At one of the community Powwow Gatherings there were some comments made to the organizers/sponsors regarding a Flag Bearer. The person drilled the organizers about who the Flag Carrier was. At a Powwow entry there are Flag Bearer/Carrier is front and center of the Powwow Dancers. The Flag Bearer either holds the Community Eagle Staff, National Flags, Community Flags at the beginning of the event. They dance with Staffs, Flags while Honour songs go on. This is a significant part of the Powwow. They are chosen to represent the event, the community, the People. So it is an Honour to be part of this procession. Turns out this particular Flag Bearer was a predator of Women. "We didn't know."
Do we know or do we not know can be the difference between an active participant or a clueless schmoo. In the case of the Honourable Flag Bearer some one must have known. But who knows. There is this guy in the community who is literally a daily voice in the community and We Know. The fella was in the news for sexual assaulting an young woman, barely 18 at the time and he was in his 40's. He wasn't convicted as he said he "kept asking her." She was juiced, drunk, intoxicated, and he had his way with her on the bathroom floor (cause he is a classy guy or as he says a "Traditional man"). She was a petite thing and he is an imposing older guy. So, yeah she "consented" (Heavy on the sarcasm here). The young girl had Aunties who interrupted the "encounter." They beat him on the head with bottles. The courts didn't convict him, so it's all good, he dances at powwow and blows his whistle at the drums. I guess there are people who don't know, but some of us know.
A number of us organized yearly Gatherings for people who had suffered a suicide loss, a death by suicide. We put out pamphlets and internet postings advertising the Gatherings. We included the people who were going to participating at the Gatherings, various guests, and speakers. There was one fella on the information pamphlets, a good guy by all indications. An Elder, this Woman came on told me about the risk of using his image, name on the pamphlet. Guess the guy had history of sexual abuse. We didn't know, but someone knew. We are shocked when we now know, aren't we?
There is this guy, he was a Chief for many many years. He was widely known for his fierce nature and his deadly stance against colonial injustices and the instruments of colonialism. He was merciless when he went to deal with government officials. I remember him at a meeting speaking to a high ranking executive big wig of the Federal Government; "I used to play hockey too, and with the stickhandling your are doing, I would smash you against the boards." I thought that was a real cute way to threaten and intimate a bureaucrat. This fellow was exposed on television for having his mother's arm broken. People didn't know or some knew. I remember he dated a relative, put her in the hospital, yeah he was fierce all right. Get this, he has been chosen as the leader for his Band again. Guess they don't know or some of them know, but it's copacetic for those who know.
In the wider society, actors, musicians, political whores are known. They are not known usually for their sick depraved behaviours, and beliefs. We listen to the tunes, watch their movies, vote for them because we don't know, some of us know. The biggest everyone knows is of course the racist raping deranged wrinkled whore and no it's not Rosanne Barr, it's the other one.
Genocide happening in Palestine, We Didn't Know. Kids being targeted deliberately by snipers (IDF). We Didn't Know. It was live on television, the slaughter. We Didn't Know.
Tom Paxton - We Didn't Know“About the camps on the edge of town
It was Hitler and his crew
That tore the German nation down
We saw the cattle cars it's true
And maybe they carried a Jew or two
They woke us up as they rattled through
But what did you expect me to do”
“We didn't know at all
We didn't see a thing
You can't hold us to blame
What could we do
It was a terrible shame
But we can't bear the blame
Oh no, not us, we didn't know”
“We didn't know,” said the congregation
Singing a hymn in their church of white
“The press was full of lies about us
Preacher told us we were right
The outside agitators came
They burned some churches and put the blame
On decent southern people's name
To set our coloured people aflame
And maybe some of our boys got hot
And a couple of niggers and reds got shot
They should have stayed where they belong
And preacher would've told us if we'd done wrong”
We didn't know at all
We didn't see a thing
You can't hold us to blame
What could we do
It was a terrible shame
But we can't bear the blame
Oh no, not us, we didn't know
“We didn't know,” said the puzzled voter
Watching the President on TV
“I guess we've got to drop those bombs
If we're gonna keep South Asia free
The President's such a peaceful man
I guess he's got some kind of plan
They say we're torturing prisoners of war
But I don't believe that stuff no more
Torturing prisoners is a communist game
And you can bet they're doing the same
I wish this war was over and through
But what do you expect me to do”
We didn't know at all
We didn't see a thing
You can't hold us to blame
What could we do
It was a terrible shame
But we can't bear the blame
Oh no, not us, we didn't know
