TheyBuildBridges

COPY/PASTED FROM ANOTHER SOURCE.

BECAUSE ITS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MOUNTAIN OF INDEBTEDNESS THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE FOR THEMSELVES.

And I Quote….(edited for profanity)

🚨 RECONCILIATION ISN’T COSTING YOU BILLIONS.
🇨🇦 CANADA’S MISTAKES ARE.

Let's put this in regular taxpayer language because apparently that's where Canadians understand things best.

Every time you hear:

💰 “Billions more for Indigenous people.”

🛑 Stop.

Ask what the money is actually FOR.

Because a whole lot of those billions aren't gifts.

🧾 They're bills.

Bills Canada ran up.

🇨🇦 Canada took Indigenous children.

🏫 Canada put generations of them into residential schools.

💔 Children were abused.

🕯️ Children died.

💔 Families were broken apart.

Then came:

▪️ The Sixties Scoop
▪️ Indian Day Schools
▪️ Federal Indian Hospitals
▪️ Indian Boarding Homes
▪️ Child welfare
▪️ Jordan's Principle

Different programs.
Different generations.

But Canada keeps ending up in the same damn place:

⚖️ COURTROOMS AND SETTLEMENTS.

And taxpayers keep getting handed the bill. 🧾

So maybe it's time taxpayers started asking the government some different questions.

Because somehow the story became:

💬 “Indigenous people cost us so much money.”

No.

🚨 GOVERNMENT FAILURE IS COSTING YOU MONEY.

Take First Nations child welfare.

For years, Canada fought allegations that First Nations children were receiving discriminatory services.

⚖️ The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found discrimination.

🇨🇦 Canada fought that case.

It went through years of litigation.

And eventually Canada agreed to a:

💰💰💰 $23.34 BILLION COMPENSATION SETTLEMENT

for First Nations children and families affected by discriminatory child and family services and the federal government's narrow application of Jordan's Principle.

Read that number again.

💰 $23.34 BILLION.

That's not the price of Indigenous parents being incapable of loving their children.

⚠️ THAT'S INSTITUTIONAL LIABILITY.

And there's something else Canadians need to understand.

The government spent generations saying Indigenous children needed to be taken because institutions could supposedly give them something better.

🏫 Better education.
🏠 Better care.
📈 Better opportunities.
❤️ Better lives.

Okay.

Then explain the abuse.

Explain the neglect.

Explain the children who died. 🕯️

Explain why survivors eventually had to take Canada to court. ⚖️

Explain why governments eventually had to negotiate settlements worth billions. 💰

Because if you're going to blame Indigenous families for what happened to Indigenous children, you don't get to stop the story at the front door when the government took them.

🚨 FOLLOW THE CHILD INTO THE SYSTEM.

What happened after Canada said it could do better?

That's where Canada's liability starts showing up.

And yes, some Indigenous families struggle.

Some parents cannot safely raise their children.

That's true in every population in this country.

But Canada cannot spend generations interfering with Indigenous families, placing children into institutions, separating generations, documenting abuse and discriminatory services, and then point at the damage afterward and say:

👉 “See? Indigenous families are the problem.”

No.

You don't get to remove children from wounded families, put them into systems that wound them again, and then pretend the government had nothing to do with what comes next.

And THAT is why reconciliation keeps getting expensive.

Because Canada keeps doing everything in the most expensive order possible.

💥 Cause the harm.
🙈 Deny it.
⚔️ Fight people about it.
💼 Hire lawyers.
⚖️ Spend years in court.
📉 Lose.
💰 Settle.
📋 Build a claims process.
💵 Pay administrators.
💰 Pay compensation.
❤️‍🩹 Fund healing programs.
🔎 Hold another inquiry.
🎤 Issue another apology.
🤝 Promise not to do it again.

Then somehow...

🔄 END UP FIGHTING ANOTHER GENERATION IN COURT.

😂

🇨🇦 Taxpayer, THAT is where your money is going.

