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Dear Diary,

Today was my first day of class in Indigenous Understandings in Social Work Theory and Practice and it was a truly pleasant day. I was happy to see a lot of my friends in class and was excited to get into the material. I spent the weekend doing the required reading by D.H Justice on the importance of stories and their role in constructing reality (Justice, 2018). I also did the recommended reading, as it was by one of my favorite authors, Thomas King. He talked a lot about the prominent narratives presented about Indigenous Peoples in the media and how this is seldom representative of who they actually are. People always envision them as being dressed in traditional regalia and performing stereotypical rituals (King, 2011). People fail to realize - they are just ordinary, everyday people! I laughed at this reading as I thought about my own experiences dealing with cultural stereotypes - when I tell people I'm half Indian, they wonder why I'm not wearing a sari, bindi, etc., and belly dancing like you see in the movies. It goes back to that notion of how important stories are in constructing reality - if the only stories about racialized and Indigenous Peoples are fetishized, exaggerated interpretations of our culture, then how are we to be accepted in mainstream society?

After the course introduction and formalities, we got into our discussion about the readings. I shared with my class a point from Justice's (2018) reading, how stories and literature is important to any culture, and how the absence of Indigenous voices from mainstream literature, paints a story in itself, one that presents them as deficient and inferior. I also listened to my classmates' views, on stories, about how they pass on culture, and traditions, and teach us lessons (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M Class, 2023). I connected with those ideas, thinking about some of the stories my parents had told me growing up from their respective cultures. I especially liked the one my mom had told me as a child about this jeweler and his three daughters in Guyana. From that story, I learned the importance of family, love, and most importantly, not being greedy. Stories really are incredibly powerful!

After class, I made a group chat and added some of my colleagues to it for future discussion and assistance. My friend and I also went for coffee after and discussed our expectations for this course. Both of us are really excited about how different this course will be from what we’re used to. Our course instructor said this whole class will be centered around storytelling – I’m interested in seeing what she means by this.

Yours truly,
Giselle

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Dear Diary,
I suppose the second class of any course is the first "real", "official" class as much of the first class is spent on formalities and icebreakers. Today we had a full two hours spent on course material and I couldn't be happier. Usually I find myself zoning out in longer classes, but so far in this course, I feel particularly engaged with the material.

I spent the weekend doing the two course readings. Both were by Vowel (2016) and were on names, specifically appropriate names for Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Peoples. I found the first reading, the one on names for Indigenous Peoples, particularly helpful as I always find myself confused as to which terms are appropriate and which are not. I was interested to learn that there is no universal term for Indigenous Peoples - the best thing to do is ask respectfully what name a person prefers (Vowel, 2016). I think I mentioned this in my last entry but this should be common sense. People truly forget that Indigenous Peoples are just ordinary people like anyone else!
In class we spent time discussing the significance of names. I listened to my classmates' ideas on the importance of names, how they carry deep meanings related to family, ancestry, culture, and sadly colonization and oppression. Because of this, names are often also deeply intertwined with a person's sense of identity (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M Class, 2023). Although I didn't feel like sharing this with the class, I thought about how my name is so deeply reflective of colonization. My full name is "Giselle Grace Mendes"  which people always find odd for a brown girl. The "Giselle" is a French name; my mom liked the name as she adores French culture. The "Grace" is a Catholic virtue, representative of my Christian identity which happened when the Portugese colonized my paternal ancestors in India. Resultantly, the "Mendes" is a Portugese surname that I suppose my ancestors were either renamed or assumed through intermarriage with white settlers. My name has always severely troubled my sense of identity because I feel it doesn't reflect who I truly am, that being a girl of mixed Guyanese and Indian heritage. Instead, it is ever-symbolic of the colonization and oppression of my ancestors. I know this is also the case for a lot of Indigenous Peoples. I can relate to that...and I want to note, this has made me feel less distant from Indigenous Peoples. So often, I feel like they are "othered" in how we think of them because we feel we can't relate to their struggles. But many of us can. So many of us have faced pain as a result of colonization, maybe not directly but in something like our names and heritage. I feel like if people truly stopped to consider this - that we are all really not that different - how we treat and interact with Indigenous folks would be a lot more respectful and empathetic.

Oh and also an important lesson from class discussion today:  always call a person by the name they prefer. It doesn't matter if it's hard to pronounce. Try your best because names are so deeply important. I will try my hardest to do this from now on (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M class, 2023).

Yours truly,
Giselle

P.S. This week, I also purchased one of the required novels for this course, The Marrow Thieves (2017) by Cherie Dimaline. I'm excited to start reading it!

