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Interview with Dan Thomas
October 5th, 2009By Billy Granger
When Dan Thomas was in grade 11, he decided he had enough. Like many other students before and since Dan’s time at boarding school, he was taught a version of Canadian history that glorified the Europeans and made footnotes of the vast and ancient history of Canada’s First Nations. As an Anishinaabe youth from Matheson Island and later Sagkeeng First Nation who grew up listening to the words of his Elders, it was clear to him that the stories being taught about Canada and its peoples were incomplete. He had to do something about it.
“We decided to go on strike,” says Thomas, referring to the small cadre of students who banded together to protest the school curriculum. Their strike made a strong statement indeed, and won them some face time with the principal. When they finally met with him, they issued a demand to be taught their history. A period of negotiations soon followed, resulting in an agreement to let the students work on different projects on First Nations history for their history credits. But there was one proviso — they had to keep their projects a secret. The students agreed to the terms, and the students completed their projects enthusiastically, but asking Dan Thomas to keep silent on First Nations’ history was misguided. If anything, such a request galvanized his interest in telling those stories, and a young Dan Thomas realized that he had to become an educator to teach the things he thought needed to be taught.
For Dan’s project, he contacted his aunt to learn more about Midewiwin, the traditional belief system of the Anishinaabe. Being a practicing Midew, his aunt responded with enthusiasm and passed on to him a great volume of information on the subject. As Dan began to thumb through the information for his project and then later attend ceremonies, he found himself moved by the joy and love practitioners felt when they conducted their ceremonies. This, thought Thomas, was a notable contrast from what he was being taught about Christian ceremonies and ideas that appeared to center around guilt and repentance. During these years, Dan made a powerful connection to Midewiwin, something he would later realize was the most powerful vehicle for him as an educator.
But this was not the first time Midewiwin came into his life. In fact, it had a way of coming up time and again since his grandmother had started to pass on the teachings when he was a young child of about four years old.
“She told me that I had a responsibility not to let it go. She gave me the teachings necessary to be part of it, but when I was little, it seemed so big. Everyone seemed to be going right when I decided to go left at the request of an old lady,” says Thomas with a chuckle.
Now a fourth degree Midewinini and a Research and Development Specialist with the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Center (MFNERC), Dan Thomas works from a place that values spirituality, traditional ways of life, and an appreciation for a broader context of history.
“All of history is important, and that’s the big lesson. We have to look at all of it, and see how it all fits together. We need to look globally and respond globally,” says Thomas, explaining the philosophical thrust of his work. At MFNERC, this idea is enshrined in the tools and services they offer, ranging from the school courses they have developed and sent out to schools that utilize traditional activities to meet the demands of modern school curricula, posters on First Nation values, and a book on First Nation teachings.
“We also have a First Nations law course, and have completed a workbook on teaching mathematics, specifically geometry through the process of creating star blankets, “adds Thomas. “We are also working on units that study traditional hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering. These units will highlight the traditional teachings that are transferable to other aspects of life. We are also working on other courses that involve traditional activities, such as teaching math and geometry through the process of creating star blankets, and are completing videos on treaties, ” says Thomas, later adding that a unit on Education for Sustainable Development for First Nations schools is also in development.
It is certainly a mission that could have significant implications for boreal forests under constant pressure from industrialization and for First Nation communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg still struggling to adjust to the ways of the colonial Europeans. Given the connection many communities have maintained with the boreal forest they have called home for generations, empowering the communities with knowledge taught from traditional activities will likely serve to strengthen that relationship with the land, possibly leading to the creation of more protected areas and sustainable development initiatives. While Dan Thomas tells me that he believes that it is ultimately up to the communities living in the boreal forest on the east side to determine how they will deal with issues in their treaty territories, “communities usually have a certain outlook on how they see the land. If they live on the land, they already have an idea, ” later adding that those who endeavor to cause the least amount of harm to the boreal forest, and work with the land in a way that fosters healthy communities should be supported.
“As far as I understand, when our people signed treaties with the Crown, there was some understanding as to how the land and water would be looked after,” explains Thomas. “But when settlers saw the boreal forest as a bunch of trees that needed cutting, it became a free-for-all. Actually, in every resource area the settlers seemed to have depleted the resources.”
To one end, Dan’s work endeavors to heal the damage caused by colonialism, including the harm caused when the new settlers took the children away from their parents and put them in residential schools where they were taught to disrespect their Elders, spirituality, and way of life. The effects of colonialism, in Dan’s view, are at the heart of many of the stories in the news.
“I don’t think we need to deal with it by building bigger alarm systems, creating more laws, and hiring more police,” says Thomas. “What we need to do is teach more respect.”
With regards to protecting the boreal forest and other natural resources, Dan Thomas tells me that people looking to live healthy lives, while protecting these resources, will “lead the good life”, as living without our natural lands would be “quite the opposite.”
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Hip hip hooray to helping bring true history to the masses. All Schools must teach the truth about Aboriginal history before true healing in our society will be fulfilled. We are all signatories to the treaties and we have all have a responsibility to see that they are honoured.