Rabbit, Oscar & Cougar CANADA
By Nikki White “Rabbit was in big trouble,” John Johnstone said as he shook his head gravely. “I could see Cougar hiding behind the tall grass along the fence. The next thing you know, wham! Cougar swipes out a paw and scoops him up.”
As John went on to describe the gulf between First Nations and many other Canadians, it became clear that he is uniquely wired to bridge that divide with a message of reconciliation.
We were sitting in a coffee shop, and I had just asked John to share about his new role with C2C as First Nations Ambassador to Western Canada. In answer, John launched into what sounded like indigenous mythology. Or was it something that had actually happened on his property in Fort Langley? I was confused and having a hard time following the bunny trail, so to speak. But his storytelling skills were gripping and I did not want to interrupt.
John explained that he was born during the infamous “Sixties Scoop”, when First Nations children were taken from their families and adopted or fostered out to primarily white middle-class families. John was himself adopted by white parents and raised with no real understanding of his ethnic roots. His adopted brother and sister were from different indigenous families, and together they all faced the challenge of being “Apple Indians” – red on the outside, white on the inside. They had a hard time of it. Both brothers coped by abusing drugs and alcohol.
“I watched as Cougar loped away, with Rabbit in his stomach,” John continued. “Next morning, same thing. But this time, it was my little dog, Oscar. He ran down the same path, along the same fence, and there was Cougar, waiting. And pretty soon, wham! Cougar scooped him up and ate him too.” John paused, taking in the look on my face as I thought about poor Oscar. After a nod, John went on, “So then Cougar kind of sits up, and crosses his paws and says to me, ‘Hey John, so – how many calories do you think were in Rabbit?’ I shake my head at him, no idea. Cougar says, ‘About four hundred and fifty. How many calories do you think Oscar was?’ I shake my head again, no idea. Cougar says, ‘About four hundred and fifty.’ Then Cougar gets up and walks away.” “So here’s the thing,” John said as he leaned toward me across the table. “I share that story, and everybody gets all upset at poor old Oscar being eaten by Cougar. But the reality is, Oscar and Rabbit had exactly the same value. That’s what I want people to understand. We all have exactly the same value in Creator’s eyes. But over the years First Nations people have been taught that we don’t have the same value as other folk. And those lessons, well, they are hard to get over.”
14 | witness
Eventually, John married and he and his wife Jennifer had two small children. One day, Jen demanded to take the children to church and, grudgingly, John agreed. Maybe it would be good for them as a family, he thought, getting a little religion. It was there that he met Jesus. “He kind of snuck up on me,” John recalled. “So, I asked him about my life, about everything that had happened to our people in history. And God said, ‘Oh, John, that wasn’t me. I love you. Always have, always will.’” That love of God moved John to make profound changes in his life. Soon after coming to faith through the Alpha
