Muskoday teacher hopes arts will connect communities as music festival approaches
The organizer of an upcoming music festival at Muskoday First Nation is saying the event is more than just music, it’s about changing the narrative.
Kevin Joseph lived most of his life in Prince Albert and currently works at the Muskoday School, where he’s been for roughly three years.
In his life, he said he’s been the subject of racism and profiling, yet, despite all that, he’s not looking for revenge but rather an avenue to promote unity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.
“I was beaten up in the city of Prince Albert for being brown more times than I would like to say,” Joseph said in an interview with paNOW. “I’m still followed around stores as a 46-year-old man like I’m going to steal. I still have to answer, ‘How come you people are so drunk?’ I haven’t had a drink in 22 years, so yeah, I know that there’s racism all over the place, but at the same time, there’s all these horrible attitudes that exist towards Indigenous people, of which I am and all the people I work with here.”