Who Am I?

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Who am I?

It must be traumatic not knowing who you are and it happens to some kids born in Canada and the U.S. but parents came from other continents, culture and religion.

It also happens to adopted kids, inter-racial kids and kids that did not grow up with Indian parents and grandparents. They are not 'Indian.' They are Anishinaabe. The girl in this book has a white mother and an Anishinaabe father, who was a hockey player. Here are a few paragraphs from the book, Fire Keeper's Daughter.

“APPLICATION FOR TRIBAL ENROLMENT - SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Auntie nods, urging me to look at the papers. A notarized letter from my mother explains that she was a minor when she gave birth and her parents refused to include my father’s name on the birth certificate. Affidavits from Theodora Sarah Firekeeper-Birch, Josette Elaine Firekeeper and Norman Marshall Firekeeper……… All three have attested that Daunis Lorenza Fontaine is the biological daughter of Levi Joseph Firekeeper Sr.

“You have until your nineteenth birthday to file the application along with a paternity test that you and I take to verify lineage,” Auntie says.

My birthday is October first, seven days away. This. I have wanted this ever since I understood that being Anishinaabe and being an enrolled citizen weren’t necessarily the same thing. My mind races, remembering Granny’s unsuccessful efforts to get this for Lily. I can become a member. Except … it changes nothing about me.

I am Anishinaabe. Since my first breath. Even before, when my new spirit travelled here. I will be Anishinaabe even when my heart stops beating and I journey into the next world. My whole life, I’ve been seeking validation of my identity from others. Now that it’s within my reach, I realize I don’t need it.

“Miigwech.” I take a deep breath. “But I don’t need a card to define me.”

“I know you don’t, Daunis. But think about it," Auntie says. “This is a gift from your dad.”

Pages 236-237, Fire Keeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

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