Part Two: "This Is for Them" with Katie Johnson

Produced by the Reconnection Vision, this special episode of Châyù with Skaydu.û is Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Lasänmą (Katie Johnson), Executive Director of the Reconnection Vision.

We chose to share this conversation in two parts to give listeners time to reflect on the stories and teachings shared in Part 1. In Part 2, I share a story about my great-great-grandfather, Yeilnaawú, while Katie reflects on her hopes for the future of this work of reconnection and for the generations to come.

To learn more, visit Reconnection Vision or follow @reconnection.vision on Instagram.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Always remember who you are and always remember where you come from. I think that's a very important piece because with me growing up, I always Kluan Mankay was always the place where I can go to. There will be times in life where things feel really heavy when the path isn't clear, and we've all been there. When you feel so disconnected and so unsure of yourself in this world. But in those moments, I would tell them to come back to the land to reset, to breathe, and really come back to community and their people.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Welcome back, everyone. I sawk. My name is Skyda Oo, and this is Chayu with Skyda U. I invite you all to find a quiet space, practice something you love, make time to take that moment to truly open up and listen, not just with your ears, but with your heart, your mind, your spirit, and being able to sit amongst us. Today I'm really imagining our ancestors sitting here with us. I'll be talking a little bit about why why is this the first time we're doing a part two of a podcast that really is able to tell a story of Lasama, Katie Johnson, and why we wanted to incorporate and split it into two parts. So I invite you all to sit down, crack a window if you're driving, and we'll sit together and and just have a conversation about why we did split it into two. So when we're here sitting here again with La Senma, we decided to split the story into two parts, a part one and a part two. And this is really emulating thinking of our Hashuka, our ancestors, and how important it is to sit and truly listen, and being able to have that patience of waiting for something that is truly important to you. And so I think back to my great-grandfather, my great-great-grandfather. His name was Yehish Nahu. He was Deshitan, Tom Peters in English. He was a very well-known storyteller, and he told all sorts of stories. He told one story in particular that was a very popular story amongst the Shingit people. It was published in Nora Marks Downhour. Her Shingit name was Keochne and Richard Downhower, their publication, Ha Shuka, Our Ancestors' Oral Narratives. And she wrote that this story is one of the most popular stories of the inland shinget, the Dhakha, where I'm from. The story is mainly to remind our people of how sensitive animals are and like people are to be treated with respect and not to be insulted. In this story, in this oral narrative, the woman insults the bear by doing something we would call khas, which is a spiritual taboo. And later in the story, the brothers also make fun of their sister when when she's different and when she's that bear. So it really shows the power that our non-human relatives have. And so I really wanted to share just a little snippet of what that story is about. And I invite you all to find a copy of Ha Shuka and take a read of the full story when you have a moment. But for now, it's really about how the story was gathered by Kaohneh. Kao Khne, as many of you may know, was an amazing language warrior for the Shenge people. She went all over recording with those those cassette tapes and uh real to real, and she did a lot of work on the ground for our people. And so, anyways, she ended up in Teslin, De Slin Kwan, the Teslan people. And it was in na uh 1972 that she met my great-grandfather, Yehnau, and he shared with her his his rendition, his version of which is the woman who married the bear. And he told this story to her. I don't know how long it took to tell this story, or this was the first time he was meeting Keohne. And so still building that trust and still building that respect amongst each other. Eventually, the part one, as I call it, was printed off and made into a nice booklet. And a year had passed. Time was taken to really reflect on the story, to work with the story, to really understand what that story means, the teachings that may have come from it, and being able to document and do our ancestors, our people, do their words justice so they don't fall to the ground. And so when she returned in 1973, she returned to sit with Yeish Nahu to show him that work that they did together. And so she read that story back to him and shing it. And he looked at her. And this is a story I heard is that he looked at her and he said, Wow, that's a really that's a good story. Who told that story? And she was like, You told me that story. This is your story. And he was like, Okay, I'll tell you the second part now. And it was with that time, really putting that time in to really reflect, really think, really put your heart forward in that work to show that you that you're going to to work to try to understand this story and do your best and walk in a good way. That she was able to get this second part with the songs that came with it, and was able to share that with our people today, and his words still live on today because of that work that she did going back and earning that respect and earning that that understanding of this