Reflection...

I am not a person who is very technologically savvy, nor do I have the desire to be so when I first heard about this blogging assignment and how all of our blogs were to be done online I was a little apprehensive.  After learning about how to do the blogs and shown how to navigate my way through the postings my apprehension turned into excitement!  

The first blog really provided me with a sense of what the Aniishnaabe culture was like before there was any sort of contact between them and the Europeans.  There was a sense of community collectivism which I really thought was great because everyone is treated equally and no one is marginalized or “lesser than” anyone else in their community.  Absolutely everything was shared among everyone from food, to shelter, to stories, to child rearing.  The Aniishnaabe culture seemed so humble and traditional to me, so I find it difficult to read about what is going on for this community of people presently.

After writing my second, third and fourth blogs I was quite discouraged and saddened about the lack of education and knowledge some people acquire about what has been going on and still is going on today for this group of people.  Prior to European contact, the Aniishnaabe people did not face the vast amount of social issues that they do today such as inadequate housing, lack of funding, unsafe water and poverty.  I find it very disheartening that this culture of people was living their way of life off of the land very contently for that matter, when some outside forces needed to barge in and insist on projecting their way of life on the Aniishnaabe.  This causes me to pose to question “Was this assimilation a success considering all the aftermath that still continues on today?” 

After this blogging assignment I still find myself asking mnay questions about what is going to be done for this culture of people because I feel if something is not done soon, there will not be a future for the Aniishnaabe.  It angers me that few people are stepping up to advocate for this culture and that the government refuses to acknowledge their part in this creation of history.  I have great respect for this culture of people and my future plan is turn these negative feelings about what has happened to the Aniishnaabe people into advocacy for them in my practice.  Thank you for this valuable learning experience.

Kristin*