Not because Indigenous people woke up one morning and became extraordinarily expensive.

🧾 Because institutional liability eventually comes due.

Residential schools?

💰 Billions in compensation processes.

Indian Day Schools?

⚖️ Settlement.

Sixties Scoop?

⚖️ Settlements.

Indian Boarding Homes?

⚖️ Settlement.

Federal Indian Hospitals?

⚖️ Settlement.

First Nations child welfare and Jordan's Principle?

💰 $23.34 BILLION COMPENSATION SETTLEMENT.

At what point do you stop staring at the people receiving compensation...

👀 ...and start looking at the institution that keeps becoming liable for paying it?

Imagine a company doing this.

Every decade:

⚖️ Another lawsuit.
📋 Another finding.
💰 Another billion-dollar settlement.
👥 Another group saying the same institution harmed them.
💼 Another mountain of legal fees.
🧾 Another compensation process.
🎤 Another promise to change.

You wouldn't scream at the customers:

🗣️ “LOOK HOW MUCH MONEY YOU PEOPLE COST US!”

You'd look at management and say:

🚨 WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

THAT is the conversation Canadians should be having with their governments.

Because reconciliation itself isn't the billion-dollar problem.

⚠️ REFUSING TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT BECOMES A LIABILITY IS.

Want to save taxpayers money? 💰

⚖️ Stop creating Indigenous lawsuits.

⏳ Stop fighting Indigenous people for 10, 20 and 30 years before admitting something went wrong.

👧 Fund children properly the first time.

🏠 Keep families together when they can safely stay together.

❤️‍🩹 Provide services before families reach crisis.

⚖️ Follow court and tribunal decisions.

📜 Honour legal obligations before somebody has to sue to enforce them.

🚨 And when Indigenous people tell you a system is hurting us, maybe investigate it BEFORE ANOTHER GENERATION BECOMES A CLASS ACTION.

That's called:

🛡️ PREVENTION.

Businesses understand it.

Insurance companies understand it.

Taxpayers understand it in their own lives.

Apparently Canada needs another few billion dollars in settlements before it catches on.

So the next time somebody says:

💬 “Look at all the money Indigenous people get.”

Correct them.

🧾 LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY CANADA HAS HAD TO PAY.

Those are two very different statements.

One makes Indigenous people sound like the liability.

The other identifies where the liability actually came from.

🚨 WE ARE NOT THE BILL.

🧾 WE'RE THE PEOPLE CANADA OWES THE BILL TO.

And if taxpayers are tired of paying it?

Good. We're tired of going through it too.

Stop yelling at us.

🇨🇦👉 START ASKING YOUR GOVERNMENT WHY IT KEEPS RUNNING UP THE TAB.

As I prepare for an upcoming session around “The importance of Indigenous Resources in a School” for Learning Commons staff in a School Division, the word “Literacy” comes to mind because as I understand it, the definition of Literacy is much bigger than reading, writing, and comprehension as I was taught in grade school a mere 45 years ago.

Looking deeper into it, I find a much fuller definition that is more suitable in the context of Truth and Reconciliation, and is more aligned with what I have learned “Literacy” to mean in my own Reconciliation journey.

UNESCO defines literacy as;

The dynamic capacity to identify, understand, interpret, create, and communicate information to safely navigate and actively shape the modern world.

This post is inspired by a “new to us” discovery that my wife and I experienced on our trip to Jasper this week. We have come to Jasper for most of the 37 years we have been married, and we have NEVER known about or experienced the story of the Moberly Homestead.

Having visited the site, I was reminded of how important it is to continue to learn the history of our Indigenous People, in this case, the Asiniy-waciwiniwak or the Rocky Cree People.
I’ve always known that Literacy in Reconciliation is more than learning the “hard Truths” of colonization and assimilation history, and this is a great example of the extended learning we should be doing in Reconciliation.

It helps us connect to the People in understanding their lifestyle, hard work, and innovative creativity as well as their support of each other and their contributions to settler establishment.

