Charla Huber: Every Indigenous person is Indigenous enough
The Times Colonist
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
2018-12-30
Charla Huber, Communications and Indigenous Relations
M’akola Group of Societies
![Devan Cronshaw, left, Riley McKenzie and Alita Tocher are all urban Indigenous people in the capital region. New_dx-1230-ho ho huber.jpg](https://images.glaciermedia.ca/polopoly_fs/1.23566433.1546137385!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_804/new-dx-1230-ho-ho-huber-jpg.jpg)
Devan Cronshaw, left, Riley McKenzie and Alita Tocher are all urban Indigenous people in the capital region.
Photograph By Charla Huber, Times Colonist |
So often, we hear the words reconciliation and decolonization, and lately I have been wondering if people really understand their meanings. The more I read, learn and listen, the more important these words become to me.
I am a product of the Sixties Scoop and was adopted and raised by a non-Indigenous family. Being adopted and having no knowledge of or connection to my birth family growing up, I really held onto being Indigenous. It was the only thing that I ever knew about myself for sure.
Because I wasn’t raised in Indigenous culture, I have often wondered if I am Indigenous enough. This is especially heightened because I am half. I am very open about my heritage and my adoption, but I do struggle saying: “My family is from Fort Chipewyan and I have Inuit roots.” I’ve never set foot on my ancestors’ traditional territory…
Read the entire article here.