Got this emai the other day. Very enlightening. Worth the read.
Here we go again..
This is definitely gonna hurt feelings
People have sent me inboxes and private messages.
The majority of them are positive.
Thank you.
But the one that sticks out the most was a question about the difference between Hereditary Chiefs and elected Chiefs.
Stick with me on this one.
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First off, in the old days I don't think we called them Chiefs.
Let's say that a band had five or six main families.
The members of each family would select what was called a Headsman to represent each family.
So a nation could actually have many chiefs.
One for each bloodline.
My great grandmother had five husbands.
Matilda was her name.
As each husband would die, she remarried, and as a result, there were five boys born to her.
Each with a different father.
So, there are actually five families who could claim the rights to being Hereditary chiefs.
My cousin Glen is the oldest of the oldest of the oldest, and so he is actually a hereditary chief for his family.
I am the same way.
I am the oldest of the oldest of the oldest from one of her sons.
And so on..
Being Hereditary Chief was more of a right of passage or lineage than anything else.
Let me share with you one of Canadas most well known White Hereditary Chiefs.
His name is Justin Trudeau.
Yep.
The only reason that Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister of Canada today, is because his daddy was Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Justin Trudeau did not earn that right.
He did not fight and kick and scratch his way through the rank and file to become a leader.
He was never in the military, nor did he ever become a lawyer or earn his position like other politicians have had to do.
He was a ski instructor and a part time drama teacher who never really saw anything through to the end.
He never did anything of significance for his fellow Canadians on his way up the political ladder to eventually become the Prime Minister.
He is just Prime Minister because his dad was one.
Are you guys following along?
I admit that this is a very simplistic way to describe him, but no one can argue that he is where he is because he had a famous dad.
It is the exact replica of the modern day Hereditary Chiefs.
Many are in that position only because their mommy or daddy was famous.
Many of them are absolutely amazing, and are true leaders who focus on the best practices for their people.
But there are those who, like Justin Trudeau are just holders of a title because they were born in the right family at the right time.
Trudeau did not win the election by having the majority vote.
He is a minority leader and is not only disliked by many Canadians, but he is actually seen as a fool by intelligent people.
This post is not meant to judge any Chief or Chiefs, but to shed some light on how a person with no skills whatsoever could find themselves in a leadership role.
How the hell did they ever get to be leaders?
Like our old friend Paul Harvey used to say:
"And now you know the rest of the story" "Good day?"