I am a white settler descendant. I am German and Polish. I am an able-bodied, cis gender woman. Regardless of any differences that I have compared to Indigenous peoples, I am in relation to the Indigenous community. I am a treaty partner. Cardinal and Hildebrandt (2002) explains the principles that are affirmed by treaties, which includes the commitment between parties to maintain relationships and peace. As a teacher, I have a responsibility to fulfill this principle. It is my responsibility to tell tâpwêwin about Canada's history to my students. As a settler wanting to become unsettled, I view my role as a treaty partner as working alongside Indigenous peoples in Canada (shown in visual diagram). This is how I view myself as a treaty partner. I also view myself as someone who does not have all the answers, as there are parts missing in my visual. It is also my responsibility to find answers and gain knowledge about Indigenous peoples and their languages, nations or membership to bands, ceremonies, worldviews, relationship with place and land. Weeks after this blog post and having done the Treaty Event, hosted by my colleagues and I, I agree with this explanation of what it means to be a treaty partner. After actively participating in the Treaty Event, I feel closer to identifying and encompassing what it means to be a treaty person. I contributed to working alongside Indigenous peoples in Canada (some whom attended the Treaty Event and critiqued my information, which was fabulous!); accepting that I do not know all that there is to know about treaties; and I gained knowledge about Indigenous peoples (specifically, Nakota peoples).
My idea of what it means to be a treaty person was further reinforced after writing this blog post as I came across a highlighted point from Vowel (2016); "A really powerful and beautiful start would be to simply learn the names in use, both historic and contemporary, for the Indigenous peoples in the area where you live” (p. 12). This supported the information I provided about the meaning behind the name, Nakota, and similar names to refer to the same group of people (ex. Assiniboine, Stone Sioux, Stoney, Nakota Sioux, etc.) The Blanket Exercise allows me to further explore my miskâsowin in relation to Turtle Island and Indigenous history. I am here due to the historical story that the Blanket Exercise represents. It helps me towards tâpwêwin because every time I participate I learn something new or gain a new realization about this history. As an educator, it is our job to speak the truth and practice portraying multiple versions of this as well as help students to find their own truth, which may even be their own miskâsowin. Works Cited: Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.sicc.sk.ca/culture_nahkawe.html
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The process of “Finding one’s sense of origin & belonging; Finding ‘one’s self’ or Finding ‘one’s center” means a discovery of who I am as an individual as well as who I am in relation to my environment and others. I feel quite confident in knowing who I am, as an individual, however, knowing myself in other ways is still emerging. I think that this may take years to grasp as my relations continuously change. My initial thoughts are that in order to find my belonging in a larger context, I must belong in a smaller circle first and gain respect; “respect is an essential pillar in which good relationships can be brought about” (Cardinal & Hildebrandt, 2002, p. 21). By this, I mean that in the class environment I must find my sense of self. I think that belonging happens in smaller spaces, and then transfer to larger ones over time. In turn, in order to know myself in a large context including origins and within my country, I first must know how I belong in my family, specific classes and the teaching profession. This process of finding myself and origin (treaty walk) will continue on through this course in a way that I cannot predict.
I am a settler. I am white. I am European. I am in relation to people similar to me who signed the treaties. I am ose’ronni, a “delicate white flower person” (Vowel, 2016, p. 20). This could be one way that I name and identify myself. These terms that I use hold deeper connotations, as Vowel explains. For example, I identify as White; however, I’m not sure if I would be as comfortable being called White from others since it takes on the tone that I am being blamed for Canada’s past in which I was not directly a part of (Vowel, 2016). That being said, the uncomfortableness is part of my treaty walk, and part of reconciliation in which I, as an educator, play a vital role in. I was going to include “non-Indigenous” as another name to identify with, but I agree with Vowel’s point that this term ‘others’ Indigenous peoples by saying that I am ‘not this.’ Within my treaty walk, naming myself and the identity connotations that come with doing so are complex, so I hope to learn alongside and intertwine with these complexities. |