Quote:
Originally Posted by raggedy13
Great shots, entheosfog. Any idea what was going on at Main and Hastings?
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Thanks! I was reading the Courier yesterday after I posted the pics and found the article on what was going on:
Aboriginal smudge ceremony aims to end discrimination
Local event marks 'International Day' of equality, understanding
Janaya Fuller-Evans, Special to Vancouver Courier
Published: Friday, March 20, 2009
Stopping racist attitudes and discrimination takes personal involvement, according to a Simon Fraser University professor who studies inequality.
Michael Schmitt, an assistant psychology professor at SFU, said events such as those marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this weekend, can change perceptions for those who actively participate.
The UN General Assembly declared the day in 1966, to commemorate people killed at a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa on March 21, 1960. "These are positive things and yes, they do make a difference," Schmitt said. "The ones that have the greatest effect involve people in some way."
A smudge ceremony for the Downtown Eastside, planned by Darla Laughlin with Women Against Violence Against Women, takes place on Saturday near Hastings and Main streets. The ceremony involves burning cedar and prayer as a form of spiritual cleansing.
According to organizers, members of different races--organized into black, red and yellow according to the colours on the aboriginal medicine wheel--will gather at four nearby intersections before coming together to mix at the ceremony site. "I think it's a great example," Schmitt said.
Laughlin, who is the aboriginal outreach coordinator and youth counsellor for WAVAW, said she wanted to honour the day because she believes women in the Downtown Eastside are targets for violence because of their race.
"What I hear is people are still being discriminated against," Laughlin said. "And aboriginal women are definitely being targeted by [violent] perpetrators."
The smudge ceremony, based on the First Nations medicine wheel, combines the four races of the world coming from the four directions of the earth, according to Laughlin. "The idea of the ceremony is to pray for all people," Laughlin said.
Racial discrimination remains a concern in Canada, according to a June 2008 Statistics Canada report. In 2006, police services covering 87 per cent of Canada's population reported 892 hate crimes, of which six out of 10 were motivated by race or ethnicity. However; hate crimes were just one per cent of reported crimes for that time period.
Combining groups of people, as the smudge ceremony plans to do, allows them to find a commonality, according to Schmitt, who said such actions eliminate stereotyping and prejudice.
When people cross racial group lines to work together, whether for an event or a cause, "there's a potential point of collaboration," Schmitt said.
The smudge ceremony is planned for 10:30 a.m. near Hastings and Main streets. Forty ceremonial elders and advisers have been ceremonially prepared for the smudging and prayer.
© Vancouver Courier 2009
http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=ad21458f-238c-4153-a37b-72fe952c3339
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