CPT Aboriginal Justice Delegation Day 0: The Adventure of the Community Meal (i.e. Soup Kitchen)

08 Aug 2014

Note: these are my own observations/reactions/musings, not CPT’s official communications. Please also follow the CPT Aboriginal Justice tumblr as well!

Personal ethnographic note: I am white, Jewish descent, and from San Francisco, California.

##Initial Observations

I was suprised to learn that Kenora, which at this time of the summer mostly looks like a touristy holiday town on the beautiful Lake of the Woods, has a significant number of homeless people. I was also surprised, but very pleased, to hear that I’d be dining with some of them tonight. It turns out that the church our delegation is staying in provides a meal on Friday evenings for anyone in the community who needs it. We offered to help in any way we could, and were informed that we could help just by mingling with folks and sharing the meal with them.

The first thing that struck me was that everyone who walked in for the meal seemed to be Anishinabeg (i.e. indigenous, a member of the local First Nation). This is probably unsurprising to anyone who knows this part of the world, but it was surprising for me. As we came into town today, I noticed lots of wealth in the form of large houses by the lake, boats, campers, large cars, etc., and it is now fairly clear that this wealth is more or less white/settler. The considerable problems of poverty in the area are disproportionately a First Nation issue. The people at the meal were also all fairly young; with one exception, the ages ranged from 13 to mid-twenties (in a sample of about 20 people total).

##A Natural Advocate

One young man introduced himself and shared some lovely conversation with me. When I told him I was part of a CPT delegation, he immediately told me that there is a serious shortage of affordable housing for lower income people in this area (“low class”, as he referred to himself). As more and more tourists come to the area, property values go up, and the sizeable, year-round, lower income population (which I gather is mostly Anishinabeg) is squeezed out with nowhere to live that has reasonable rent. He also mentioned that a number of local hotels and buildings have rooms available for somewhat more reasonable rent during the colder months, but raise their prices for the summer tourist rush, and the people who lived there before are pushed out (often onto the street) for the summer.

I accidentally interrupted my friend a couple times, which he did not acknowledge, but kept speaking. I’m starting to gather that it might be more socially acceptable here to wait until someone is entirely finished talking before adding anything of my own, even backchannel-responses. He was very gracious to me, and described his own struggle with housing, finding work, and living with a learning disability very, very eloquently. I’m grateful he was so open and welcoming to me, and took the time.

##Overheard Comments

We sat down to eat at a table with a number of young men who were chatting and joking amongst themselves, and who seemed a little surprised to see me joining them. (They were also very surprised to hear that I’m from California, living in England, and in light of that, choosing to spend my time in Kenora, Ontario this week.)

As I sat down, one of the youths politely warned me, “mind your derogatories”. I’m not sure exactly what this meant, but I took it to mean they were explicitly, but kindly, telling me to avoid making derogatory remarks (regarding their ethnicity? class? both?). A little while later, one of the guys mentioned to another that everyone should be careful to say “please” to the white/settler church members who were serving them the meal. Another joked back at him, saying “yes, say ‘please, Master’ “. I was surprised they said this in front of me; either they just didn’t care, or I was given a bit of a pass for not being a local.

Just an hour into interacting with the public in Kenora, and I’ve already learned a ton (and have many questions and issues to be curious about). Thank God for kind, sharing people, especially if they are teenage and living in difficult circumstances.