When I think of dreamers I think of a young boy who wanted to make a difference in the world. To any that knew his limitations they would have thought his dreams were similar to trying to fly to the moon without a spaceship.
He had a tough upbringing, not any advantages, little in the way of education, friendships, or stepping stones.
Often Joshua would tell me what he would do if he was chief of his reserve. He would then edit his dream and say, "At least talk to people about how to be kind to one another and how hard it is for kids like me." A big dream for a young man of no consequence. People would look at all the obstacles he would have to overcome to be anything let alone a person of influence and shake their heads saying it would be a miracle.
Joshua struggled with learning, he struggled with abstract concepts, poetry seemed abstract and he didn't want to do that portion of his English assignments in grade nine or ten. One day however he was on a road trip to and from a funeral. During this road trip he felt the rhythm of the road and begin to put the facts of his life on the page in short sentences. He was surprised to find that what he had written was a form of poetry, raw, gritty and real.
In need of some money to pay some of his expenses his mom helped him put some chapbooks of his writing together to sell at a First Nations Gathering, the rest has become part of his own personal history.
Joshua as a young person has been published in different forms, a shortlisted documentary about a segment of his life, a couple poetry books, and a couple first person essays. He opened at the University of Regina for Library Week last October, has gone on a library tour of south east Saskatchewan last February, spoken at schools and a seniors lodge. He has also achieved his dream of speaking to some foster parents and group home workers. Joshua has been interviewed by CBC twice,
There was no course or seven steps to realizing his dream just a simple prayer and a lot of courage to step out in his fledgling faith to achieve the impossible.
