Through-out high school I was the lead snare-drummer in a competitive marching drill band. Our toughest competition was an all male, first nations marching band from the residential school by Ingenika Point west of Prince George. They were good, white uniforms with blue trim, always perfectly pressed and clean, always in step and never missed a beat. In all competitions our group or theirs were almost always first or second - for our group it was always lots of fun. It was many years after graduating that I met one of the members from the Ingenika Point band - to find out- that for them, every competition was a terror - any mistake, any dirty spot on the perfectly white uniform, any thing less than first place could result in significant discipline and beatings. Our memories and recollection of competitions were the same in so many details but the similarity ended there. How those memories impacted our lives could not have been farther apart and the reality of it has caused me to look at many events while growing up in Prince George very differently. Thank you Bob for sharing, it was such a powerful reminder that we always need to inquire and look beyond our own pathway.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 21:00:54 +0000
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