Nehiyawak Intellectual Traditions in Colonial Spaces

The stories of my People are written on my body. As the lines on my face tell a tale of laughter, my eyes also show hope, and my lips give shape to a prayer. All that I am is because of the land and the stories of the Nêhiyawak Nation that I embody. The stories of who we are are echoed throughout generations, connecting us to time and place to ensure regeneration for those not here. In this presentation, I share the intellectual traditions of my people through our oral narratives or story medicine that are used as legal codes to ensure we hold to who we are and where we are going, especially in colonial systems such as universities and academia. Through oral narratives, we witness the legal traditions of the Nehiyawak, Four Spirit, within Canada as we share the truths of our reality through relationality and kinship in systems that were never designed for us. I share stories of what it means to be rooted in the land and how the warmth of my People's teachings can help us reclaim our minds, reconnect to ceremony, and liberate our hearts in anti-colonial work that allows us to be who we were always meant to be.