Page 28 - Restorative Journey: Indigenous Educational Wellness

Voice Perspective Elizabeth Doxtater
After the historic process of being removed from the village model of life:
• devillagized
To ensure we would be:
• colonized
We now work to:
• decolonize
In the hopes to:
• revillagize.
Generations of our people have been deprived of many things. One of the most heavily impacted was the understanding of our self-value and importance.
If we consume ourselves with the fact that the newcomers’ treaty created much pain in our communities but do nothing to protect or celebrate what is remaining, then we accept ourselves as victims.
However, we can consider our responsibility to uphold our side of the Two Row, the side that honours and cherishes each unique member of our families and communities. These acts are not done “in spite of” or as an expression of tolerance, but because of our reawakened ancestral understandings of true acceptance. All communities can then truly be inclusive, safe places.
By doing so, we would be honouring our ancestors, further rejecting shame, and discarding any labels or roles that were placed on us by the colonizing era. We then
accept our inherent responsibility to steer that canoe.
Beyond the centuries of rough waters and the trauma, shame, and judgement that has been inflicted on our communities, there is something beautiful we all possess. We find strength and protection in our stories, laws, and teachings.
As we continue to recover what generations of our communities were deprived of, we get stronger and healthier. We steer that canoe and prepare to hand that paddle over to the next generation. We can work together to guide our canoe to calm waters.
...The grass still grows, The rivers still flow,
And the sun still shines...
And that canoe is still on the water...
20 Commemoration • Education • Healing/Wellness