I met David when I was an exchange student at the University of Calgary in 2008. David was pure warmth, friendship and love and drew me in immediately (as I suspect he did with so many others). Coming from Australia David was always curious about my home and my experiences as a descendant of white settler colonists on the other side of the world. David showed me that it was possible and how to go about living a sincere life connected to the land and the values of its indigenous owners. To say that this was a transformational moment in my formative years would be an enormous understatement. David’s love of life was expressed so well in his love and care for others, the land and all beings. I remember once that he was late to attend a class as a guest lecturer because he had stopped in a park on campus to smudge and pray for a squirrel that had passed away after being hit by a car. To many stopping to honour a life lost like that might seem trivial and small, but I knew that for David - big or small, common or rare - all life was a circle and we are all a part of it. With the love that he gave me, I give in return to his wife, children, family, colleagues, friends, students and all of his and our relations.
I met David when I was an exchange student at the University of Calgary in 2008. David was pure warmth, friendship and love and drew me in immediately (as I suspect he did with so many others). Coming from Australia David was always curious about my home and my experiences as a descendant of white settler colonists on the other side of the world. David showed me that it was possible and how to go about living a sincere life connected to the land and the values of its indigenous owners. To say that this was a transformational moment in my formative years would be an enormous understatement. David’s love of life was expressed so well in his love and care for others, the land and all beings. I remember once that he was late to attend a class as a guest lecturer because he had stopped in a park on campus to smudge and pray for a squirrel that had passed away after being hit by a car. To many stopping to honour a life lost like that might seem trivial and small, but I knew that for David - big or small, common or rare - all life was a circle and we are all a part of it. With the love that he gave me, I give in return to his wife, children, family, colleagues, friends, students and all of his and our relations.
