Lesson One - My Very Dear Good Friends

Lesson

Chief Dan George, OC (July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet in the southeast area of the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an actor, poet and author; his best-known written work was "My Heart Soars". As an actor, he is best remembered for portraying Old Lodge Skins opposite Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Born as Geswanouth Slahoot in North Vancouver, his English name was originally Dan Slaholt. The surname was changed to George when he entered a residential school at age 5. He worked at a number of different jobs, including as a longshoreman, construction worker, and school bus driver, and was band chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation from 1951 to 1963 (then called the Burrard Indian Band).

In 1960, when he was already 60 years old, he landed his first acting job.  During his acting career, he worked to promote better understanding by non-aboriginals of the First Nations people. His soliloquy, Lament for Confederation, an indictment of the appropriation of native territory by white colonialism, was performed at the City of Vancouver's celebration of the Canadian centennial in 1967. This speech is credited with escalating native political activism in Canada and touching off widespread pro-native sentiment among non-natives.

In 1971, George was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2008 Canada Post issued a postage stamp in its "Canadians in Hollywood" series featuring Chief Dan George.

He died in Vancouver in 1981 at the age of 82. He was interred at Burrard Cemetery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Dan_George

READ "My Very Dear Good Friends" linked on the Resources page.

CONSIDER how you would answer the following questions, particularly in regards to the focus in this unit - the individual in the face of threatening forces.  Do so mentally.

• Analyze the author’s use of time in the essay, particularly in the opening paragraph. What does he mean when he says, “if they have travelled far then I have travelled farther…and if they have travelled fast, then I faster…for I was born a thousand years ago…”? Consider how this provides the reader with a perspective from which to understand some of the problems that Native peoples experience in today’s society.
• Contrast the author’s images of Native life before Europeans came to Canada with Native life today. What differences in values characterize the two societies? Why have these differences have evolved?
• What does Chief Dan George see as the major problems confronting Native people living in today’s society? Why have many of the solutions that have been tried not worked? What do you think should be done to alleviate these problems? What does Chief Dan George see as necessary conditions for the achievement of true integration of Native peoples in contemporary society?
• How would you describe the tone that Chief Dan George adopts in this selection? In what ways is it appropriate for his purposes? Where does his tone change?  Why does it change? What attitude does the speaker adopt toward his audience? Provide