can we say “denial”?), and a sex shop
that was owned by one of the classiest, most knowledgeable women I have
ever met (see Kate Burke’s article).
Our first evening consisted of dinner and
hanging out in the girls’ room: laughter prevailed all night.
Each of us laid out our lives. Atheism, distorted love triangles and
pickup lines, the Israel/Palestine conflict, and lots of junk food
eating took place. Some were the butt of everyone’s jokes, others
pushed buttons, one of us fell asleep with his head tilted back, feet
on the coffee table, hands at his sides, and a chip in his mouth, and I
got the pic to prove it.
On my second day in Vancouver I gave REDWIRE a call and
said I was in town. I have been writing for REDWIRE for three years.
Emails, phone calls, my words in print, and cheques
in the mail were the extent of my relationship with my brothers and
sisters on the West Coast. “I’m excited to finally meet
you,” said Taylor Omelak, the Arts
Editor. I got the address and jumped in a cab with Adrian and we headed down to the
office.
As soon as I walked in, Taylor,
Editor-in-Chief Dustin Johnson, and Outreach Project Coordinator Riel Manywounds walked towards me and gave me big hugs.
We sat in a circle and talked politics, writing, and life for two
hours. Manager Marika Swan joined us afterwards.
It was a time to visit, to connect, to learn, to share, and to unite.
I called my fourth mom that night and told
her about the love I felt in the REDWIRE office: about the circle we
sat in, the feelings and time shared, the
positive energy in the air, the passion and intelligence that my
brothers and sisters spoke with. I felt at home, like I was with
family. The first magazine that I was published in (Decolonize Your
Mind, volume 6, issue 4, July 2004, www.redwiremag.com)
was on the wall amongst all of REDWIRE’s works; the red and
yellow Warrior flag hung from the ceiling by the door; anti-colonial
posters for several protests covered the walls, and boxes of the latest
issue ready to be shipped were piled up in a corner.
After our visit Adrian and I headed back to
the hotel. Cab after cab drove by us. One cabbie waved us off. Drenched
in rain water, pissed at the blatant discrimination, and tired of
standing in the rain, I stood in the middle of the road and we
aggressively hailed a cab that finally stopped and let us in. After
sitting in a circle together talking about colonization and racism and
then being denied transportation for a half hour, our bond was set,
Adrian and I hung tight for the rest of the trip.
The rest of our days were hitting up seminars
in the white-run and white-attended conference (out of 70 speakers 4
were of colour, which is less than last year,
and of 300 participants there might have been 10 of colour,);
the future of journalism really isn’t changing. I delved into
that last year with my white privilege article; drop me a line if you
want a copy. Ian Hanomansing and Jian Ghomeshi of CBC,
Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall, and Narduar
of MuchMusic were the keynote speakers; all
of them were great. Best of all was connecting with my fellow staff
members at the two publications that have been the main bulk of my
writing career to date: REDWIRE and The
Window.
