An organizer for the Anishinabek Confederacy To Invoke Our Nationhood (ACTION) lectured at Umi Cafe earlier this month on his personal struggle with alcohol dependency and how it relates to the intergenerational trauma felt in Indigenous communities.
Around 25 people attended the talk by Giibwanisi Dizhinkaaz, which opened with an introductory song by event organizers.
According to its official website, ACTION is “a union of sovereign Anishinabek individuals, communities and allies of other nations” who fight for greater autonomy from Canada and for the restoration of Anishinabek institutions.
The group organizes alternative education programs for members of First Nations communities to analyze and reflect on the impacts of colonization while learning about Indigenous customs and practices.
ACTION also facilitates workshops to promote settler allyship with Indigenous peoples.
Before Dizhinkaaz started his lecture, he gave the audience a “trigger warning,” as racism, alcoholism, and abuse would come up as themes in the discussion.
“I was just made to feel like a piece of shit,” he told the crowd. “I remember when I was eight, nine, 10 years old, and I was trying to figure out how to commit suicide.”
However, Dizhinkaaz has found fulfillment in clowning, an artform he said is needed in his community to provide balance and counterpoint.
One of the most traumatizing moments for Dizhinkaaz was his mother’s suicide. His mother was a survivor of the residential school system, an institution which dates back to the Indian Act of 1876.
“The Indian Act was created to kill the Indian within the Indian,” Dizhinkaaz said. “The residential schools were created to hold our children hostage.”
Despite a tumultuous upbringing and lifelong struggles with sobriety, Dizhinkaaz would soon find fulfillment in leadership roles for First Nations groups.
He said a receptionist job at a First Nations group was the turning point in his life, as he discovered that there was a need in his community for the kinds of skills and attitude he possessed.
Now, Dizhinkaaz is one of the main organizers for ACTION and continues to spread his positive message for social justice and radical change throughout Canada.
This article first appeared in the Leveller Vol. 6, No. 4 (Jan/Feb 2014)
