Prince Rupert's N. Carol Brown writes:
it is almost a year since I attended the Joint Review Panel in Prince Rupert. Since that time I have
helped edit The Salmon Recipes book, which is having great success, and I feel
that I have contributed to the movement to keep the north and ocean Oil Pipeline
and Tanker Free. I revisited a poem that I wrote then and thought I would send
it on to you. At the time I was very angry with the government of Canada and
felt nothing deserved upper case letters except the original native concept of
village. My hope was that readers would understand the concept and that maybe
the people on the panel would hear the hope too, and revisit the vision of a
village for our whole country.
Written for
Presentation at the Enbridge Joint Review Panel, February, 2012, Prince Rupert
(Kanata is an
aboriginal word meaning village or settlement)
i stand before you to bear witness
that the best minds of four generations
will express their love for this northern land
in canada : Kanata is
land/settlement/village
from the beginning
all that is expressed, all that is uncovered
whether beautiful, barren, bestial or disordered
honours this land, its people, its exploration and discovery.
respect the past, pioneers of the future.
love the land, air and sea, the rivers in between.
this land is not a political party, a race, religion or
corporation.
be not an opponent of this land and its living celebration.
i am one small voice in the wilderness/city
joined with others i become a herd,
a flock, a migration - one echoing symphony that travels,
savouring
mountaintop, valley and ocean,
only pausing a lightning strike in time
to rest on the waterways of our future.
n. carol brown
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