Climate Action Figures

Season 3, Episode 2: Thomas

• John Whidden

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Thomas, a former student from Piikani Nation Secondary School, discusses his involvement in a practical environmental program, the influence of Native traditions, and his future aspirations in psychology. Tune in for insights on community, climate action, and personal growth. 

00:00 Introduction and QuickFix

01:13 Thomas' Involvement in the School Program

04:09 Transition to University Life

05:28 Cultural Reflections and Comparisons

09:42 Thomas' Climate Action and Final Thoughts

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Thomas:

Hi, my name is Thomas and welcome to Climate Action Figures.

John:

Hello and welcome to the latest episode in our Season three opening series of Climate Action Figures. My name is John Whidden, and this week on the show you get to meet Thomas. But first this week's QuickFix, which comes to us from Linda in Indio, California, who found all of these ideas in the Living Desert magazine. She said. If you have a choice of digital or paper, for instance, a map, if you are visiting a museum or zoo, choose digital. It saves trees and gallons of water for paper production. So thank you very much for Linda for sending that in and welcome Thomas.

Thomas:

Hello

John:

do you think about that? QuickFix?

Thomas:

It's a solid QuickFix. I would think it's, what you say QuickFix, it's pretty quick and it doesn't take that much effort. Right. everyone has phones now, right? Or like some type of technology and it's pretty, very easily accessible. So

John:

the little things can add up, I guess.

Thomas:

Yeah.

John:

Now, Thomas, we talked last week with Mike, the current science teacher at Piikani Nation Secondary School, and he told us about a program and you were in on the ground level for that. Is that right?

Thomas:

Yes, correct.

John:

Do you wanna tell us a little bit about that program in your view?

Thomas:

It was about getting students to work on something practical. So I know there is like a bigger meaning like cause I know Brett is working with like, I think the university with this project and like working with other higher ups. But for me specifically as a student, I felt it was more to get students to work on more, something more practical and like have a little more practical learning then just learning in the classroom.

John:

So, Thomas, at the, at the beginning When you started off with this program, uh, first of all, how old were you?

Thomas:

grade seven, I believe. I I was in grade seven. I'm not really good with my ages.

John:

Well,

Thomas:

That's

John:

good enough. Grade seven will

Thomas:

it. Yeah.

John:

the right

Thomas:

Okay.

John:

were you, were you in on the creation of it? Like was it partly your idea or how did it all

Thomas:

start? Oh, it definitely was not my creation at all. I was just a student and he helped and he got us to help. From my understanding, it was Brett's idea. And like, he just used us as like students to help.

John:

So, Thomas, as you, uh, grew and moved through the, the grades in the school. How did you see the, um, the program change? it definitely changed in scope, like it was very small, like in a hut, it still, like it still was a hut when I was in grade 12, but the way the school managed it, I felt was a little bit different Mike was describing some of the, uh, some of the, things they're growing, and it sounds like it's quite a bit bigger now. We'll have to ask, the next, uh, student who's

Thomas:

currently at

John:

the school

Thomas:

Who

John:

going to, spoiler

Thomas:

alert,

John:

we're gonna talk to a student next week, who's actually active in the program now, so that'll be kind of neat. We can ask them that very question. But Thomas, Mike spoke of the importance of Blackfoot ceremony, tradition and language. Was that always integral to the program or did that sort of evolve and grow? as time went on?

Thomas:

I feel like it was integral in the sense that it was a part of Native school and like it was growing sweetgrass, right? So like, so like, it's very integral, but honestly speaking, I never really thought of it as like something super traditional in a way because it was just that's my life. if someone, like, someone who doesn't know, who doesn't experience sweet grass and like ceremonies basically every year right. It would seem very traditional in the sense, but for me it was just kind of like another Tuesday. It was just, oh, we're building this. Okay, let's do this. I understand it was very integral, but I didn't, for me personally, I didn't really see it as like something super spiritual or like super, something super traditional.

John:

Okay. Well, that may have grown. now. Well, I, that's another question. we might ask the current students. So we'll see about that. Was it difficult to leave that thing that you had really helped build when you graduated and, moved, uh, moved away from that area?

Thomas:

At the time when I graduated I was thinking of going to university, like moving out and everything, so I wasn't really thinking about it and honestly I felt outta love with school at the time. So I also didn't really feel, feel that much just'cause my whole class was leaving too, who started it and helped since the beginning, so they were leaving as well. So I didn't really feel like I was being singled out. Right. So I didn't really, it made the blow a little easier.

John:

Now you. went on to the University of Lethbridge where you're studying now what are you studying?

Thomas:

I'm studying psychology, the Bachelor of Arts of Psychology.

John:

Oh, wonderful. How's the big city treating you? Uh, was it difficult to leave your home in the smaller area and move to the bigger place?

Thomas:

Honestly, not really.'cause I lived in Vancouver Island until I was nine. And I lived in like a little town called Port Alberni. I won't say it's like as big as Lethbridge, but like it was still kind of like very urban and it was super, it was kind of like, it was wide enough to be a city. I felt more like discomfort and like kind of like shatter my comfort zone when I moved to like the res and like to Piikani Nation. Since Lethbridge is only like 40 minutes away from my house, like where I used to live. I can always just go over there and just hang out whenever I want.

John:

Now, you were quite young when you lived in Port Alberni, but I'm curious to know if, uh, that time there when you spent time amongst First Nations there, correct?

Thomas:

I lived in like a, I would call it a white town, but like, Yeah, I would say so because like we, I would go do stuff with other Native people and like my mom was friends with other Native people in the area. So yeah, I would say so.

John:

I am, I'm curious to know about your perception of the difference between that West Coast culture, first Nations culture, which is quite different than the Prairie First Nations culture. Did you find a big change when you came here in First Nations culture?

