Hello there my dudes. I am a busy woman these days, and all I have to say is:
BENCH. BENCH. BENCH. In this blog post Cool Indians on Main Street is fondly remembered; CIOM, sigh....
This past week, I was in Mt. Pleasant on Main St. benching by myself and taking in the peeps and sights that the ancestral lands (Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh) have to offer. The scenery has changed a great deal since the old days pre 2010s. (Pre 2010 Olympics, TRC, condo dev., Pandemic, global politics Sh*t show) I was hoping for a sense of nostalgia for 15 years gone-by, but it was not felt. I felt a sad longing for community.
I was looking for something OLD TIMEY.
Where do we gather now?
At auctions, art benefits, galas, awards receptions, art openings? The
views have changed in my experience, but there is still an empty space to offer
a seat. An open invitation to bench. A new opportunity to offer up space
for a new group of Benchers. The bench can be a free arena again.
It was once called the littlest rez on Turtle Island. What is
needed is not a new name for Dude Chillin Park; what I want is a new space
to bench where one can sit and occupy space in an Indian/Indigenous manner of
presence. A new venue of occupation could occur where Indian sweater
(Cowichan sweater) spotting is simply a pastime and not an official
conversation to panel art-speak. All the familiar faces that once walked
by have moved on to find cheaper rents. The days of hangin' and benchin'
on the littlest Indian rez are officially over. The
ground, garden, and bench of CIOMS past have been removed/paved
over/condo-commodified years ago. My dudes have moved away, and our bench
is forgotten. I never got into the Dude Chillin Park scene and never
found a new bench and lost all those old benchin' buddies. Speculation and
bench sightings are happening now and then, but nothing too official. Maybe benchin
was meant to be and kept unofficial, as it might have been co-opted as official
branding of “community” to sell more real estate? Gentrification benching? Something
to laugh about, but happy anecdotes for good times and good Old Timey times
sell. This is the Cool Indians on Main St blog update thus far.
Deepest
Respect to the Ancestral Lands and benchin (lower case letters intended)
Indigenous folks,
Char Vicky
Charlene sits on a Main St. bench smiling, wearing a black jean jacket 4/5/25
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