Sense of Belonging

At the Vancouver airport now awaiting my flight to Montreal and then Porto. Walking through the airport terminal I was struck by the amount of indigenous art here. It is everywhere. In fact it is the only art displayed here. Now I know that Vancouver and BC represent more than just the indigenous people but that message is lost on the people arriving here from around the world.

Is there a Canadian identity here someone could ask? Is Canada just indigenous? One would think so coming through here.

I complained about this to Heritage Canada once. They came back with a we don’t respond to racist comments. Typical of woke Canada. It wasn,t racist. It was an observation. I would suggest that Heritage Canada was racist for bringing that up. Indigenous art is beautiful but Vancouver and BC is more than that: Emily Carr, Robert Bateman, the Japanese fisherman of Richmond, the Chinese presence, WW1 and 2 participation, Indian settlement, British colonial era,gold rush and on and on it goes.

Sometimes I feel like an outsider in my own country. The sense of Belonging, of being a Canadian is disappearing.

BTO. Another great Canadian band. Randy Bachman formed this band after being fired from the Guess Who.