My Journey began with me learning at a young age that I am Indigenous. Specifically, I am Cree. Living far away from my home reserve in a small town I was brought up hearing stereotypes about Indigenous people that where not great. This unfortunate racism combined with my heritage motivated me to learn the most I could about what happened in the past and what we are doing now to reconcile with the unfortunate past events that occurred in residential schools. My goal was I wanted to learn why people hate Indigenous people so much. My answer is that there is no reason to hate, in fact what we need to do is come together and treat each other like equal human beings not based on skin colour or racial/ethnic background.
Click the link below to view the corresponding photo.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Kz6g5v937WS5oU5YA
Now this picture taken by myself earlier in the fall is a representation of the path my journey has brought me on. The path beaten down and used represents how many people have embarked on the same journey. The path is a long dangerous one. The tree roots and rocks are the Eurocentric teachings, community members, and friends that where not okay with my heritage or learnings. The fallen trees represent the broken families left behind in the unfortunate legacy of residential schools. Ahead of me is the narrow and focused path that I am on with all my retained teachings behind me tucked safely away in storage for later use when I come to another challenging bend in my path. By the end of the path, I will be able to be fully educated which means this path will never end.