Senator Allan Bird’s grandson wants reignite the inspiration his mushum once brought to Montreal Lake.
Andy Bird, 26, lived in Saskatoon growing up and frequently visited his home reserve. Now, he has made his home in British Columbia. Along the way, he’s overcome homelessness and found fame in Western Canada’s pro wrestling circuit.
Now, he’s offering to support teens and young adults from his reserve while they further their education.
Andy has seen the inequity between kids at Montreal Lake and other areas where job training, resume-building, and other skills are commonplace.
“These kids out there they don’t get that opportunity and they try to go out to do it, you know, there’s no support system for them. They don’t have job experiences or anything like that because there is no work out there so when they move into P.A. or something like that to try to get a job they don’t know how to apply,” he said.
Andy said he’s aiming to inspire people the same way his grandfather did. A story that’s stuck with Andy is how Allan rose up against inequity.
While living in Montreal Lake, Allan lived under the pass system – where band members had to ask an Indian Agent for permission to leave the reserve.
Allan fought in the Korean War and after being treated as equals to his fellow soldiers –regardless of race – Allan had a new perspective about the unfair treatment. When Allan returned to his reserve, he and others refused to conform to the pass system.
“I guess it runs in the blood to be passionate and fight for rights because that’s exactly what I’m doing now is just fighting for rights to education,” Andy said.
This week Andy flew from his home in Maple Ridge, BC to Montreal Lake to make presentations to the reserve’s kids about moving to BC as a part of his new program, called Bird’s Nest.
“It’s given me goosebumps just thinking about it, like seeing how excited these kids were to realize that there was something else to do. ‘There’s not just the rez life? Oh wow, I can go out to BC I can walk the Capilano Suspension Bridge and go to the mountains and to the ocean, and I can go to whatever school I want to do and learn about, I can do anything? Cool,” Andy said.
His message is that Montreal Lake people’s dreams are attainable.
“Life is so much more than just the borders of a reserve,” he said. “There’s a whole entire world to explore and I just want to open their eyes to let them know that ‘you can do it, you can do whatever you want to do’.”
The Bird’s Nest idea is only a few months old, and started when Andy’s cousin AJ was looking to upgrade his education.
The long-term goal is to support and guide six to seven people living under one roof with his mother ruling the roost, in a “home away from home” in Maple Ridge. The Bird’s Nest will also seek non-profit status in coming months. Andy said his wife’s connections in the community have opened doors to educational institutions and businesses that are interested in helping the students get ready for the workforce.
Andy said he expects some students to branch out like he did and do more exploring, while he expects others to return to Montreal Lake to share what they’ve learned.
You can visit the Bird’s Nest’s website here.
The second student to join the program, Denise, pictured with the first student – Andy’s cousin AJ – and Andy. Photo courtesy Facebook.
