Chapter 9 Elders in Prison and Cycles of Abuse

Elders

“The community will define who they have as their Elders.”

Elder Vem Harper’s quote is true for Indigenous communities both in and outside of prison. Prisoners fought hard for many years to have Elders allowed entrance into prisons for the purpose of ceremony, the sharing of teachings, and the distribution of medicines that would not otherwise be accessible during their confinement. Further to this, Section 74 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) allows people in prison to have input into decisions affecting their lives, excepting matters of security. Correctional Service Canada’s response was the creation of processes that deny prisoners any role in the selection process of Elders (a process which has become rife with nepotism), the criteria by which they are hired, or any method to challenge unqualified, ineffective, or abusive Elders or Aboriginal Liaison Officers (ALO).

Within the current framework, Elders must sign a one-sided CSC loyalty and obedience contract, titled Standards of Professional Conduct in Correctional Service Canada, before they are permitted within the facility.1 This contract stipulates that Elders must sign off on any restrictions CSC wishes to place on Indigenous initiatives that conflict with the correctional agenda—a stipulation that not only disregards any Indigenous traditions, culture, or ceremony, but also policy, established law, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This policy and practice, which an Elder must willingly or grudgingly sign off on, are legitimated by then declaring them as “Elder Approved.”

In Indigenous communities, Elders are respected and cherished individuals who have amassed a great deal of knowledge, wisdom, and experience over many years, and who are recognized by their communities. They are individuals who contribute to the good of others and set examples. In the process, they usually sacrifice something of themselves, be it time, money, or effort. I am not speaking of all Elders who work for CSC, many of whom care deeply for the needs of their often-broken people and dedicate their lives, no matter how restrictive, to helping heal the socially wounded Indigenous prisoners under their care, but there also many others who act otherwise. As I outline below, CSC also tends to hire and support the more obedient, and even abusive, Elders.

In many Indigenous traditions, the eagle feather embodies the seven sacred teachings and serves as a physical symbol of honour and nearness to the Creator. This is because the eagle is one of the only known birds to fly above 30,000 feet. This is the place of the firmament and the veil to the other world where our ancestors and the thunder beings live. Many Indigenous prisoners have no one in their community to offer them an eagle feather. In prison, many Elders refuse such offerings and deny Indigenous prisoners this honour because they are incarcerated. Although I have recently received two eagle feathers from other prisoners from my home territory, for fourteen years I was refused access despite my commitment to living a traditional way of life. One Elder in the Pacific Region, who has many close blood relatives that are also working as CSC Elders, even refuses to let prisoners use an eagle feather during Circles. Instead, he forces inmates to use goose feathers, even though there is an eagle feather available on our altar. He has a large bag of these goose feathers that he passes out to participants. This has caused much confusion with the Indigenous prisoners, some of whom cannot tell the difference between an eagle feather and a goose feather. This Elder steals our tradition and honour. In one instance, when I brought my own sacred eagle feather that holds the feathers of two different kinds of eagles, he refused to use it. The same Elder, among others, also refuses to share their ceremonial pipes with us, claiming that they do not want prisoners contaminating them. These CSC Elders believe prisoners are foul and that our very touch is poison to the healing nature of the pipe, among other sacred objects.

On our sweat grounds we have a small building in which to change, and we also have small circles. A one point, a CSC Elder brought in a two-inch-thick circular piece of asphalt and placed it under our cast iron smudge pan. From the day I arrived at the institution, I began complaining about this foul obscenity being used on our altar, but the Elder refused to remove it. Eventually the asphalt began leaking a putrid, toxic, black, oily, sludge onto our sacred altar; eventually, through much prayer, it broke in half. When I tried to throw it away, it was picked out of the garbage and placed on the window ledge above the altar, so its malevolence could continue infecting the sacred space.

I am a hereditary Dreamer, Rainmaker, False Face maker, and the maker of sacred and ceremonial objects. Even though I am a prisoner, I am recognized as an Elder to my people. I am also very proudly Christian. I once showed the CSC Elder one of my designs for a medicine staff and he mentioned knowing of an Elder in the community that needed one. I agreed to make the staff if certain sacred provisions were carried out during the harvesting of materials. Two weeks later, the CSC Elder said they felt obligated to tell the community Elder that I was also a Christian. Because of that, they both agreed I could not understand Native spirituality, nor have the spiritual capacity to make sacred objects. The Elder told me I was “spiritually sick” and of “two minds” because I could not make up my mind about what I wanted spiritually. He further told me I could not follow traditional Indigenous values because they are incompatible with Christian ones. These comments sit in judgment of my soul and faith and disparages my community and family and our traditions, ancestry, teachings, hereditary knowledge, and titles.

