As this class comes to an end, I reflect on the things I’ve done over the semester. The majority of these things Ive done are not new things, but the refresher was helpful, since it’s been years since I used WordPress. I think the thing I’ve enjoyed the most about this course has been the freedom to express myself through blog posts, explain where I come from, what I am most passionate about. The opportunity to talk about my work outside of my work is rare, because people don’t understand Environmental Assessments very often unless they work in that same industry – it gets very technical very fast, and people tend to shy away from things they aren’t familiar with when it comes to discussion. While I didn’t have a super great opportunity to engage in dialogue with other students throughout the semester in that sense, I did get to post about my work and passions on my ePortfolio in various fashions (photos, personal thoughts, inspirations), and they will continue to be accessible to those who may want to read them going forward – this is knowledge enough for me that I am doing my part, spreading information, and perhaps… inspiring others to make that change for a better, sustainable future where calling upon Indigenous knowledge is more commonplace than it has been, where it currently struggles to be recognized and respected as it should be when it comes to Section 35 and UNDRIP sanctioned Rights of Indigenous Peoples for Stewardship over land, sea, air, and cultural heritage.

If there was one thing I could change about this course, it would probably be the assignment that relates to Northwest Coast Salish animals/totems (assignment #7). While I can understand and respect where the idea comes from, and I appreciate the effort to make students who attend CapU recognize and engage with the important role of First Nations, I can’t help but note one directive within the instructions for the assignment that states that Indigenous Peoples should already know what their house totem is. It conjures up uneasy feelings within me because the legacy of residential schools has taught us all many things, and one of the things that sits with me most prominently is that many of us lost our connection to culture, our lands, and our people. I have a book at home that I read to my children called, Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox. This book was created by an Anishinaabe author for children, but also with both residential school survivors and Metis Peoples in mind because there is quite a bit of information about culture that was lost from these two parties over the years. The book approaches the expression of feeling, then talks about how those feeling relate to animals, and how animals relate to traditional Anishinaabe totems. As a gentle reminder, I would like my feedback to be considered, lost knowledge and intergenerational trauma to be considered, and use of the language “should” in reference to Indigenous Knowledge (IK) to be minimized or excluded altogether to respect those Indigenous Peoples who enroll in the class and may not actually know the information you state they should, because of reasons outside of their control.