The mouse is mightier than the sword

Abstract

Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, the head of Canada’s Assembly of First Nations, once gave me a wonderful gift-a talking stick. It is a technology that goes back thousands of years-for when handed to the user it is supposed to imbue the speakers’ words with courage, honesty and wisdom-not always guaranteed, alas, because that depends on the person holding the stick. For our First Nations people it carries great significance and responsibility-when the stick is in your hand-there is the power to speak straight-to communicate what is good-to help in the search of truth.