When I first arrived at the institution, I would speak in circle. Whenever I made criticisms of CSC policy while speaking, CSC Elders immediately dismissed my opinion while defending CSC practices and would later target me when we were alone. They told me that “nobody cared about how I was being treated; nobody was interested in hearing about it.” They further told me I needed to learn to keep silent about corrections. They said that I should just “get over it” and, if I ever wanted to see the street again, I had better learn to keep my “mouth shut” and start “jumping through the hoops.” At one point, I finally told one particular Elder that the same type of advice was no doubt given to Survivors of residential schools and Sixties Scoop survivors when they fought for so many years to be heard. How is his demand for my silence any different from those others who were silenced, or the many other attempts to make Canada’s genocide policies and practices of Indigenous peoples disappear? When I talked about some of my experiences of being a Sixties Scoop Survivor and having been raped at the age of seven, one Elder suggested that “the Sixties Scoop wasn’t all that bad” and that “at least we got some of our people educated out of the deal.” This Elder also refuses to give teachings on traditional or ceremonial knowledge. When asked, he either refuses to answer or orders one of the older Indigenous prisoners to give the teaching. As an example of this individual’s lack of knowledge, I asked for a teaching on the sacred history of the tobacco plant, for the benefit of the younger brothers. The only response I received was, “It is known as the Golden Plant.” CSC Elders are intensely disconnected with the well-being of Indigenous people in prison; they often refuse outright to offer support or give teachings on traditional or ceremonial knowledge.

Semma (Tobacco) or Stemma (Our Family Tree)

Indigenous usage of sacred tobacco in federal prisons is criminalized. We are refused the right to carry more than a few grains in our bundle or medicine pouch, and that is only if we can find an Elder willing to give any at all. All CSC grievance responses over the issue of Indigenous prisoners’ access to tobacco, most of which are denied, show either an ignorance about tobacco or simply demonstrate the perpetuation of spiritual discrimination.

In Native culture, Semma (tobacco) has many ceremonial and non-ceremonial uses beyond only smoking it. Tobacco is a prayer conductor. For the Christians and Jews, oil was used to anoint people or sacrificial animals. It is to create a spiritual conductive medium by which the spiritual can make contact with the corporeal. When I take Semma into my hand and place it onto the earth or next to the fire, I am making a spiritual and psychic connection to the earth, the Universal Unconscious, and the Creator God. When I take tobacco and place it into an animal track that I am hunting, I am intentionally making a psychic connection to the symbiotic relationship between me, the animal, and the planet. When I then take the life of an animal, fish, bird, or plant, I put down Semma as an acknowledgement to the forces at work in the universe that first gave it life so that it can in turn give its life to sustain mine or my family’s.

The state has declared its dominion over all tobacco products so they can convert this sacred plant into profit. First, nobody can own the rights to this sacred plant. The Indigenous peoples of North America have been using this plant as a trade item and sacred medicine for many millennia before colonization. Now CSC has decided to ban this sacred plant. That only further degrades the culture of the Indigenous prisoners in the name of a “smoke-free work place.” To my shame, I must approach my Elders without Semma to offer them. The reason why we give our Elders tobacco is that they, above all others, must use more Semma in their daily lives. Using tobacco, they pray for the people, and they prepare the ceremonies—in addition to all of the other duties mentioned previously. Traditionally, the supplicant for ceremony or teaching from an Elder brings an offering of tobacco. CSC has perverted this ancient tradition by which we honour our Elders by making sure Elders have enough of our Semma to perform ceremony and offer prayers. When Semma is smoked in the sacred pipe, which was given to the people by the White Buffalo Calf Woman, it is transformed into a spiritual wind so that one can see, smell, and taste the essence of our prayers. We believe the unseen wind carries the spirits of our ancestors and all spiritual beings. Tobacco, when smoked or burned, connects us to this sacred wind. When we see the smoke, we are reminded of a simple truth: no air, no life. The state only sees it as a commodity to be controlled and taxed.

I would ask you to call on CSC to take active steps to reverse this repugnant practice of banning the use of tobacco. They must also stop ordering our Elders to refuse tobacco under threat of dismissal. Give us back the honour of our sacred ceremonies and way of life, which have become diminished without our Stemma and in so many other ways.

