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When I speak publicly about Indigenous issues, or take Q&A's after a screening, talk, or exhibition, something that often arises is people disclosing their fear of making a mistake in their work as an ally, or a teacher responding to the TRC calls to action around education. 1
What it boils down to is that rather than risking a misstep and being called out or corrected, many would simply rather avoid the issue altogether. This thought process is problematic in a few ways, and in this thread I'll attempt to explain why, and offer some solutions. 2
First, the ability to avoid confronting colonialism, reconciliation, systemic racism, privilege, etc... is itself a privilege. As an Indigenous person I don't get a to choose because it confronts me every single day. So for that reason alone avoidance is a poor choice. 3
Second, avoidance is not a passive decision, it is actively harmful. When you decide not to engage out of your own fear you are not only reinforcing the trope that Indigenous people are unreasonable (angry, violent...) about our ways of asking for accountability... 4
...and justifying your own insecurity at our expense, you are also putting expectation of labor onto Indigenous people by asking us to absolve you from the very same discomfort we live with every day. Get comfortable being uncomfortable and be brave enough to fail and learn. 5
This process will be complicated and messy and we will both make mistakes. And that's okay. It isn't the mistakes we make, but the way we respond to them that matters. That brings me to another point. When you are confronted, rather than becoming defensive, try to just listen. 6
When we are called out, most of us, including myself, have the initial impulse to explain our intentions or offer reasons to shift focus or blame from our own actions. Explanations sound like excuses and intentions don't matter, so when your actions cause harm, take ownership. 7
If out of ignorance, you hurt someone, the best any of us can do is to become less ignorant by learning why and how our actions were wrong or harmful, and apologize with a promise to do better. Practice humility, compassion, bravery and honest self examination. 8
Be willing to act in a way that doesn't centre your own self interest. Seek truth by reading many different voices, particularly Indigenous ones. Challenge the status quo by examining the implicit positionality of headlines and news stories. Unlearning is part of the process. 9
In 2019, it would be amazing if there were fewer people asking "what can I do?" Not because I won't or don't want to engage, but because maybe that will mean we have moved on to discussing what you ARE doing, and learning from the inevitable missteps together. 10
