Finding My Sense of Origin

Finding one’s sense of origin

When thinking of finding one’s sense of origin I think of both where a person and their ancestors are from but what a person was in a previous life. Each person is different, their personalities could be based off of their self; for example, a person with a timid personality may have been a butterfly in a past life. Finding one’s sense of origin also meaning knowing your family history and how it can affect a person’s identity. I associate the sense of belonging with a sense of purpose, something to work towards. This is would be very different based on the racism and sexism that happens around the community. A sense of belonging can come from the community you choose to surround yourself with.

Finding one’s sense of origin & belonging; Finding ‘one’s self’ or Finding ‘one’s center’would be a different process for every person based on their history. If a person was raise knowing their culture and roots, they may automatically have a sense of origin and belonging but a person who’s culture has been lost or forgotten may need to search for a place of belonging.

I identify myself as a female, non-Indigenous Canadian. I am an able bodied person. As a Canadian I am also a treaty person. Though I was not alive and my ancestors were not even in Canada when the treaties were being signed, my identity is tied to Canada and treaty history. I was born and raised on Treaty 4 land. There is are parts of my life in which I am more privilege than others but I have less privilege in other circumstances. As a female I am statically less privilege than a man but as a Caucasian and Christian I tend to have more privileges than another race or religion.  There is a quote that stuck with me when discovering my relationship to treaty “I am a settler that is becoming unsettled” (Paulette Regan); meaning I am a settler that understands that the treaties are not being upheld as they should be and I would like to make a change towards reconciliation and decolonization.
My ancestors were able to come to Canada and become citizens because of the creation of the treaties. They were able to own land and raise families because of the agreement of the two parties. They were not affected in the same way that Indigenous people were and they did not hold put the promises that were made to the Indigenous people. My ancestors were a part of perpetrating the discrimination against Indigenous people but I hope that both myself and future relatives can move towards reconciliation.

Here I have attached a small video that I made in high school that outlines my father’s family history. This assignment forced me to learn about my family history and how that has impact my life.

What is your plan for exploring your treaty identities throughout the semester? What will you commit to?

My plan is to explore who my treaty identities affect my teaching and I am committing to learning about the history of treaties and the relevance that they play in today’s society, especially within the classroom. I commit myself to learn the past, present and future issues that have or will affect Indigenous peoples, especially the issues within the education system.