Say it ain't so, Buffy! CBC outs beloved Pretendian

2017, the 150th anniversary of Confederation, was made over by Blackie McBlackface, the Gliberal Prime Minister of all Canuckistan, into the Year of the Indian. It was time for guilty whites to acknowledge that they (or their "colonial" ancestors) stole the Great White North from the peoples who used to be called Indians and Eskimos, forever hence to be known as First Nations;and Inuit, respectively.

Canada's shrinking populaation of whites tried to give the land back to the indigenous ones, but they said they'd rather have money (prefereably US dollars), thank you. So "land acknowledgment ceremonies" became the order of the day, a Confiteor to be repeated at the beginning of any public event and even on radio and TV programmes such as Hockey Night in Canada (the only show that anyone watches).

Six years later, the "truth and reconciliation" bullshit goes on and on. But today the CBC (Canada's state-owned broadcaster) is set to reveal the real truth -- not the same as the fake truth which it normally broadcasts -- about one First Nations person who has become an icon of wokeness not just in Canada but also the US of A. 

Walt refers to Buffy Sainte-Marie, a musician known for decades of "Indigenous activism". CBC’s investigative show The Fifth Estate is scheduled to air tonight an episode titled "Making an Icon".

A description of the episode doesn't name Sainte-Marie but says an icon’s "claims to Indigenous ancestry are being called into question by family members" and that its investigation includes genealogical documentation and historical research.

In a statement yesterday, Ms Sainte-Marie said "I don’t know where I’m from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know. Which is why to be questioned in this way today is painful. To those who question my truth, I say with love, I know who I am."

The octogenarian also posted a video on social media addressing the upcoming episode, saying she has shared her story for 60 years. She called herself "a proud member of the Native community with deep roots in Canada.... But there are also many things I don’t know, which I’ve always been honest about. I don’t know where I’m from, who my birth parents are or how I ended up a misfit in a typical white Christian New England home."

Buffy Sainte-Marie became popular in the hippy-dippy `60s for her singing and songwriting, and used her fame to push the "Lo, the poor Indian" agenda at a time when it wasn't receiving much attention and indigenous women were still called "squaws". Her debut record, It’s My Way!, featured several notable songs, including "Universal Soldier", written about the individual responsibility for war. 

Her appearance on Sesame Street began a symbiotic relationship with the PBS groomerfest which has lasted right up to last year.* Here's a stanza she wrote for her first appearance on the show in 1976.

I’m an Indian and I like sunshine

I’m an Indian and I like friends 

And I am real and I can feel and I’d love to take your hand 

Way heyo he-yo! 

Way heyo he-yo!

*Source: "My time on 'Sesame Street' with Buffy Sainte-Marie", "American Masters" on PBS, 6/12/22. 

Excerpt: Sainte-Marie is iconic. She embodies a combination of fierce activism in her quest to fight for Indigenous rights and dignity and a strong belief that everything and everyone can change and ripen. The lyrics in her songs teach us about the devastating history of colonization while encouraging us to stay hopeful. Her educator roots shine bright in everything she does.

What a shame she isn't really an Indian, or First Nations or whatever. Still, she's the first Pretendian to rise to such lofty heights, even earlier than Fauxcahontas, the Senator who (for the time being) represents the great (?) state of Massachusetts, which is where Ms Sainte-Marie was raised. 

*Further reading if you want to brainwash your kids: "Celebrate Buffy Sainte-Marie and Amplify Indigenous Peoples With Your Kids", PBS (who else), 16/11/22.

Music video: Something appropriate for our times

Back in the hippy-dippy `60s, I was a member of the folk-song army. Well, not a member, exactly. More like a camp follower. I loved the songs of protest and/or solidarity, and sang them lustily. Hey, I did a lot of things lustily back then. 

But I didn't subscribe to the political sentiment of such songs as "Whose Side Are You On?" or "We Shall Overcome". And you could write your own lyrics for songs of general protest like "We Shall Not Be Moved" and (my favourite) "Solidarity Forever".

There was one song, however that almost no-one could disagree with. It was written in 1949 and became a big hit for the Kingston Trio as early as 1955. "The Merry Little Minuet" pretty much encapsulated the state of the world in the early `60s, when I was at skule. And you know what? After six decades of "Give Peace A Chance", the world is just the same today... maybe even worse. 

Feel free to substitute your own lyrics. You could begin with "They're dropping bombs on Is-ra-el..." It's hard to rhyme "Muslims" or "Hamas", but "Jews", "Iran", "war" and "more" are easy. If you come up with something half-way brilliant, you could sing it at whichever demonstration -- anti-Israel or anti-Palestine -- you choose to attend. Or maybe not. It won't help.

End of summer MUSIC VIDEO: Van Morrison: Come On In

It's been a while since Walt posted a music video, so we're grateful for to Agent 5 (our man in the music industry) for sending us the link to a great tune from Van Morrison's new album Moving On Skiffle. This is an old blues song by Washboard Sam. Enjoy!

 

Walt confesses to having forgotten both skiffle and Van Morrison. For younger folk who never heard of the genre, skiffle is American jazz or folk music played entirely or in part on nonstandard instruments (such as jugs, washboards, or Jew's harps). 

In the UK, the same name was applied to a derivative form of music featuring vocals with a simple instrumental accompaniment. Its popularity led to the formation of many new groups in Old Blighty, and saw the first musical steps by future stars such as Cliff Richard, Jimmy Page and... wait for it... the Beatles.