About
I've often mentioned the number of foster homes I was placed in, this is a redacted copy so 11 homes and orphanages between 18 months and 4 years of age lol
Over the years, I was mentioning it was 16 foster homes before i was 5, but that was wrong. It was 11 homes and one orphanage before age 4.
ADDENDUM to this early post August 18, 2023 Heavenly Father lord of lords, king of Kings , thank you for this Day, my breath, the breath for all my family relations, friends, colleagues, Mentors, and all you children on this fragile world. As your prophetic times reveal the Great Mysteries of time, space and life, I thank you for all you gave me in life and allowed to happen to my person from this world's adversary and his demons and evil spirits. For we are not fighting agaainst Flesh, but Sirits in the air, principalities in high places which causes the misfortunes of man, women and child. The veneer between this world and beyond is slowly disappearing and oh what a time it wil be when it all begins. How horrible, how quick, fast and deadly it will be. Forgive me for my mongering of such horrible tribulations to come. I understand that fear, pain and suffering since I was a baby, not knowing how this world is and how fallen this world is. Thank you for allowing me to survive my challenges, obstacles, For you sustained me in that darkness and I give you the glory for all to see in sharing your strength, power and determination that helped me to carry on in this world. It was not to seek pity, but forgiving those who were lost, and did not know or understand the workings of the Most High. I endured all that was upon me to inspire others who experience the same and struggle to continue on in this world. We can realize our potential in life, we can overcome the hate, the violence against us. But sadly Moreso so many have not survived the evils of humans, colonialism and corrupted doctrines and words. Thank you for allowing me to be a servant to all who I knew, met and spend time with. I am nothing without you Oh lord of lords and all the people who shared time with , helped me and guided me, Miigweech, Amen.
Dear friends, family , colleagues and all. thank you for your words. God is great, God is good, not the author of such moments of my life but a testimony of his love to allow me to survive and share a period of history while, hundreds of thousands of our men, women and children did not survive this genocidal history in the Canadian system of colonial cultural practice and growth. How can we move beyond the pathos, the empathetic, soul revealing horrors of the underbelly of Canadian racism in the historical real, the spectacle real and in the erotic real. Professor late Jerry Zazlove who taught in the humanities du SFU Burnaby, as well as an Aesthetics fo Performance Course, was a profound influence on my work and ideas as a young man then (1985) when I was in my early academic studies at SFU and as well working North Hollywood,. During this particular semester, travelled to Saskatoon to work with late Gordon Tootoosis and our beloved Tantoo Cardinal on Ernie Carefoot's script, The Young Poundmaker for Hub Theatre. I always thank the Most High for each day, and the opportunities that came before me. It was not handed down, given out or otherwise. Pounding the pavement then, getting up early every day, , and working and studying late was the mantra of the time. Outside of all my fleshly desires, escapades avec the many women in my life and socializing, going out , searching for pleasure and sex? All of it was what? Escaping that suppressed memory in the cells of the body , that subconscious impressions, influences and so on. I did not know. As I mentioned before, leaving Edmonton then was because if I did not then, I would have been another statistic, dead, drunk, in jail, or institutionalized. I did not receive ths document till Spring, 1994, it turned my world upside down. It was after my son's mother's tragic accident January, where she was hospitalized blind but alive. I received a grant the day after the news of her tragic accident, it did not mean a thing to me at the time as far as money was concerned, I continued to create as the young artist I was then. I just finished the lead role of Windigo last fall, and started work on a MOW for NBC in Seattle. Avec Richard Crenna and Beverly DeAngelo. My work as an actor, dancer, and singer/songwriter was being affected by these inter-trauma releases trigger by then many factors, I did not understand at the time. This even goes back to 1982 when I was a young wanna-be North Hollywood actor, or artist of something, songwriting, taking jazz, , ballet classes at Tersichpord, acting with late Jim Scotland, Theatre with Alex Bruhanski, Acting with June Whitaker, doing all that while workng as a hairdresser as well as a part time host at the Elephant & Castle Restaurants in Vancouver Centre. Danielle an dI were separated at the time, and a few of the women I wen tout with mentioned that I Was too crazy in always expressing myself and wanting to share my early works. They told me to see a shrink. Well summer of 1983, I went to one, share early aspects of my life as a fosterchild, since I was 6. I can only remember from that age, at the time. The shrink says , come back in 8 years when you feel hopeless. I did not go back. lol. 1985 was another pivotal year avec how suppressed experiences began to seep into my work. playmaking class, working with the colour "pink", all that experience I had as a child raged out in the exercise. Penelope Stella whispers in my earth Donald , come back to earth, , the other students are afraid of you. I did not understand why I was so angry and emotional then, I self medicated myself and continued on in life, maintaining that 10 percent of control actors need to continue doing their work. 1988 was another pivotal year avec how suppressed experiences of abuse, sexual abuse and worthlessness affected my work. Olivia Crawford approaches me and whispers in my ear, Donald, breath, stay in control, you are scaring the other students. Again, it was not properly addressed at the time and again I continued on in life. Getting my first degree was a milestone considering that 2015 I received the complete post adoption records that year and Keith Bennet of the former St. Johns School of Alberta wrote in his report, that he did not consider me university material. avec 1985. After graduating, it was back to the welfare state, until employment equity legislation helped me get a job at CBC along with our beloved late Barb Cramner of Alert Bay. 1990, an exciting time for hundreds fo thousands of Indigenous People in Canada. the Oka happened and Canada's underbelly of racism , and hate exploded in mass culture and society. A tragic time for many of our people, then Robert Pickton began to murder our women. At that time I was a mess. Inter-generational trauma triggering, self abuse, but my music, my desktop video work, my brother Ronald, son Dorian, Kim Soo Goodtrack, Dana Claxton, late James Nicholas, late Jimy Sidlar, Anthony Favel, and even Gunargie were good support for me in my early days. I could not have done what I have done as a young artist without my family and friends even though we all had our skeletons ha hah. I did see another shrink then but not much came of it. 1996 working with Karen Jamieson Dance company, the inter-generational trauma memories were affecting my dance work much. Karen allowed me to take Native Life Skills with a native lady in Mission BC. That helped in how we manage our cultural baggage which was good. 2008 avec the Apology was also a difficult time for many in life and myself, but we must carry on. lead by example. encourage everyone's potential in life instead of settling with the status quo. As in my public testimony at the 2014 TRC event in Edmonton. It was the arts and drugs which keep me sane and alive in al my early years from the systemic hate and racism of Canadian society. What was nice about that , was all the indigenous and Metis people who came to me after I shared my testimony, all wanting to tell their story about surviving.
I do not promote such usage today, and today it so more deadly, so say no to drugs. I am alive today because of the most high, family and friends, my early native teachings, my last foster mother who allowed me to tap into my music abilities and the value of hard work and not giving up, getting the job done. I shared this to inspire others in life to go beyond the obstacles before us and trust the Creator completely.
I am adding this link to New World Hiawatha No No, a piece I wrote for strings 1992, influenced by a Vietnamese composer at the western Front and encouraged by Dana and Kim (Sisters) to write an equivalent pieces of which I did lol https://youtu.be/FEtfpNNR_r8 I added this score because of my early memories of Hollywood's Cowboy and Indian Movies which similar motifs in this score reflect those cinematic moments :-) XOXOXO to all