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Dear Diary,
Well, it's officially that point in the semester where I'm feeling tired. I know it's only the third week of the semester! At least the readings for this course aren't long and boring like some of the other ones I have! This week I did both of the readings which centered around treaties. I learned a lot that I didn't know, namely that Indigenous Peoples have had well-developed legal systems and treaty-making processes for hundreds of years.

During class discussion, I shared some of the major takeaways I got from the readings. I expressed that in all senses, Indigenous ways of forming treaties and legal systems seem a lot better than the Eurocentric system we have today. Their treaties were always based on trust, mutuality, and respect for the other (Simpson, 2008; Watts, 2013). They also engaged in treaties with the non-human world as well, a way of maintaining respect and sustainability with the environment (Watts, 2013).

My course instructor posed the question, why are such histories often excluded from mainstream narratives? (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M Class, 2023). I shared with my class a point from the two readings, namely that the absence of such histories are strategic maneuvers intended to portray Indigenous Peoples as incompetent, uncivilized, and in need of "saving" by white people (Simpson, 2008; Watts, 2013). That is truly so sad. People don't realize how subtle forms of colonization and racial oppression are. I wonder, what other notable contributions have Indigenous and racialized folks made to society that are left out of mainstream discourse?

Other than that I had a thought to myself. What if when we engaged in social work, we thought of ourselves as entering into a treaty with those we work with? Not a treaty based on personal gain and exploitation but one entailing Indigenous perspectives like respect, empathy, etc...I think our profession could really benefit from that.

Yours truly,
Giselle

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Dear Diary,
Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well today so I couldn't attend class. Hopefully I get better soon! Anyways, I managed to do one of the required readings by Hart (2003) which I found myself feeling really connected to. In his article, Hart talks about how he came to social work with truly the best intentions. He wanted to make the world a better place, improve humanity, etc. but was disheartened to be reminded of social work's complicity in oppression and colonization. This was exactly how I felt when I first started my social work degree. I'll never forget how drastically my perspectives on the field changed as I began to learn about its history. I think it really goes to show that as social workers, we really need to confront this complex we tend to have, that we are saviours, that our intentions are so pure and humane. We need to think critically about what we're doing and ensure history does not repeat itself. Educating ourselves on the various atrocities done to folks like Indigenous Peoples in the name of our work is perhaps one of the best ways to do this. That's why I'm so glad we have courses like this at York University, where I feel we are learning a lot about these histories and considering how to move away from them.

I also watched one of the additional videos for this course, the documentary Second Stories: It Had to Be Done (2008). It was about two women who had spent time at a residential school as children who returned as workers in their adult life and fought for justice for the students. It was really sad to hear about some of the stuff they'd been through. Nonetheless, I felt really inspired by their fight for change, how they were willing to risk it all to fight for their people and culture. I felt like it was a great reminder to all colonized, racialized peoples: we are strong enough to resist injustice. We just have to put in the effort. I truly hope I can be that person, social worker, friend, family member, etc. who does this (Desnomie, 2008)

Wish me luck!

Yours truly,
Giselle

P.S. I also finished up my first set of oral reflections for this course today. I'm surprised at how much I've already learned in four weeks!

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Dear Diary,
Today we spent class discussing the book The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (2017). However, even before class started, one of my friends and I couldn't help but share our thoughts on the book! There were a couple of key moments that stood out to both of us: when RiRi died, when Miig and Isaac reunited, and when Frenchie made a decision to leave his father at the end of the book and go with Rose. I also openly expressed how happy I was to see a bit of Guyanese representation in the book. There was a little part at the end where Frenchie talks about seeing some women from Guyana. I was shocked and thrilled at the same time - I rarely see my culture represented in mainstream literature (Dimaline, 2017).

During class, my colleagues shared some of the characters they really connected to in the story. Although I didn't feel like sharing, I knew that the character I had connected with the most was Frenchie. I simply saw so many parallels between him and me. We're both the youngest in our families, are in that weird stage of being a young adult, and are learning to navigate multiple relationships. Both of us have also been significantly harmed by colonization and are dealing with the aftermath (although in Frenchie's case, this aftermath is a little more extreme). For these reasons, I felt particularly connected to Frenchie. And given how much Frenchie grows throughout the course of the book - it made me feel hopeful. I plan on channeling my inner Frenchie from now on, relying on my family, traditions, and culture for guidance as I grow up and develop. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Yours truly,
Giselle

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Dear Diary,
I'll be honest with you - I was having a bit of a rough day on Monday and didn't feel like going to class. I felt the time off was needed and I felt a bit better today. I went back to the material I missed and would love to share my thoughts. I just finished the reading by Baskin (2011) on child and family care. One of my main takeaways from the reading was that as a system, we have to offer more ways of doing child care and caring for families other than the typical Eurocentric way. I thought back to my own times in child services and remembered how out of place I felt. Being cared for by white people enforcing white mores and values on me felt so strange and unfamiliar. It made me think, why should white, European values be the only ones present in childcare systems? Or any institution? And how has this gone unnoticed for so long?!!

