Gerry - Being a Dad as Fire Chief, Indigenous Elder and Chaplain with Mennonite Roots

Dad Without Borders

It's another content rich show with two parts: Part 1: insightful conversation with another special guest Dad (and Granddad) Gerry, discussing life as an indigenous man raised in a Mennonite community and reflecting back on his story, the impacts of the 1960s scoop and having an indigenous father suppressing their Metis roots for fear of repercussions. Gerry is incredibly humble and positive as he shares his story. Part 2: the debrief with professional feedback provided by one of our in-house specialists, psychologist Todd Kettner, talking about the topic of trauma...read more below Part 1: Gerry is one of the founders and active Elders for the Circle Of Indigenous Nations Society in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. As a retired Fire Chief of his local town of Castlegar, he is also the only indigenous ordained minister in the BC Fire Service Fire Chaplain's Association of BC and the (international) Federation of Fire Chaplain's - through ceremony he was acknowledged as an Elder and is now offering emotional and spiritual support not just for the fire service but also for his community in his various roles. As a child Gerry was raised in fear of being indigenous, by a father that was ashamed of his heritage, who had been fighting in WW2, dealing with racism as an indigenous man. His father was 60 years old before acknowledging his indigenous roots. Raised during the 1960s scoop Gerry talks about the ripple effects of that experience as a parent and grandparent. This a story worthy of your time to understand life and conflict of being raised in an indigenous family in Canada during the 1960s scoop and the deep impacts that had. It's a fascinating story that I think you will enjoy! Part 2: Todd answers the question of what constitutes a traumatic event trauma and how can trauma impact us.