work. I wanted to bring in a little bit of who I am and where I come from. A big huge part of ourselves is our oral narratives, and sitting here with Katie today, and her being able to share the second part of her story. And in the past podcast, the part one, we focused a lot on the past, a lot on where she comes from, what guides her work, her current role, and the way she sees reconnection vision. And so we're gonna sit down and really think about this time and reflecting on her story, reflecting on her words, and just being able to sit and open up with not only your ears, but every part of you, and just being able to to listen like our old people used to. And so now if we want to sit together around a campfire, and we'll have Katie back here to tell her second part, which is really looking to the future, the future generations and how this work she sees in her own eyes and her own story, how she sees that she's a part of this work. So, welcome back, Katie, for part two of Skyde U. The Katie Johnson interview. So, looking to the future and looking ahead, I always like to end with being able to think about those future generations, those current generations are young people even here today. I know many of our people across Turtle Island refer to those seven generations ahead, really looking to how we leave this work for them in the future and how we set up and break this trail. So, what is your big dream or hope for what could come of this work at the community level across Turtle Island or even the rest of the world?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Wow, that's a great question. Like from a community level, I hope to see more culture camps, more language camps, more wellness camps. And what's so great to see is that's currently it's starting to happen. So it gives me a lot of hope seeing communities taking their own initiative to create the space for our young people, our elders, and our community to stay connected, but through culture and through language, those are really strong. And that's where the wellness and healing will happen. And across Turtle Island, I hope this work continues to support indigenous-led approaches and for organizations to honor the way of knowing and being. Even ourselves, we have had so many teachings from our elders and has shaped us as First Nation leaders in the community. And so if we're to share that across Canada, it will guide how we live, how we need, and how we care for one another and for future generations. So I think we have so much to share with the world. And so I feel like it's really good timing again on that. And beyond that, I believe reconnection and our young people are gonna show the way and trusting the process, trusting the creator, trusting them that they know the way. And so really providing you mentioned the backpack, so making sure their backpack is full and making sure that they're in really good spirits as they move forward in that way. I believe reconnection vision has something to offer the world. We're living in a time where many people are feeling so disconnected from themselves, from one another, and from Mother Earth. My hope is that the work helps remind people, and there is another way to live. For me, this isn't just like a project or an event or a moment. There's something inside me that's telling me it's a movement, which is really exciting. A movement where people begin to understand that reconnection is not just a concept but a way of life. So I am very honored to walk this path with the young people because I really believe in that. We need to really walk the talk, and we can do that together.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yeah, a way, as our elders said, together today for our children tomorrow. How fitting is that? And it always comes back to that too, hey, thinking about this work and this movement. That I think the beautiful part, and something that I really enjoy from this work and coming from different projects, you know, going from a project that has a start and end date. This doesn't have an end date. It's ongoing, and we and it lives on through the people who get to hear it and hear these stories and amplify these stories and share the stories and pass it on like our ancestors passed on to us.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Yeah, and I feel like we're we are moving in that direction, and I believe that we're creating the future for the next generation. And I believe uh we can create a future that is healthier, we're more connected to one another, and more sustainable as we move forward together because we we are in a climate change crisis, and what does that mean? How do we ask our elders to support us? How do we ask leadership to walk with us as we navigate the challenges? But I know that I I'm so hopeful for this next generation, and I just want to be of support and I want to just hold our young people up and give them the tools and resources needed to move it forward in a good way. And yeah, there's no start or end date. It's it will just continue working towards that for a brighter future for our young people.