“You only have everything to gain when you surround yourself in a place that lets you critically engage in any way you want to.”
I ended ‘ Living in Place; an Indigenous Student’s Perspective Abroad ‘ with that sentence. I wrote the piece in October 2019, wrapping up the experience as an Indigenous person studying at the University of British Columbia (UBC). I left these words as a parting message for everyone, but I also left them to remind myself of how I’ve continued to critically engage with the studies and cultural imprints I gained on Musqueam territories that UBC…
It’s been a hard month. We’ve had to go through a stressful election that came down to the wire and took a whole week with states having to announce their results for the umpteenth time as the President continues to not concede. We have been caring for loved ones that aren’t with us, virtually hanging out over the internet, and fearing that COVID-19 might be closer than we know. Constantly changing our plans and crawling along the academic calendar, wondering where the courtesy from our professors is, and why we have been asked to do more work than normally assigned…
I’ve been told my whole entire life that I should be something else. I’ve been told that I should cut my hair. I’ve been told that I should be thankful to get college paid for by American taxpayers because Native people get all those resources for free. I’ve been told I should lay off the fry bread and save some for the rest of my family. I’ve been told that my tribe was too hard to pronounce and it’s easier just to say ‘Indian.’ I’ve been told that I shouldn’t talk about federal unrecognized tribes at institutions because it’s not…
How to decolonize your mind… your curriculum… your bookshelf. We’ve all seen these articles make their rounds. In the midst of this summer’s protests against racism and police brutality, one organization after another released statements apologizing for past behavior and promising to do better by decolonizing their spaces. The word decolonization has become a whitewashed catchphrase used by universities, museums, and other “prestigious” institutions steeped in settler colonial frameworks. These institutions try to remove the colonization they’ve built and sustained by adding new diversity requirements. …
a piece I didn’t want to publish
This story was written on the traditional and contemporary lands, waters, and food systems of the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida peoples. Let their relationships guide your experiences as guests in Southeast Alaska and remember to not forget their legacies while back home.
Can you think of a place that has transformed your learning and experiences into a way of knowing? Can you trace a new way of knowing back to a place? Think of a place that you’ve spent many hours, if not days, both thinking deeply and thinking about nothing. Do you…
I never thought I’d actually be a student at the University of Washington. Not because I’m an Indigenous student who doesn’t have a sense of pride or a poor upbringing. It was because I practically grew up on the campus. My mother and father both had graduated from the University of Washington, my dad ended up becoming an emeritus professor in the American Indian Studies department and associated curator for the Burke Museum. During my childhood I remember going to the art building every week and sitting in his classes. He would always introduce me as a future husky and…
I accepted the Corbett scholarship with the idea that I would be learning how to view and develop international methods of decolonizing, re-indigenizing, and reconciling with the intent of bringing these ideas back to Seattle. However, as I have situated myself on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus (UBC), I’ve been fortunate enough to realize what it means to actually live in a place that has already been implementing these ideas every single day. UBC’s campus sits upon the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam band and people. Because of this relationship, UBC has honored Musqueam’s request…
I am fortunate enough to say that I’ve grown up with canoes my whole life. Whether it is learning traditions revolving around the canoe, pulling in a team of 11, repairing canoes for the next season, and more recently teaching about the importance of canoes in modern day settings, I can’t think of a year where I haven’t been involved. Especially during the summer season. Summer isn’t just a long stretch of hot days and lessened responsibilities, summer in the Pacific Northwest is tribal journey season.
Tribal Journey, or Canoe Journey, is a tradition in the Pacific Northwest since time…
By: Owen Oliver, 2020 Champion for Change
This piece was written and curated on the lands of the Tlingit People in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Center for Native American Youth through the Aspen Institute sits on the traditional and contemporary lands, shared waters, and medicinal knowledges of the Anacostan, Piscataway, Pamunkey people. You can learn more about your role and responsibility on Indigenous lands at native-land.ca
As we begin to adjust our communities and individual lives towards the future of social distancing and quarantining to combat COVID-19, it’s important to understand and continue the work of being a member of your…