Systemic Religious Persecution and Cultural Genocide

Being born Indigenous, following traditional and cultural Indigenous ways and teachings, engaging in ceremony, and declaring our Elders on parity with religious leaders does not make one Indigenous by definition, nor does it make a way of life into a religion. CSC however, is attempting to force that distinction on Indigenous prisoners and peoples in many ways. The most destructive of these programs is the Pathways Initiative (CD 702–1).2 This program is the next phase in Canada’s residential school program and the next step in the cultural genocide of its Indigenous people.3

Pathways is a CSC created and controlled initiative that does nothing to treat the real socio-economic or colonial issues facing the Indigenous today. Instead, participants are forced to sign behaviour contracts, which demand participation in all ceremonies and teachings, even those that contradict our spiritual paths. Any mention of one’s individual tribal culture, traditional teachings, or even thoughts toward Christianity are banned in discussion as irrelevant through the homogenization and forced indoctrination of all Indigenous spirituality, culture, and tradition into one contrived, state-sanctioned religion. Most of the Pathways participants that I have spoken with say that they get almost no teachings at all, and little ceremony, and that most of their Pathways activities consist of sharing personal information and crafts (crafting sessions only happen if there are supplies available). Furthermore, CSC is systematically de-funding all Aboriginal initiatives not associated with Pathways, which can only support approximately 15% of the Indigenous inmates. CSC refuses to officially acknowledge or recognize the accomplishments, pro-social traditional activities, or Christian lifestyles practised by many Indigenous prisoners who are not associated with Pathways. This imbalanced and repressive strategy contradicts the very foundation of our teachings and culture.

Under CSC direction, our population’s Change of Season Ceremony has been disgraced. Traditionally, a Change of Season Ceremony is a community and family gathering of food, song, stories, ceremony, and dance to welcome the new season, say goodbye to the old, and to pray for a fortuitous coming one. In complete disregard for the many reasons Indigenous cultures have Change of Season Ceremonies, our families are often not allowed to attend; families who are central to Indigenous relations. We are also required to pay for the ceremony, which should not cost as much as it does, given that most of the food is country food potluck prepared by the Elders. While prisoners are forced to pay for these ceremonies, any staff member that is invited by another staff member does not. The problem arises when our finances are so minimal that the five dollars I am charged, which is one-third of my two-weeks’ salary, makes it so cost prohibitive that the majority of prisoners either refuse or are unable to afford the ceremony (that’s equivalent to someone paying $150 for a plate of country food). As a result, attendance numbers are low and Indigenous prisoners are left feeling frustrated, degraded, and demoralized. Unnecessary security personnel, staff, and management are attending and eating for free at an Indigenous ceremony where the Indigenous prisoners cannot afford to attend and/or their families are not allowed to visit.

Aboriginal Initiatives

Indigenous cultures are highly oriented toward family and community. That is the whole reason why the Aboriginal Wellness Group was created, although it has proven itself a complete failure in its capacity to provide the Indigenous population with a sense of brotherhood and family. This group was supposed to provide an opportunity for Indigenous prisoners to gather productively in cultural, pro-social, pseudo-familial activities. Sadly, the idea is now completely dead.

Although we are supposed to choose our leaders through an election process, our group leaders are often hand-picked by management. This is to prevent inmates from choosing our own leaders who can stand up for our rights and bring our collective interests to management. These individuals would not only be well-informed about our rights as Indigenous prisoners, but about our constitutional and legal rights as well. The reality is that management vets all such nominees with these qualifications and deems them undesirable troublemakers who are labelled a “unsuitable.” In our most recent election for three vacant leadership positions, we were left with three management approved candidates out of approximately thirty well-suited nominees.

In addition to this, requests are refused for tribal, cultural, or local dialect information. I have been attempting to buy a Métis Sash for more than ten years. While in tears after months of effort, I literally begged the ALO to help me purchase my sash and a turtle shell to create a rattle that my tradition requires me to carry. Even though my plea was granted after jumping through every conceivable hoop, the staff still refused to process my order without explanation. Also, for years there have not been visiting Elders to teach the Indigenous population the making of ceremonial objects or crafts. There are no more bush craft and woodland survival circles that would teach these men how to hunt, fish, snare, trap, and dress the animals they catch, or which plants can be harvested for food and medicines. Other than the occasional sweat lodge ceremony and basic medicines, most funds are directed away from Indigenous social and cultural activities. This anti-Indigenous agenda has become so repressive that we are even being refused the ability to raise money for activities on our own. Previously, we created powwow drums, carvings, and crafts for sale in the community in order to raise money for other activities. Now all of our tools, and the space used to create these items, are locked away from us.

I write this as a call for action on behalf of Indigenous prisoners incarcerated in Correctional Service Canada (CSC) facilities across this country. Sadly, what I am making public will undoubtedly make me a target for more CSC retaliation. However, this will not deter me. These corrupt practices must be exposed to the light of public scrutiny if they are to be eradicated.

Notes

1. 1 “Former Correctional Officer Charged with Sexual Assault of Inmates,” Public Safety Canada, https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20200831/054/index-en.aspx, accessed 17 November 2022. See, in particular, under the heading “Standards of Professional Conduct.”

2. 2 The Pathways Initiative is described at: https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/acts-and-regulations/702-1-gl-eng.shtml.

3. 3 Specifically, as defined under Article 2c of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide).