widia larivière

widia.png

[montréal (québec)]

intro’d to Widia via Tom fb share – video on creating quebec branch of idle no more (respect for rights of indigenous peoples):

the story of residential schools shocked me.. i’d never heard it myself .. my grandmother attended residential school.. had some really difficult and traumatic experiences there

i got involved in idle no more with another indigenous woman.. a lot was going on in canada.. but nothing in quebec.. esp because of the language barrier.. decided to start a branch in quebec

idle no more is basically a movement that promotes respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and their right to self-determination

social media allowed us to make our voices heard.. from our own perspective and w/o censorship

i work a lot with young people here in montreal.. who are dealing with a lot of discrimination and racism

i think that *reconciliation starts first and foremost with awareness and then recognition

thurman intereconnectedness law:

interconnect thurman

for me there are diff levels of reconciliation.. i really see it as a process of collective healing in the indigenous communities.. and i also a level that’s more about relations between indigenous and non-indigenous people

people often describe me as calm, poised, reserved.. which goes a bit against the image that people may have as an activist because often when we think of spokespeople.. we think of outspoken people, extroverts, and so on, but i sort of like to contradict that image, that you don’t have to be over the top to be an activist, and you can become a spokesperson even if you are not extroverted

i may not see immediate/concrete results.. but i’m doing it for future generations..

hoping to see more immediate/concrete results for all of us.. a nother way (short bit).. a means to listen to all the voices

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find/follow Widia:

link twitter

Anishinabekwe & québécoise. Militante droits humains / droits peuples autochtones. Cofondatrice . Co-initiatrice . Auteure & cinéaste.

Anishinabekwe & québécoise. Human rights activist/rights indigenous peoples. Co-founder @ProjetMikana. Co-initiator @IdleNoMoreQc.  Auther & filmmaker

film w wapikoni:

http://www.wapikoni.ca/filmmakers/widia-lariviere

writing for huffpo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/widia-lariviere