If nothing else, it should help us see their value in humanity, and grow our appreciation for them and others like them who helped shape the society and communities we now know.

In doing so, we grow our Dynamic capacity to identify, understand, interpret, create, and communicate information to safely navigate and actively shape the modern world.

Ekosi Pitama,

Mosom Kevin

UPDATE ON THE RACIST BANNER ALONG HIGHWAY 779 NEAR SPRUCE GROVE.

This is the kind of Truth that our Indigenous People and Allies need to know in order to speak to these Racist ideologies truthfully when the peaceful opportunity arises.

(Copy/Pasted from someone else)

The Banner says,

"THE INDIANS HAVE DONE NOTHING IN OVER 100 YEARS AND NOW THEY WANNA TELL US HOW TO RUN ALBERTA."

🗣️ 1. What the Majority are Saying

🛡️ Defense under "Free Speech":
A vast majority of commenters defending the sign argue that words are not physical violence, claiming that "freedom of speech/expression" protects inflammatory statements.

📢 Claims of Truth:
Many assert that the sign is factual, stating opinions such as "the truth hurts" or "where's the lie?"

🪨 Rhetorical Deflection:
A repeated refrain in the comments is the "sticks and stones" narrative, claiming people are "too soft" or "coddled" if words upset them.

🎭 Distraction / Confusion:
Some commenters argue about the word "Indian," falsely claiming the sign refers to international students from India rather than Indigenous/First Nations people (though others quickly correct this).

🚧 Anti-Indigenous Rhetoric:
Multiple comments reiterate anti-Indigenous tropes, alleging that First Nations "take handouts," "block roads," or "contribute nothing."

⚠️ 2. The Biggest Misconceptions

🗣️ "Words Aren't Violence / Free Speech Means Zero Consequences"

📚 Fact: In Canada, freedom of expression under Section 2(b) of the Charter is not absolute. Section 319 of the Criminal Code explicitly prohibits the willful promotion of hatred against identifiable groups. Furthermore, systemic hate speech creates real-world social hostility and incites safety risks for targeted communities.

💰 "Indigenous People Contribute Nothing to the Economy"

📊 Fact: Indigenous lands, resources, and labor form the literal foundation of Alberta's wealth (oil, gas, agriculture, forestry). Furthermore, Statistics Canada data shows the Indigenous economy directly contributes over $60 billion annually to Canada's Gross Domestic Income.

💵 "Indigenous People Get 'Free Money' / Don't Pay Taxes"

📖 Fact: Treaty payments (often $5/year) are legally binding fulfillment of land agreements, not "welfare." Indigenous people pay taxes (HST, GST, income tax off-reserve), and natural resource revenues extracted from traditional lands vastly outpace federal allocations back to First Nations communities.

📚 3. Gaps in Knowledge

🤝 Treaty History & Legal Reality:
Many commenters cite the text of Treaties 6, 7, and 8 ("ceded, surrender, yield up") without understanding that Indigenous signatories understood treaties as land-sharing agreements, not land surrender. The Crown secured access to resource-rich land in exchange for perpetual obligations (education, healthcare, land rights).

⚖️ Understanding Hate Speech vs. Disagreement:
Opponents in the thread mistake hate speech legislation for "censorship of opinions," ignoring that publicly dehumanizing a group on a highway sign crosses into public incitement of hostility.

🕰️ Historical Context:
Commenters ignore historical state-imposed restrictions (such as the Indian Act, pass system, and residential schools) that legally prohibited Indigenous people from owning businesses, hiring lawyers, or voting for most of the past 100 years.

🎯 4. Collective Rebuttal and Exposing Points

If responding or countering these arguments collectively, these core talking points directly address their claims:

⛽ On Economic Contribution:

"Alberta's entire economy—from oil & gas to agriculture—runs on resource land made accessible through Treaties signed with First Nations. Extracting billions in resource wealth while claiming the original caretakers 'contributed nothing' is historically and economically false."

