...in order to survive in the 20th century we must really come to grips with the White mans' culture and with White ways. We must stop lamenting the past. The White man (sic) has many good things. Borrow. Master and use his technology. Discover and define the harmonies between the two general cultures, between the basic values of the Indian Way and those of Western Civilization - and thereby forge a new and stronger sense of identity. For, to be fully Indian today, we must become bilingual and bicultural. We have never had to this before. In so doing we will survive as Indians, true to our past. We have always survived. Our history tells us so....

After twelve days of discussion with elders ...of Alberta in the early 1970's, Joseph Couture; 2007 National Aboriginal Achievement Recipient

Greetings and welcome, join in an exchange of expression and a choice of offerings that have been bestowed to our resourceful team, via our professional and life experiences, our scholarly studies and most importantly, as Anishinaabe people.

My father had the candour and insight that epitomized the stance of Joseph Couture. As a little boy, my father resided during the week at a lean-to type home, comprised of one room made of cedar logs, a dirt floor and an oil barrel that served as a wood/cook stove. He listened attentively to the stories which were shared, especially when a traveller was amongst them. It was the mid-thirties and a visitor had returned from afar, the big city. The men in the circle listened in disbelief and awe as the storyteller spoke of how people could have heat and cook food with a turn of a switch.

In part, it was this turn of a switch that inspired my dad to "forge a new and stronger sense of identity". He strived to achieve a balance between two world views; one in Western Civilization, the big city and his own Anishnaabe identity, maintaining his relationship to his kin and the land. As one of eighty-five Indians to settle down in Toronto in 1951 (Nagler, 1970), he challenged, persevered and accomplished to raise an absolute, urban adept and acculturated family, marking the achievement of a contemporary full[y] Indian(Aboriginal/Native American/First Nation) today family. Although the journey to the seek that balance could fill a novel or two, I am grateful for the opportunities and grace that I live between the two worlds, seemingly with the turn of a switch.