By Tayvie Van Eeuwen
@tayvieeee
Let’s end 2020 off on a good note! Here is December’s happy news.
National
IKEA Debuts First-Ever Indigenous Showroom
Two of my favourite things = IKEA + Indigenous representation.
Say hello to IKEA’s first-ever Indigenous showroom! Located in Edmonton, Alberta, the showroom works to share Indigenous culture in an accessible fashion.
The space was designed by Lance Cardinal, a Northern Cree artist with extensive experience in set and prop design, live performances, painting, sculpture, and drawing. His arrangement features IKEA furniture, regalia, trapping supplies, as well as family photos and home movies from a Samson Cree Nation and Montana First Nation family.
As Cardinal explains, the showroom is a step towards positive Indigenous representation.
“It’s showing what everyday life is for an Indigenous family,” Cardinal recounted to Global News. “Not only is it a great space for beautiful furniture… there’s also many teachings involved in this space.”
In addition to the showroom, IKEA’s Edmonton location also commissioned Cardinal to create a 40-foot mural.
“Nobody has ever taken Indigenous culture and integrated it so beautifully into their space as IKEA has done. And I really hope other spaces look at what they’ve done here.”
Take a peek!
World
Thousands Show Support for High School Boy Who was Suspended for Wearing Nail Polish
Meet Trevor Wilkinson: a 17-year-old senior at Clyde High School in Clyde, Texas, who was suspended on the grounds of nail polish. On November 30, he tweeted:
The tweet was in response to a dress-code policy he claims is a “complete double standard.” Clyde High School’s Student Handbook explicitly says that boys are prohibited from wearing make-up and nail polish.
In a change.org petition started by Wilkinson, he wrote:
I was told that I will continue to get [in-school suspension] until I take them off. It’s a complete double standard because girls are allowed to paint and get their nails done. Not only that, but freedom of expression is validation enough that the dress code and policy is not okay. I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud.
Help me show that it is okay to express yourself and that the identity that society wants to normalize is not okay. I am a human. I am valid. I should not get in trouble for having my nails done.
Now, his petition has gained over 316,000 signatures and counting. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has also expressed their support, stating that “students should never be treated differently because of their gender.”
“TX school districts must strive to be safe, supportive learning environments, and join districts across the U.S. in removing policies based on antiquated sex stereotypes.”
As of December 3, Wilkinson said he was still in in-school suspended—where he was given an ultimatum of transferring to online school or removing his nail polish.
Signatures are still growing, as is media attention and social media support. Check out these acts of solidarity, including one from Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk.
New Zealand Couple Gives 2,200 Acres of Land to Government for Conservation
New Zealand: arguably one of the most beautiful places on the planet, with pristine land that is often sought after by developers. Well, one local farming family shunned corporate interest in the name of conservation—giving up 2,200 acres of land to the crown.
The stretch of land near Lake Wakatipu will become public in 2022 for “the benefit and enjoyment of all New Zealanders.”
Dick and Jillian Jardine, whose family has farmed the land for almost a century, intended to keep the land protected. Jillian told the Guardian that her family had spent four years in discussion about the land’s transition.
“We thought about this idea and it just stuck so it feels like the right thing to do. We want to keep it as it is forever, we don’t want buildings all over it or housing, there’s so much housing going in … we want to be part of saving something.”
In response, the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust thanked the couple for their generous philanthropic action, noting that the gift was “hugely significant for the Wakatipu area and wider New Zealand.”
The trust’s chair, Bruce Wills, added,
Open landscapes in the Wakatipu basin have come under increasing pressure from subdivision and commercial development driven by the twin pressures of population growth and tourism. But the wide-open landscapes of the district are the very values that have attracted both tourists and new residents to the area.
Thankfully, this particular area of New Zealand will stay safe for generations to come.
BRB, post COVID I’ll be taking a trip myself. ✈️
In the past couple of years, we have heard increasing calls for equal pay for professional female athletes. Thankfully, two dominant ‘football’ leagues are tackling the gender pay gap.
Brazil and England both recently announced that their women’s soccer leagues received the same pay as their male counterparts in 2020.
The English Football Association (FA) confirmed pay parity in September, stating that the initiative was implemented in January this year.
“The FA pays its women’s players exactly the same as their male counterparts for representing England, both in terms of match fees and match bonuses,” told ESPN.
In Brazil, equal pay efforts began in March, when the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) announced that, “women will receive the same daily rate as those who already receive them. The women’s team that wins or progresses through the stages at next year’s Olympic Games will receive the same as the men.”
Here’s hoping other countries will soon follow suit! ⚽️
Happy Suggestions
Here are some more stories that deserve a shoutout!
BC actor brings Indigenous identity to Hallmark Christmas movie
McDonald’s festive coffee cups feature Indigenous symbolism
Patagonia now sells used clothing alongside new
Tayvie is a Métis/Anihšināpē and Irish/Scottish student and writer. Her circle is small, but her joy is large. She splits her time between over-thinking and visiting Disneyland. Read her articles to take a peek inside the world of mental illness and happy news, because it’s all about balance, right?
