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"To do No Harm…." First Nation university student: Dr. Schmidt, the acting chair for the University of Northern British Columbia's social work faculty stated in one of his class room lectures that …. "As social workers, we are to do no harm". Narrator: and the heart of the Indian stands up to speak: Narrator: and the spirit of the Indian whispers… Narrator: then the Indian's backbone stands up to speak Indian backbone: "It is 2003, and as an Indian, I am still needing to have my words and wisdom backed up by the verification of a White Nation person, who put his words on paper. You call your "rule" academic or scholarly protocol which is your Nation's need to have credit given to you when you weren't the ones who figured out the answer…. I was. Mean while you imply that your children and Indians are not "allowed" to have profound insight nor wisdom unless we have read it somewhere, from some brilliant White Nation scholar". Narrator: The Indian's backbone goes on to think for herself while looking to her Ancestors as role models Indian backbone: "I wonder…. when was the last time I saw famous quotes from our Great War Chiefs and they referenced themselves to a White Nation Scholar?" …."where is the "magic line" where, as Indians, we no longer need to reference our wisdom and observations of life with White Nation's printed theoretical or analytical statements?" Narrator: the Indian spirit goes on to reflect: Indian spirit: I wonder what it is like for my White Nation colleagues to go to their library to see row after row of books; printed wisdom from their Ancestors and Elders. But…. were do I find my Ancestors and Elders' printed words of wisdom and truth? University student: Thorough out my social work classes, I am taught
key terms such as; "colonialism", "dehumanization",
"imperialism", "cultural genocide", "white
privilege" and "oppression" (Tuhiwai Smith, 1999) as
if they are historical terms. Meanwhile, from my Indian point of view,
they are still very much alive and flourishing in today's world of academics,
research, and methodologies. Narrator: And…. the Indian who refused to be crushed goes on to challenge… Unbreakable Indian: "Where is the "heart" and "soul" in your social work research and practice models?" University student: Recently, I have noticed how White Nation research is so focused on inventing labels Indian Spirit: for others to wear…. University student: and then go on to "operationally define the meaning of those labels in observable and measurable empirical terms" (Black, p. 37). I understand that the researcher then goes on to chop up that "construct of interest" (Black, p. 35) Indian spirit: my people University Student: into little bits and pieces and if those bits and pieces have a "coefficient alpha that is greater than .70 to each other" (Spector, p. 31 -35), they will end up in a "SMI", a standardized measurement instrument ( Tam, lecture, October 06, 2003) Indian spirit: standardized measuring institute University student: to measure "elements" (Rubin & Babbie, p. 259) Indian spirit: my people University student: of a "random sample" ( Rubin & Babbie, p. 259) Indian spirit: white man's equality University student: to see if they have "statistically significant scores" (Spector, p. 67) Indian spirit: a sense of meaning and worth University student: to qualify for the scientific label. Indian spirit: assigned identity. Narrator: And… the silent voice of the invisible Indian says…. Invisible Indian: But, what about "me"?... Are you so afraid of "me" and "my truth" that you can not listen to "me" and "my story" without having to de-humanize "me" and "my truth" by assigning numerical scores to do statistical analysis on "me"? "All I wanted you to do…. was… to just to listen to "me"…with an open heart and an open mind. Narrator: And the human rights activist Indian goes on to says Human rights activist Indian: Where is the "heart" and "soul" in White Nation social work research and clinical models? In our Red Nation research and healing conferences, we rise above their "scientific dissecting" and "intellectual oppression" to hear our voices and open our hearts and souls to share our sacred truths with others. Narrator: And…. the courageous Indian whispers… Courageous Indian: This is what happened to me…. This is what it is like to be de-humanized…. This is what was done to me…. Narrator: And….the Elder who sat back and watched what went on, now begins to speak The Elder who sat back and watched: Today and historically in Indian country, "constructs of interest" were not chopped up into bits and pieces… my ancestors were…. And…. my children are still being chopped up by White Nation education, and researchers and their methodologies. Human and culture genocide is still alive and flourishing. They are not historical! Not yet…. Narrator: And…. after being lost for a long time, a successfully dissected Elder was finally able to speak of her wisdom; she had found her heart that had been trapped in a book collecting dust on a library shelf.…. The wisdom of the once dissected Elder: "Our sacred and traditional ways of seeing, being, and doing are so needed to protect our selves, our children, and our grandchildren from the "cold world" of White Nation education, methodologies, and research. We need to work harder to hang on to our truth…It will be one of our Sacred Gifts that we will give to ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren to come.….remember my little ones… A star does not dim,
May you walk in peace
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