💲 On "Free Money" and Handouts:

"Treaty funds are not tax-funded handouts; they are legal rent/settlement payments negotiated by the Crown in exchange for access to millions of acres of land."

🛑 On "Free Speech vs. Hate Speech":

"Freedom of speech is not freedom from accountability. Target-marking an entire racial/cultural demographic on a public highway sign isn't an 'opinion'—it incites public hostility and safety threats against local Indigenous residents."

🔍 5. What This Data Proves

🚨 Pervasiveness of Anti-Indigenous Racism:
It demonstrates that overt racism against Indigenous people remains casual and socially tolerated by a significant segment of the population in Western Canada.

🛡️ The "Free Speech" Shield:
Racist commentary frequently hides behind constitutional buzzwords ("free speech," "freedom of expression") to deflect accountability for public hate.

🎓 Systemic Lack of Treaty Education:
The sheer volume of comments repeating 19th-century misconceptions proves the ongoing failure of basic civic and historical education regarding Treaty obligations and Indigenous contributions in Alberta.

Another reminder of why Reconciliation work is important. A few things come to mind as I see these things often.

First .. know when and where it is worth your effort to speak against things like this. Some
Audiences are not ready to hear any Truth that compromises their narrative, and that’s ok. Don’t condemn them, or get into social media spats. Especially if they are narcissistic (which you may not know for sure), because getting a reaction out of you feeds their sense of control and superiority. Pray for them …. Because a good friend once said to my daughter “I’ll be praying for you” and when she thanked him, he said “it’s the least I can do.”……followed by …”and the most”

Second … if you do engage with them, do not react out of emotions, try to concentrate on responding in a balanced way with Truth. Followed by a question. This will “test the waters” as to whether they are ready to have a civil discussion, or thrash about in their own emotional narrative.

Thirdly, forgive them, because only you and God, our Creator will be sorting out how well you do here on earth. Their angry offensive approach to these topics should not be an influence in the relationship between you and God. Forgiveness is the only way you will ever have a chance in the future to speak the Truth in respectful way in the future, if they should ever find a path to change their marginalizing racist ways.

I’ve always said our Indigenous People have an incredible opportunity to be leaders in Reconciliation. It begins with forgiveness….and then we choose who to Trust, where to place our Trust, and how deeply we Trust, which is all built on forgiveness and relationship building.

Some folks aren’t ready for that, and we have to be ok with it.

Ekosi pitama 🖐🏽

Thank you to all of our guests from Mannville, Vermilion, and Lloydminster for joining us on the annual Lakeland College guided trip to Onion Lake Pow Wow 2026, guided by my daughter Elaina Davey and I!

With special thanks to our van drivers Jim King, Peter Walsh, and Jessica Proctor. We appreciate your investment of time and energy!

And a big thank you to Lakeland College Indigenous Services for sponsoring this trip again this year!

As our guests who have never attended a Pow Wow, we understand the fears or concerns of being “the minority in the majority”, and we truly appreciate your courage and trust in us to share this evening of Indigenous Cultural celebration with you last night.

In joining us, you have helped us “move the needle” in good way towards Reconciliation.

Our mission as TheyBuildBridges is to “Build bridges of Understanding through the Truth, and Build bridges of Trust and Hope through Reconciliation.” (Find us on Facebook)

In this I also share that in any Reconciliation session, we begin with the Truth, because without the Truth, what are we Reconciling?

It’s also important to know there are 2 kinds of Truth.
The “Hard Truth” is this Colonization and Assimilation history that we’ve all inherited.

The “Good Truth” is the Truth of who our Indigenous People truly are, and who they are striving to be in spite of the generational impacts of this history.

Pow Wow is the best place I could think of for a group of people to get to know more, and see the Joy, Respect, and Acceptance that our Indigenous People carry….for everyone.

Thank you for coming with us to get close enough to find out.

See you next year!