I am very grateful to be living in the unceded lands of the Lekungwen, Esquimalt and Wsanec peoples. I am Anishinaabe Ikwe from Sagkeeng, MB. I am from the Sturgeon Clan. I am a mother of two and Nookum to three. I went to the Fort Alexander Residential School as a day scholar so I consider myself to be a survivor of that system. Both of my parents and my grandparents attended residential school as well.

When I retired from the public service in 2013, I moved back to my home community in Sagkeeng, Manitoba. During that time,  I sat with many elders which deepened my understanding of my culture. We were invited to share traditional teachings with students and my community. I have shared ribbon skirt making, beading, smudging, women’s teachings, painting and also some Traditional Parenting workshops. I speak about my day school experiences to different organizations to bring awareness on Orange Shirt Day.

During covid, I moved back to Victoria in 2020 to be near my children and grandchildren.  During these times of being in our “isolation bubbles”, I decided to try dot painting after watching an online video. I love it! I find it very healing. I get better each time I paint and now feel confident to call myself an artist. Now, I have included my Anishinaabe culture into my artwork.

Anishinaabemowin is my first language but forgot how to speak it fluently due to attending residential school. However, these past few years, I have been attending Anishinaabemowin language classes at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre to strengthen my language skills as a Speaker. As part of VNFC’s Urban Indigenous language program, we partnered with Pacific Opera Victoria. I began translating opera songs into my language. It’s amazing to hear a classical opera song in Anishinaabemowin.  I feel proud of this work in reconciliation.