Saturday, October 16, 2010
Tansis!
I feel that this trip has come at a good time in my life. I have been denying so many things for so long, and age is finally giving me some wisdom, albeit little. In 2001, I finally started to embrace my Indigenous culture, it started at a 5 day workshop at the Banff Centre where I met Cheryl L'Hondelle and she gave me precious knowledge which gave me courage to step out of the preverbial Indigenous closet. I have always admitted to being part Scottish and Cree but I felt that my rights to learn about my heritage died along with my Great Grandparents. I was in Canada, who cares about my past? Watching First Nation drunks on main street in Winnipeg and negative headlines of Indigenous people in the paper was my learning ground. Why would I want to associate myself with that? Even my history teacher taught me that the problems of the First Nations in Canada was based on their stubbornness to stay segregated and fight amongst themselves...if they had only worked together, then they might of had a better chance in life. When reading April Raintree as a naive young school girl, I was unsympathetic. I asked myself 'Why couldn't she just embrace her white background and just move on?' Now that I am closing in on 40, I realize that I still have a little bit of that childhood ignorance, but I am making an effort to educate myself. Culture is not something that you can roll up in a ball and throw away. There is a strength in it, a sense of well being, and a comfort. Especially when I have been denied it a large portion of my life. Now that I am embracing my culture, it feels like coming in from the cold and being wrapped in a warm blanket by the fire. There may be many ugly parts to this journey, but I know that there will also be many a wonderful discovery. I do this not just for myself, but it is a legacy that I want to pass on to my son.
tiniki ¶ 10/16/2010 01:57:00 a.m.
I feel that this trip has come at a good time in my life. I have been denying so many things for so long, and age is finally giving me some wisdom, albeit little. In 2001, I finally started to embrace my Indigenous culture, it started at a 5 day workshop at the Banff Centre where I met Cheryl L'Hondelle and she gave me precious knowledge which gave me courage to step out of the preverbial Indigenous closet. I have always admitted to being part Scottish and Cree but I felt that my rights to learn about my heritage died along with my Great Grandparents. I was in Canada, who cares about my past? Watching First Nation drunks on main street in Winnipeg and negative headlines of Indigenous people in the paper was my learning ground. Why would I want to associate myself with that? Even my history teacher taught me that the problems of the First Nations in Canada was based on their stubbornness to stay segregated and fight amongst themselves...if they had only worked together, then they might of had a better chance in life. When reading April Raintree as a naive young school girl, I was unsympathetic. I asked myself 'Why couldn't she just embrace her white background and just move on?' Now that I am closing in on 40, I realize that I still have a little bit of that childhood ignorance, but I am making an effort to educate myself. Culture is not something that you can roll up in a ball and throw away. There is a strength in it, a sense of well being, and a comfort. Especially when I have been denied it a large portion of my life. Now that I am embracing my culture, it feels like coming in from the cold and being wrapped in a warm blanket by the fire. There may be many ugly parts to this journey, but I know that there will also be many a wonderful discovery. I do this not just for myself, but it is a legacy that I want to pass on to my son.
tiniki ¶ 10/16/2010 01:57:00 a.m.