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Definitely. Yeah, I think this time is a really transitional period where uh we feel like you know, we we received that baton or talking stick from our elders to keep this work forward, and now we're carrying this, and it's and it couldn't be possible without Mark Wedge, our elder, and so many people along the way, or the late Shirley Adamson. She really just loved us and held us up where we were, and able to, you know, we will make sure that those teachings she passed on to us lives on, and we can pass those on. And being able to, you know, really hold up the different people that held us up along the way. So then we we now know, and we learned from witnessing and from experiencing it this love and this connection, and how we can do that, and our leadership roles in so many different ways, and in governance and you know, in entrepreneurship and in language revitalization. The beautiful part is that when you practice this and doing this leadership work that you're talking about, that it has that trickle effect by just existing in it. There's a really big beauty in that, too.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Yeah, the word that comes to me is resilience. We move forward, it's something that's in us, and so we just like honor that and we we show up, meet those those opportunities to like really shine our gifts to the world. So I'm very grateful that I had such incredible mentors and the those elders that really like helped us move in a good way, and again, going back to our values, like how do we show up with like respect, with courage, with love, and with hope. I I want to play that role for our young people and make sure that um I carry myself in a good way so they can do the work moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

And you definitely are. It's exciting to see what's ahead, and it just feels like like you said, that there's a lot of hope moving forward. And I think a lot of this work and reconnection vision and whatever that means to each of us is like a guiding light for us to help, you know, just kind of show us a little bit of the way to walk ahead because it's not going to be a flat trail. There's gonna be some bumps along the way, might have to climb a couple of mountains. So to be really to trust, to trust our culture, our teachings have been passed down to us. One of my uh there's a song Une Lance Twitchell shared with us, and it's about our grandparents, our grandparents' words, hashish go has hayuk atangi, and those words, ha tu ye yay, it's within us. And I feel like so much as would have been shared throughout our time together today is these teachings that are are instilled in us, and even if we forget sometimes, and even if we're having a hard time, those teachings live on within us. And so I like to close off with a question that's kind of a little bit different, that we're thinking of your future great-great-grandchildren or your great-great, you know, like way in the future. And if you had a chance to share one teaching to them, something that could help them face those mountains we talked about that may come up with their changing global crisis of everything going on with our mother earth, what would you tell them to help guide them through it?

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Wow, what a power. That is a powerful question. I would tell them, kind of going back to what we said at the beginning, is always remember who you are and always remember where you come from. I think that's a very important piece because with me growing up, I always kluan mankay was always a place where I can go to. When you feel so disconnected and so unsure of yourself in this world, but in those moments, I would tell them to come back and to the land to reset, to breathe, and really come back to community and their people. It's really healing, and you don't have to carry the backpack if it gets really heavy. You're a part of something bigger, and not just your community but your ancestors are with you, and all your relations. I just think back of all our beautiful, how connected all Yukon First Nations are together, how connected we are, and you mentioned we have so many commonalities. I would also remind them to move through life in a good way with respect, with kindness, and with courage. So going back to your values and how you lead your life, that will always be your guiding light is if if you go back to who you are and your values. And you're not alone. I think that's another really good thing about being from the Yukon is you aren't alone. And you walk with all those who came before you and all yet to come. So just reminding our young people that they belong and that their voice matters and they will be supported. We will support them as they move forward through their next phase in life, or their next, you know, they want to shoot their their first moose, or they want to learn more about their traditional harvesting areas. There's always someone to ask about it. And if you don't know, you'll you'll find out because there's so many people that want to share that knowledge with you.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Yeah, I feel that there's many times where you know that person or that someone might even not be on this physical world, right? The exciting part is like you're talking about a great-great grand, great, great, great grandchild, you might never know. Okay, but these words are are now into existence and will be passed down. And being able to kind of share that, share that message looking ahead, I think is really powerful to have our our young people being able to have these teachings and being able to just share them with just love and having that strong foundation of just respect, respecting each other, respecting where we come from, knowing who. You are and knowing where you come from, I think is is so simple yet so powerful. You know, knowing the community that claims you or the people that claim you, it doesn't have to be an entire community, it could be your your family, right? And so I think there's just you're you're so right with that beauty of being from the Yukon, that you're never alone