So as ye sow, so shall ye reap”...

So as ye sow, so shall ye reap”... or “if you plant potatoes, you get potatoes”

I tip my hat to Ms. Taylor Goodleaf and her superb article on bullying in the My Generation section of Iori:wase News. She clearly outlines the problem and the devastating impact that bullying has on individuals.
She also touches on some potential solutions that need to be considered by the education community, and quickly too, before things escalate to devastating consequences and the people of the community will say, “Oh geez, if only we had done something sooner.”
The youth of Kahnawake are crying out loud and clear and a person needs to be deaf and blind to the situation not to see the problem.
But I want to take this issue to the next level and address where I think the bullying has originated. I honestly believe that bullying is taught to the children and youth of the community by the parents and adults of our community.
It has been done over and over and over by individuals and groups in the quest to prove they are right or better than someone else.
This comes from generations of colonization and oppression since Jack Cartier grabbed the first Onkwehon:we folks and dragged them across the big waters to show off to the royal court.
It continued through colonial government, missionary practice and through the works of the governments of Canada and Quebec; it is embedded in the cultural fabric of Canada.
But that is the history and yes it explains a lot, but the reality as I see it hits very much closer to home. Having lived and worked in Kahnawake for over 30 years, I have often seen how adults have bullied one another in just about every political, social and work situation in town.
Over the years I have witnessed people at public meetings and through the public media, at staff meetings, sporting events and in private situations bully their peers, co-workers, community workers and leaders over the whole gamut of topics from political rights to cultural identity, to control over money and resources to social conditions to personal grievances.
It has been ugly and continues to be ugly and if this is what has been seen in public I can only imagine what happens behind closed doors or homes and organizations.
It is rude, hurtful and hateful; a competition to see who can yell the loudest or put someone down in order to prove the inane point of, “I’m right and you’re wrong.” Bullying in Kahnawake has been done in anger, and worse, been done by people with smiles on their faces, believing they are being righteous and defiant hiding behind law, culture and protection of their children and rights.
Our children and youth watch and hear every single thing that the adults of the community have done... and they have learned well... damn well ... and they have emulated what they have seen, their role models bully others over and over for several generations. It has become one of the less attractive cultural trails of contemporary Kahnawake.
So while it is very important to consider Ms. Goodleaf’s suggestion for education programs in schools to teach children proper behaviour, it is equally important to create a home and community environment where respect and kanikonri:io are not only placed in the forefront, but also acted upon by individuals and groups, parents, teachers, leaders and the aunts and uncles and grandparents, bringing them to the forefront of the daily practices in Kahnawake.
Without having this environment coming into place, all the education given to the children will have a very minimal impact.
The solution will be found in the individuals and groups who not only walk and talk and treat everyone with respect and a good mind, but also in those who will call the bullying when they see it for what it is – whether it happens in the home, on the streets, classrooms or in the public forum of Kahnawake.
Oh yes, and let us all remember too, that when we point a finger at someone or some group and saying, “you’re to blame”, there are four fingers pointing right back at ourselves.
Skennenko:wa.