To my community,
My heart is heavy as I write this. Like so many of you, I have been thinking of the death of Ronald Sandy Pien, a Naskapi whose life was taken by violence. That loss has stayed with me, and I know it has stayed with many of you, too.
His passing has me thinking hard about something we do not talk about enough.
Bullying is not small. It is not something children simply grow out of. We have watched it grow into adult cruelty, into name-calling, into shaming, into belittling, and into violence. We have watched it take people we love. Some were beaten. Some carried wounds we could not see until it was too late. Some of them were so very young.
I carry my own memories of this. I know what it is to be a child and to feel like you cannot go on. Too many of us know that feeling, and we have carried it in silence for too long.
Bullying should have no place in Kawawachikamach. Cruelty should have no place here. Name-calling, shaming, belittling, threatening one another, none of it should belong in our community.
We can choose something better, and we can begin today. We can teach kindness at home, in our schools, and everywhere we gather. We can stand beside the ones being hurt instead of looking away. We can speak up when we see someone treated badly, in person or online. And we can check on each other, especially the ones who seem to be struggling.
If you are hurting right now, please reach out. Come to an Elder, to a teacher, to anyone you trust. You are not alone, and you are not a burden to anyone. Your life matters to this community far more than you know.
If you need someone to talk to and you are not ready to talk to someone you know, the Hope for Wellness Helpline is there for Indigenous people across Canada, day or night, at 1-855-242-3310. There are even more resources linked here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BoWZ794B6/
We are Naskapi. We have carried each other through so much already. We can protect one another.
With love, and with strength,
Chief Louise Nattawappio