and thinking about your ancestors that help, you know, and all those big decisions. And if you're going through that time of disconnection, that they're always there for you in time of disconnection and reconnection. And that hopefully some of what you heard today as our listeners helped guide you and on your path and being able to discover what this means, what all this work means to you. Because we never want to tell anybody that this is how you should reconnect. We want you to take that time to be able to get out on the land or or go visit with your with your people, uh, even if they're your non-human relatives, and discover that. So before we close, I really want to acknowledge Jocelyn, Auntie Jocelyn, as our past leader who did such beautiful work, break and trail for this initiative. She also gifted the RV ambassadors, the Loon song, which all of you listeners have heard for season two. It started us off in every single episode. So I really hold her up. Thank you for giving us that song. Our auntie. And so I just really wanted to be able to share that because she passed on almost that like talking stick or that baton to you. And so it's exciting to see this access of change. She's still always a part of it, but chapter two.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yeah. Yeah, we honor this work that the fellows and and Jocelyn leading this work, planting, you guys are planting the seeds, you guys are doing the work in the community, change makers, visionaries. That's what's happening right now. And so as you guys lead this work in a good way, it's creating the space for the generation that's behind you. And so it is very intergenerational, this work and the legacy. You can't explain it, but you know it's gonna be good, and it's gonna be uh nation building and sharing what needs to happen for our world. Yeah, we need to make the shift and we need to create that movement so that we can share that knowledge to how we live so the world can really learn about how to do it right. And so I love how the legacy building is really important because when you think about Together Today for our children tomorrow, and my father, the late Joe Johnson, was a chief at that time, and I was the kid that went to the GAs and um listened to conversations that he had with many of the leaders at that time, and they they kept on, they showed up at the table, they kept on for many, many years. And so I just feel like like you mentioned the the torch or the paton, it's like those leaders passed it on, and so now it's like we move that forward. There's just no accident that we're in this work, it's it's we're meant to be, it's the creator's work, and so I honor all the elders and the leaders that really pave the way for this for us and for us to do the good work in the community and with our young people.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

Yeah, no words can express on how much they've done for us in this time, even if they're not, you know, on our earth right now, there might be in a different one, and uh how much they still do for us in the words that exist today, especially how we think of our languages, right? And how much they they hold for us when we're when some may be ready to learn it or to open that, open that up. And it just really tells us of the way that they saw the world and existed in the world from their perspective in our way. And I think there's such a profound beauty in that, and so that's how come I always try to include sing it or do my best to speak other languages, mostly think it, in this work, just to really hold up my teachers, my ancestors, to help, you know, walk in a good way. I also want to offer an invitation to you all, as our listeners, from the Reconnection Vision. Reconnection asks us to remember ourselves as whole people, living in relationship with the land, water, soil, or snow, trees, animals, insects, and with one another. I invite you to reflect on your roles, your responsibilities, where you see yourself in all of this, to notice and listen to where disconnection shows up in your own life, to take that time to look at, listen, feel, to see where that reconnection can be possible, where that healing can be possible, where to build your community. If you have the time, I encourage you to go and visit with your earth, with your non-human relatives. Go around on your land. Dip your hands and your feet in the water, the soil or the snow. Take a moment to connect and ground yourself in what we're all trying to protect. The reconnection vision is both a guide and a story. It invites each of us to walk this path together. It also reminds us that we must speak for the ones who can't speak for themselves, whoever that may be. Maybe it's our young people, our moose, our rivers and creeks, whoever it may be, that's the ones we need to show up for in this work. So, Katie, Lasanma, I really want to hold you up for what you've shared today. So, gonna cheese. Yeah, I'm so grateful just to be able to hear everything and learn a little bit more about you. I've known you for a while, but it's always fun to kind of have uh have people on and kind of hear your story of how you came to be in this work and what you think of for the future. So again. And just to end off with the final comments, in wuch, in k hausti. I feel courage that we're all together. To close, I want to ask the listeners what does reconnection mean to you? Take some time to think about it, speak about it, and even dream about it. Imagine what the future might hold when we reconnect. Please take care of yourselves in the in the weeks to come. Go ahead carefully. See you next time on Chaiu Sky U.