33 A Star Is Born 1899

During the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, a poem was read. It was a poem written by Chief Dan George. Although he had died 29 years earlier his words were still very important to Canadian people. His poems were some of the first to change the way that white people thought about the Earth and the first people of Canada. The poem read at the Winter Olympics “My Heart Soars” was his most loved one.

The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

speaks to me.

And my heart soars.

Chief Dan George was born in Vancouver. British Columbia, in 1899. He was called Geswanouth Slahoot. When he was five years old, he was put in a school just for First Nations people. This was called a residential school. The Canadian government thought it would be best for First Nations to learn the British culture. First Nations children as young as four years old were taken from their families and put in these schools.

The First Nations culture is very different to the British culture. First Nations parents did not want their children to go to these schools. They did not want their children to study English; to learn how to eat British food; to dress like British people, or to learn to have a British job. First Nations families wanted their children to learn their own cultural ways. They wanted their children to learn their languages; to learn how to hunt;to learn how to gather food; to learn how to live from the land and the sea.

The government took the children away from their First Nations families anyway. From 1870-1996, more than 150,000 children were made to go to a residential school. At these schools, children had to speak only English. They forgot their mother language. At the residential schools, First Nations children could not gather food from the land. They could not dress in their own clothes. They could not practice their culture. When they tried, they got into a lot of trouble. They were made to stop. Chief Dan George got his English name at his residential school.

Most of these residential schools became very bad places. Children had to work. They did not get a good education. About 40% of the teachers that worked at these schools were not trained. Children were not given good food. Many got sick. Any mother or father that tried to stop the bad things happening at these schools could be put in jail. Often these children were hit. Many were sexually hurt.

When school finished and these residential school children returned to their families, they did not know their own culture any longer. They could not hunt or fish or gather food. They could not speak the language of their parents. They did not know how to be good parents because they never had a mother or father to show them. Very many of these children had mental, emotional, and physical problems all their lives after they left these residential schools. That is why Chief Dan George's success was so amazing.

When Chief Dan George left residential school, he had many jobs. He worked taking things off of big ships. He built things from wood. He drove a school bus. Then he became chief of his First Nations group in 1951. He took over the job of chief from his father. He was very serious at this job. He knew he had to take care of his people. He knew he had to speak for his people to the Canadian government. He chose a surprising way to do that.

Chief Dan George became a movie star. At the age of 60, he got a job in television. He was a very good actor. Soon he was acting in the movies. His biggest part was “Old Lodge Skins” in the movie “Little Big Man”. He was so good in that movie that his name was suggested for an Academy Award. It was the first time a native Canadian had been nominated for this award.

Although Chief Dan George became famous, he did not change his life. He stayed living in the same house he had built for his family. He lived in the same place where he had been a chief. Chief Dan George understood that when white people saw him on television or in the movies they thought he was an example of all First Nations men. He wanted to be a good example. He wanted other First Nations people to know that they could be successful like him, even though they had lived in a residential school. Chief Dan George only acted on television or in the movies if he thought the movie would show First Nations as good and successful.

Chief Dan George wanted white Canadians to understand how the things they did often hurt the Earth. For Canada's 100th birthday celebration in 1967, he was asked to speak. He used this time to tell other Canadians how it was for the First Nations. In his speech “Lament for Confederation, ” he told Canadians that he was sad. He was sad because during the 100 years that the white people had been in Canada, the animals had been killed. He was not happy that the fishes had died and the trees were cut down. He was sad that he did not have his freedom anymore. He used this speech to tell First Nations people to heal and bring back their culture. Chief Dan George told the First Nations to get strong and make their own government.

Everyone listened. Chief Dan George was liked very much. He was an important man. He was known to be gentle, but strong. White people started to like the First Nations culture. After a time, white people started to take some better care of the Earth.

Chief Dan George was so important to Canada, that the government gave him one of the highest awards-the Order of Canada. This award is for anyone who makes a big difference to Canada. Chief Dan George did that in very many ways. He told us all to ask ourselves: “Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? ”