Our guest blogger this week, Emilio Wawatie, is Anishnabe from Kitiganik (Lac Barrier) and Kitigan Zibi. He grew up in Maniwaki, Parc de la Vérendrye and in Val D’Or, Quebec. Throughout his childhood into his early adolescent years, he was raised by his Kokom and Choum in the bush. Emilio is currently a 3rd year Music Major student in Concordia’s Music Program and previously lived and attended college in Sudbury, Ontario.
Life – Pimatisiwin
In this post I’d like to touch base with some of the issues surrounding Indigenous identity that have been sweeping across Turtle Island; all its complexities and its absurdities. I was inspired by Basil Johnston, an Anishaabe scholar and knowledge carrier, to focus on the key words provided above that represent the important aspects needed for a family, community and nation to be balanced and to thrive. The title I’ve chosen for this piece, Tipatcimoon, roughly translates to “a testimony,” but it also refers to stories that share or express one’s personal experiences and the realizations that come from said experiences. This is my Tipatcimoon.
completing her dissertation, which is a critical autoethnography of her experiences learning Ho-Chunk and Omaha– two languages indigenous to what is now considered the United States. Much of her work critically examines the role of equity in schooling experiences, crossing lines of difference on a variety of reified social categories. She also serves as a mentor for graduate students in the Indigenous Roots Teacher Education Program at her university. 