Thomas:

A lot more semblance on water or like ocean, ocean life. Because like in Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, it's an island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. So like, it was like a lot more like, artifacts or like regalia centered around oceans or like sea creatures. Lot of fishing too. It was a lot of fishing.

John:

Now let me ask the opposite side of that, the similarities. When you think about that move, What did you notice as similarities between the West Coast First Nations people and the uh, Plains First Nations People?

Thomas:

I feel like one thing that's very similar is the sense of community. Because like when I would go to these like things like of with Native people, you would see like the kids running around outside or like inside in like a gymnasium. You would see that. I would see that in the west coast too. Same with like, so I would, you, you would always get that sense of community, like you would see, you would get that sense of warmth and welcome. like that, welcoming sense of being welcomed and being loved.

John:

Now, back to Lethbridge, you're continuing to work on your degree. How much time do you have left before you graduate there?

Thomas:

Uh, so I just finished my first year, so I have three years left and I am planning to go into graduate school or something like that after that, so.

John:

Okay. And where do you think that might eventually take you? Any ideas?

Thomas:

My dream, what I really wanted is to go to the UK, the United Kingdom, to go study there. Because I want to go study at like Cambridge or like Oxford.

John:

Wow. That would be a, that would be a big

Thomas:

leap. And it would be,

John:

a wonderful thinkg to do!

Thomas:

It would be. I've always realized when I get outta my comfort zone, like good things tend to happen. And like I experience new things, meet new people. Especially because with university it was a big, a big difference. Piikani Nations is a very small school. My graduate class was like 12 and now I'm in classes with like 50 to a hundred people. So it's a very big change. But like I, kind of got accustomed to it and I feel like I, I got settled in.

John:

I have No idea what the numbers are in the UK in terms of Canadian First Nation students. Studying there. But I'm guessing it's fairly small. I imagine you would've a lot to offer in terms of a different perspective that they're not used to getting. Do you think that's true?

Thomas:

I would think so. Yeah. I never, actually never really thought of that actually. I just wanted to go to the UK'cause like they have really good schools and it's something different. But, um, now that you say that, I would think like that probably like increases my chances of going in because it's something like a First Nations person going into like Cambridge, like they probably don't see that very often.

John:

And I would think that, they would not get, a perspective like yours very often, so it would be a great addition. So I would hope that you'd have a good shot at that. So All the best as you, As you move in that direction.

Thomas:

Yeah. Thank you.

John:

Back one step, uh, from your home, in Piikani Nation to Lethbridge. Have you had something special to offer the University of Lethbridge or the city of Lethbridge that maybe is, uh, a different way of seeing things for them?

Thomas:

Honestly, not really because, the Native community in the university is very big. Piikani, is a dorm, building name and Kainai is a dorm building name. So like,

John:

Cool!

Thomas:

The sense of Nativeness, I would say is very huge in that university.

John:

well, I would say it's about time because I think our universities need to have a different way of seeing things from the First Nations perspective.

Thomas:

I agree. Yeah. Just any perspective is better right

John:

before we, uh, wrap up our conversation here, today, Thomas, you should tell us what your climate action is. that you've chosen.

Thomas:

for my climate action, I've been recycling and composting for basically, my mom taught me that actually at a very young age. So like, since I was like five, I was doing it by myself just taking out the compost or like the recycling when I was five to help out my mom. So like, so now it's just to become routine for me to do that.

John:

And I do. have to squeeze one more question in now because I'd love for you to tell us What kind of influence your mom has had on your environmental side as you've grown up.

Thomas:

I think it's not about what she taught to me environmentally specifically, I think it's more about her way of, parenting me into caring for others and having empathy because now I believe It's not just for me, it's for the collective of everyone. So when you compost, it's not just to get like a little dopamine boost, right? like, I'm helping climate change. No, it's for the future. The present and the now the future present. Yeah. Try to sound cool. But, um, but like, honestly, like it's about Having empathy for the people in the future to make it a little bit more easier for them. I always hear like climate change, like it's the worst thing ever, right? in 50 years time we're gonna turn into like a lava rock or something. I hear all that, all that talk, right? And it's, it's kind of frustrating because like, I was just born into this, right? Like, I didn't ask, I didn't ask to be. forced into this huge fight between climate change. if I want to do what I would want my ancestors and my parents and their parents to do, is to fight climate change harder so I wouldn't have to deal with it that hard. Right. Or like my friends and my people around my age would have to fight it as hard, but that happened. So now we've got to fight it it as hard as we possibly can so the people next generation and their kids so on and so forth don't have to be in our situation where we have to just completely hear what climate change could be in like a hundred years time.

John:

When you hear that doom talk about the lava rock, what gives you hope in the midst of that world?

Thomas:

You always have tomorrow to at least to make yourself feel like you're doing something. Maybe you don't do it today or tomorrow, but you can go to sleep knowing that you're gonna be there the next or the next day, and know that you can try. So you always have the opportunity to try and do better for the next day. So that gives me hope that there's always tomorrow, there's always the next day, there's always next year, even if I, like, God forbid, like pass away. But I'll always have hope because even then, like there's always next, there's, there's gonna be tomorrow even if I'm not here. Like, so that gives me hope. That time will always keep moving and with time, anything can change.

John:

Thanks for leaving us with that message. And thanks so much for joining us today. Thomas.

Thomas:

Yeah, Thank you.

John:

And thank you, dear listener and or viewer. if you enjoy the program, please do hit that like or subscribe button as it helps get the word out and reminds you when new episodes drop. We will be back again next week, same time, same place to hear from another Piikani climate action figure. Until then,

Thomas:

Go figures!