Introduction:

In writing about Indigenous/non-Indigenous interaction, I acknowledge this project comes from a place of privilege and that this acknowledgement is a key to unlocking a door to an interstitial space that may lead to reconciliation and eventually decolonization. Working with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to further social interactions has given great insight outside the academic and western world. This project considers concepts and experiences gained from being with the syilx people from Westbank First Nation, Penticton Indian Band, and others in the beautifully diverse Indigenous Nations across Canada.

My eternal gratitude is given to them for teaching me and making me aware of colonization and its impacts. I realized I was afforded a unique opportunity to deconstruct, infer, and reassemble these experiences in order to critique, expand, and empower other reconciliators. This project follows an Indigenous framework using a feminist poststructuralist perspective and an autoethnography methodology through narrative. That narrative offers experiences in context which functions as my bridge between two very different ontological foundations.

To purchase the essay and artwork catalog, click here. (coming soon)