The Ethics of Courage - Taiaiake Alfred
I liked being able to really get an insider’s view on this matter. Yes this piece was a little hard to follow, and not to mention a tad offensive. But in the end, it was a perspective I would have never gotten to experience otherwise.
Taiaiake Alfred is a first nation Canadian who gets his point across in a blunt, passionate and provocative tone.
He’s directed this piece quite obviously to his own people. Not that he completely excludes Canadians, however many negative remarks he made about Canadians, he’s just trying to appeal to his own people. He wants the message to get through to the indigenous people so that a change can be made. It’s made quite clear that this piece is directed towards the more educated Onkwehonwe, as the language is difficult. Not only are the phrases complex, I found myself looking up multiple words in the dictionary.
The purpose of this piece was to define his people, specifically as warriors. Alfred wants them to fight for their rights, be warriors, with courage. Throughout the piece his tone suggests that maybe violence is the answer, but near the end he makes it clear that it is not a violence that he wants. He explains that violence used to work for his people but fighting out of hate and anger now wouldn’t work. By explaining what courage means to him, he really emphasizes his point.
Alfred loses some credibility because of how angry he seems towards Canadians. By calling Canadians “settlers” and “colonists” he seems too biased to make a fair argument. When so much of his argument is about discrimination, how does coming back with racism against Canadian’s help?
I like that he admits some of the fault is within the Onkwehonwe people. I felt like this piece was him pointing a finger at Canadians until this. He admits there is a substance problem with drugs, alcohol, and fast food. But he still wants to fight for redemption.
I’d be interested to know how many Onkwehonwe people have read this? What was their reaction?