Miskâsowin: Blog #2

How might you go about engaging in a miskâsowin process during this course?

To engage with the concept of finding my center that the Cree word miskâsowin represents I am going to open my mind to allow the facts of my settler ‘ness’ to not be something that I am guilty/afraid to admit. It will be a process of uncovering who I am the and bring to light the privileges that come with who I am. I believe it will also uncover inspiration for who I can become with the knowledge I can from the experience. Engaging for me is learning and experiencing while taking the time to reflect throughout the journey.

What will you do towards continuing to find your sense of origin & belonging, yourself, or your center?

I have begun researching deeper into who my ancestors are, where they came from, and who they identified as when asked. I will continue having deeper reflections about my identity and what I believe makes up my identity. An important part of finding your sense of origin & belonging, yourself, or your centre is to embrace and appreciate all of the diverse identities, cultures, and ethnicities that surround you or cross your path every day. Through doing this you will begin to see a whole new outlook on your culture/identity and what you can do to further your knowledge of your identity.

Blanket Exercise & How does it help towards tâpwêwin (speaking the truth with precision and accuracy)?

This was my first time taking part in the blanket exercise and I had no idea going into it what I was going to experience throughout and the feelings I would have following. This exercise took me by surprise as it was nowhere near what I had anticipated it to be. This exercise spoke truth and sadness in an interactive way so you are fully involved in the story and all of the sad events taking place around your blanket. After the exercise was finished there was a wave of sadness and guilt that flew over me. I was sad for all Indigenous peoples and what so many of them have survived through with such strength but I also felt guilty for falling into the label/category of being a white settler. Yes, my ancestors may not have been those that directly affected the Indigenous peoples but they did come to the land the settlers called Canada and took what did not belong to them. I was quite impressed with the blunt facts that get sugar-coated in any Canadian history classroom. The only thing I could pick out from the exercise is the important facts that get skipped over or get mentioned super quickly. I do wish that it was longer and took time for every event that took place.

Propose a plan for the next 5 weeks. What will you commit to?

I will commit to not being afraid of who I am and what I identify as, as well as gaining more and more knowledge to be able to educate myself and those I love to be able to become open-minded. It is important that we get the information that was skipped over or sugar-coated in our history textbooks.