Sunday, October 15, 2006
last tue, my indigenous peoples class tutor, june very kindly invited me (and my class) to a potluck that she was hosting to welcome first year indigenous ubc law students to law school. by indigenous, i am referring to persons whose ancestral roots are embedded in the lands in which they live in, or had previously lived in. something like the bumiputras in malaysia. at the gathering, i met alot of indigenous students and lawyers who devote their practice to defending indigenous peoples. it was such an eye-opening experience!! oh yes. they was even an indigenous group elder who spoke to us briefly on the developments in indigenous peoples' rights in the world. i didnt know that indigenous claims is quite a big market here in canada. in british columbia alone, there are about 35 indigenous groups. btw june is an indigenous person as well;)
i was deeply impressed to see how indigenous people have overcome all odds and are still surviving - despite how much the government has marginalized and discriminated against them (boo!!!). it is unbelievable how such injustices can be perpetuated in the name of economic expediency. lands and resources are freely taken away from indigenous peoples to give way to free trade/economic arrangements/activities. it is not surprising why most indigenous people are now living in poverty. from my interaction with the indigenous people at the gathering, i was greatly moved by their 'kampong' spirit (i.e. unity) and sheer determination in their quest to fight for their own rights. because of limited and inadequate channels that exist in the domestic level, indigenous peoples are now bringing their grievances to the international platform - which is exactly the focus of my indigenous class module. haha. now im more inspired to do my readings. haha.
on a lighter note, the potluck was fantastic! june's 2-storey terrace house is really quaint and beautiful:) the food was even better! haha. there were so much food!i especially enjoyed the meat loaf and turkey! yummy! but my dad's turkey is still the best:) heh. there were alot of dessert as well. chocolate cake, muffins, pumpkin pie. i simply couldnt resist! because it was potluck, i cooked green bean soup - but too bad it wasnt too well-received by the people who attended the gathering. the foreigners are probably not used to this sorta food i guess? but june, nicole (my classmate who is an exchange student from switzerland) and a few others really liked it:) they were especially impressed when i told them green bean soup has a detox effect. i hope i didnt give them the wrong info?! haha.
myself, nicole, june and 2 other indigenous students (whose names i forgot) - with the ravaged turkey! heh
june's son, chess and me! he's such a huggable cutie pie - and he's very smart too! he even managed to beat a first-year ubc post grad law student at memory game! woah.
