HIST 3510 LIfe Stories of Learning
I knew from a very young age education was important, but I did not know why. Well it was because of my dad’s experiences and his families experiences that he wanted something better for his children, like all parents.
In my early life I have experienced a lot of loss, exactly like my dad did as a kid. Whether it was alcohol or drug related, or race related, it impacted all of us, much more than we know. Having 27 first cousins was wonderful and overwhelm, but this crew bottom left, minus one cousin, Cody is missing from the photo, they were my crew, my generation of siblings. The photo on the right, is my dad and uncles, with my Kye7e’s sisters, my “great aunties,” I call them my Kye7es though because my own Kye7e has been passed on for so long, they had adopted us as their grandbabies too. The one in the purple, is Kye7e Janet, she’s my favourite. These people greatly impact my life story of learning. They also taught me values, and how to love loudly and unconditionally. All of my Kye7e’s went to Kamloops Indian Residential School, and my Uncle Wayne on the far right, went as well.
I tried to separate myself from my people, and my history. I travelled internationally, and disconnected from everyone and everything, but I got sucked right back in and I could not be happier. In time I have realized I CAN do both(it’s just not what my bank account says).
My life story of learning has impacted me in that I will ALWAYS look at the historical context of First Nations people first, before examining any other context. In class while reading articles about other children, or even just the establishment of education in Ontario for example, I still could not stop thinking about what was happening with the establishment of the reserve system in British Columbia, at the time of government officials trying to gain control over non-Indigenous children.