Letter: First Canadians

By Letter to the Editor on July 6, 2021.

Dear editor,

A poem by Marlene E. Purvis

FIRST CANADIANS – (Thu Jul 01, 2021)

first and foremost, this was their land, their home

the many peoples of the First Nations

like us they had their culture, their beliefs

their right to their language and their freedom

appreciation, respect for nature

pride in the care of earth\’s bountiful crops

tribes living in harmony with wildlife

sacred herbs, rituals, tribal dances

drumming, singing, praying in native tongue

each tribe, unique with their own traditions

as with each ethnic group in Canada

we are allowed the choice to our own rites

this is as it should be, let freedom ring

history bears the shame and sin endured

by those who took away all that was right

we weep for the innocent children hurt

and for the families who bear the loss

copyright © 2021 Marlene E Purvis

On this Canada Day, we pay honour and respect to our Indigenous people!

We also shower them with our love and show them, that as a nation we are ready to stand by them thereby setting a precedence of equality!

The shame for the atrocities and horrific abuse to the innocent, will always be a reminder that our Government and the Catholic Church of that time shall forever bear the cross of shame and humiliation!

Blackfoot, Cree, Iroquois, Crowfoot, Sioux, Piegan, Chipewyan, Sarcee, Algonquin, Ojibwa, Stoney; too many to name but each tribe has it own language and cultural difference as well as traditions!

Marlene Purvis

Medicine Hat

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