I
first came to Kumik 15 years ago. I knew that my family was Métis but
that had little relevance to my life. I don’t remember the Elder but the
story they shared that day became an important part of my life philosophy and
teachings for my children.
About
ten years ago, as a result of a conversation with an Elder brought in by IRCC
(from Kumik), I made the decision to fully acknowledge my Indigenous
heritage. I had long held back for this step thinking that as I got where
I was with white skin privilege and didn’t have any cultural knowledge that I
should not identify as Indigenous. That Elder gave me the teachings and
stories I needed to start my internal decolonization work. As a result I
learned about my
family, our traditions and started learning Cree.
As
there was no downtown lodge, whenever I could, I would get a taxi and cross
the river to the Kumik. I started meeting Elders occasionally for one on
ones which filled my bundle and gave me a chance to learn about ceremony, protocol,
teachings
and stories.
Sometimes I brought my children and we attended many of the workshops making
drums and other items that we still use. This time allowed me to come
into community, ask questions
and learn
with the Elders.
This knowledge helped me to raise my children with good
teachings in a healthy Indigenous way. This was possible because of the
welcoming environment for those of us who don’t have teachings or language or
connection. The Elders and people I met did not care if I was Indigenous
enough, only that I was open to learning in a good way. This community
opened up other Indigenous resources to access.
As
a result of this growth, my child and I were at the closing
ceremony for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. My child was
brought forward to represent the future generations. Through the Kumik
and related community, this child knows their Métis heritage and the good
red road, they were there that day and carries those stories and the promises
made into the future.
This
regular contact with
Kumik and the lack of progress on Indigenous issues at my previous
department were key considerations in my decision to move to ISC as a senior
analyst. I was delighted to have full access to Kumik, the Elders and
other community members. My manager was supportive of attending Kumik and
my proposal that we apply Indigenous Methodologies to a policy paper I was
working on. I was able to even contemplate that work because I knew I
could access Elders as needed though the one on ones at Kumik.
The
first year of the project I met with many Elders, Grandfathers who tested me,
Grandmothers who encouraged me and community that inspired me. Elder Barb
Brant, Mohawk, Turtle Clan agreed to work with us on this work and this
resulted in the paper “Daring to
Meet the Bear”. During this time I learned about Knowledge
bundles and created one for this project to capture the teachings and share
stories. On the guidance of Elders I ask for a spirit name. I
undertook that process and learned and listened and realized how little I
know. Through Kumik I kept learning, attending ceremony and experienced
the amazing support of doing policy and research with the support
of the Elder. The Kumik also supported my student who went on his own
identity journey during his time with us. Elder Barb with there for both
of us and always patient with our questions.
The
second year, after getting our bearings in COVID, the ability to access Kumik
was an important coping mechanism and way to stay in community. Working
with Kumik we brought Elder Solomon Wawatie (Anishnabek) in for one on ones and
team supports. Given that Kumik was not offering one on ones during this
time we were very glad to continue to have an Elder to support our work and
people. In the third year, Elder Barb rejoined us (She never left really
continuing to support us by phone and text). At this time I had been
newly named manager with a mandate to apply
Indigenous Methodologies to data and analytics. My team and I were blessed to be able to access the Kumik and Elders as we figured out how to
do things from this lens. We learnt with others in the community and
supported each other through that challenging year.
We are now in our sixth year of practically applying Indigenous methodologies and I am humbled by all the things I have learnt and the journeys our team has taken. We work closely with a team applying Indigenous Methodologies to evaluations for the first time in our context. We have worked with teams in HR, procurement, planning and reporting and innovation. We will continue to
find new ways to apply that Indigenous lens. We will continue to have
firsts – such an interview panel where everyone was Indigenous. All this
does not even touch on the person growth I have experienced from working with
the Elders and being part of Kumik.
Kumik has been an important part of my personal growth and
family life, while also supporting me and team to apply Indigenous
methodologies to all our work.
Ninanaskomowin
for listening to my story. EM (Pehiw – She who is in waiting and Nipon Kona (Summer Snow)
