ECS 101: What new understandings have you gained and what would you do for the call to action?
The recognition of Indigenous studies in Saskatchewan has grown incredibly stronger in the last 15 years. I do not remember being introduced to different cultures until I was nine years old, in grade four. I transferred from a catholic school to a public school, and found that at the public school there were multiple teachers dedicated to creating a powerful cultural awareness. Every year from grade four to grade eight, the school would host a Pow-Wow assembly. They would have traditional dancers come in from the community, to dance alongside the student dancers. There were a few years where they brought a Tipi and had volunteers from the school join in to help set the poles in the gym. They explained all of the steps of the set up, and gave us some brief historical facts about the hide used. As I moved on into high school, I found in the ninth grade there was absolutely no focus Indigenous studies education what-so-ever. When we had the choice between history or Indigenous studies in tenth grade, I chose Indigenous studies. A few of my friends in the class and I helped our teacher to host a National Aboriginal Day celebration in the park where there was traditional singing and dancing, Elders sharing stories, and every child attending planted a heart along the river. We as the students working, got to help guide groups of elementary students through the celebration!
I feel that the message of importance grows larger and stronger each year. Into university, Indigenous education is so incredibly well integrated into all classes. In all of my classes I have learned some history and there is always recognition of the Treaty lands we are residing on. I have gained a whole new perspective since starting ECS 100. When we first started to learn about this in class, I visited my grandmother. I asked her if she ever learnt about or heard about the residential schools when they were happening. She told me that she had not heard anything about it until they started to shut them down and the media started to take part in exploding it. Hearing the emotional stories shared from peers and hearing the story about Prof. Machnaik’s mother working within a residential school really put the timeline of events into perspective. Her story showed the simple things, such as cuddling that we experience with our family that was torn away from all of the young Indigenous children. I believe that to continue to build a strong call to action, there should be a dedicated Indigenous studies class for each grade level K-12 instead of having the topic integrated in other classes, or talked about in assemblies a few times a year. To teach children to accept others from the ground up.
Watch some of my favourite Indigenous TikToks Below!
Cheekbone Beauty
I was watching Dragons Den on Netflix and this brand came on as part of the show and I thought it was amazing!! The start up mission of the brand was to empower Indigenous youth to see themselves as representatives in the beauty community. They donate 10% of all sales to Indigenous based charities including Shannen’s Dream and the FNCS, product donations to not-for-profits and other organizations, the Navajo Water Project, and One Tree Planted.