Narcisse Blood. Photo from Elder in the Making: A Treaty 7 Roadtrip Doc / Indiegogo
Bob and Charlene Burns pay tribute to the late Narcisse Blood, a scholar from the Blood Tribe who was killed in an vehicle accident in Canada last week:
There are so many people in Indian country processing the loss of our Blackfoot scholar, philosopher, activist, teacher, ceremonialist, healer, family member and friend, Tatsikiistamik (Middle Bull) Narcisse Blood. When a person does the work to heal themselves, and then helps everyone else on their path to do the same, they become like a precious gems. Narcisse was a precious gem to the Blackfoot Confederacy and the world. Narcisse went on to the Sand Hills on February 10, 2015 after a tragic car accident. All of Blackfoot Country mourns our loss. Since then, there has been an outpouring of people wanting to pay their respects in some manner to him. We ask ourselves, how can we ever pay proper respect to such a good person. The answer we came to in dealing with the shock is that we can continue the work to heal ourselves by decolonizing ourselves and to be brave enough to be who we are. His statement, "It's hard to defeat colonization when they have built outposts in our minds" is very insightful. Think about that. Think about how one man impacted the entire world because he chose to decolonize himself. Today, because of this, people are missing him in Great Britain, in Scotland, in Australia, and across Canada and the United States. By always striving to be himself, Narcisse showed us what self-actualization actually looks like. It was amazing to watch Narcisse doing his life’s work. He had such passion for his work and a great appreciation for other peoples’ work as well. He always took the time to acknowledge everyone. It was as if he would say ‘I see you. I see you as a person. I acknowledge you.”’ Narcisse was always encouraging and supportive. He made everyone feel special. In his teachings he never used condemnation or belittlement, but rather he taught through love. Our family will miss this so much. He cheered us on in our life’s journey. People who knew him often wondered how Narcisse managed to maintain so many relationships so well. He knew everyone. He used every tool possible to help maintain these relationships with people, whether it was through film, academia, social media or ceremony, Narcisse used these tools to express encouragement, to build self-esteem and to promote healing.Get the Story:
Bob and Charlene Burns: Tribute to Tatsikiistamik, Narcisse Blood (Indian Country Today 2/14) Also Today:
Blood elder ‘compassionate’ (The Lethbridge Herald 2/13)
Narcisse Blood remembered as influential leader (Global News 2/12)
Blackfoot elder Narcisse Blood among victims in Regina car crash (The Calgary Herald 2/12)
Blood never stopped learning (The Regina Leader-Post 2/12)
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