Hello everyone, and welcome back to the blog train! In today’s post, I will discuss our most recent project with the BC First Peoples, titled “Status and Indigeneity.”

During this project, we had a guest speaker, engaged in class discussions addressing multiple questions, and created documents to share our thoughts. In this post, I will cover six questions we discussed in class, share my personal work from the project, and conclude with my reflection on our talking circle.

Discussion Questions

We explored several questions during our talking circle, one of which was: “What does ‘status’ mean in Canada, and how does it shape identity and access to rights and resources?” In preparation for our discussion, I answered these questions and formulated my own.

My Work

I also documented my insights on various topics:

• – Buffy Sainte-Marie: I took notes from a movie about her and conducted personal research. You can find my thoughts on her here.

• – Pretendians: I wrote about themes such as identity fraud and cultural appropriation. You can read my notes on this topic here.

• – Indian Act: I compiled notes on the establishment of the Indian Act in 1876 and the transfer of social services for Indigenous people in 1951. You can view these notes here.

Additionally, I created a thought bubble expressing my opinions on Buffy Sainte-Marie and the importance of her contributions.

Thought bubble

My Thoughts on the Talking Circle

Overall, I believe our talking circle was successful, as everyone had the opportunity to speak and share their thoughts. The discussion was engaging and full of intelligent contributions that helped the conversation flow. To improve the experience, however, I think we should have structured it by going around the circle to share our thoughts. I noticed that some voices dominated the conversation, leading to interruptions and transitions to new topics before everyone had a chance to speak. Despite these challenges, I consider it a worthwhile first attempt.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this project on Status and Indigeneity has provided us with valuable insights into the complexities of identity and rights within Indigenous communities