I also listened to episode 4 of the podcast Coffee with my Ma (Horn, 2018) called "Ma Steals Larry The Cree Baby, Surviving the 60s Scoop" and the documentary There's a Truth to be Told (Sinclair, 2017).Both centered around stories of resistance by Indigenous Peoples during the infamous Sixties Scoop. Both sources showed the importance of sharing these stories of strength for purposes of healing. Given my current struggles with anxiety, this message couldn't have been any more appropriate. It reminded me of my own stories of strength and resilience in the face of struggle and made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

I think Frenchie, from The Marrow Thieves would be proud of me (Dimaline, 2017).

Yours truly,
Giselle

P.S. During reading week I plan on starting our second novel, There, There by Tommy Orange. So excited!

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Dear Diary,
Today we spent all of class discussing There, There by Tommy Orange (2018). It was a great class discussion! I agreed with one of colleagues who said she had really connected with Opal. Both of us seemed to connect with her for similar reasons, namely that she went from being a young, innocent child to sort of "proving" herself and maturing into a wise, strong woman. I really appreciated my colleague's input. I also mentioned in class that Blue and Dene were some characters who seemed to be dealing with their baggage in a healthy way, given's Dene's creation of his video project and Blue escaping her abusive husband. I had some contrasting opinions with some of my colleagues views on characters  - for instance one of my classmates felt Jacquie had been dealing with her trauma healthily while I felt she hadn't given her alcoholism - but I respect her opinion, and in a sense, see her point. Jacquie, although using alcohol, did make an active effort to regain control of her life by connecting with her work, family, and culture, especially towards the end of the book. I appreciated the difference of opinion here, it gave me some new insights I hadn't yet thought about.

So far we've read two of the three novels required for this course. They just keep getting better! I'm excited to get my hands on the final one, Moon of the Crusted Snow by W. Rice (2018), in these next few weeks.

Yours truly,
Giselle

P.S. In reference to my entry from January 16, I've been making an active effort to get people's names right at work. I think it's made a great difference in terms of strengthening relationships.

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Dear Diary,
Unfortunately my course instructor wasn't feeling well today so class was cancelled. That's okay! I spent the day finishing up my second set of oral reflections and watching some of the material that was posted for us. I particularly found the segment on The Agenda with Steve Paikh intriguing. It was all about the Indian Act, and there were frankly so many things I hadn't known about it! For instance, I was surprised to find our how sexist it was, how it banned people from gathering and maintaining their own legal systems (The Agenda | TVO Today, 2018). It made me think back to Week 3 when we talked about how Indigenous People have had their own traditional legal and governance systems for hundreds of years (Simpson, 2008; Justice, 2018). It must be horrible to have that taken from you. I'm glad I know about this now. I hope more Canadians will learn of this, as this has been kept quiet for too long. I plan on discussing this with some of my peers to spread the message.

Yours truly,
Giselle

P.S. I started Moon of the Crusted Snow. I think this will be my favorite of the three novels!

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Dear Diary,
Today we spent class discussing Moon of the Crusted Snow. I shared with my class how I had particularly connected with the character of Aileen and found that many of my classmates also felt inspired by her. I also shared my distaste for Scott...I don't think there was a single person in that room who disagreed (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M Class, 2023). We talked a lot about the major themes of the book and I thought to myself about how I really enjoyed some of the key messages of the book, like keeping ancestral knowledge close to your heart and the power of family and community relations (Rice, 2018). I also made a note to start writing my final project for this course - I plan on writing a letter to Aileen. I'll let you know how that goes!

Yours truly,
Giselle

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Dear Diary,
How is it the second last week of class already? I could have sworn we just started! Anyways, this week we talked a lot about alcoholism and substance abuse, particularly in Indigenous communities. I watched episode 12 from the podcast Crackdown Podcast called "Love in a State of Emergency" which I felt I learned a lot from. It was sad to learn about how badly communities have been destroyed because of substance abuse but also interesting to learn about the different approaches that have been taken to address it (Mullins, 2020).

In class, we also talked a bit about therapy and centering Indigenous perspectives in our work. My professor mentioned the importance of self-disclosure and how its something we have been taught not to do but how it can actually be really helpful in connecting with those we work with. I felt like this could be really useful, and even translated into my current job. I work with kids, and sometimes when they are going through a rough patch, I find it helps to share an experience I may have had that relates to it. For instance, some of the kids were having problems including more friends into their social group and I remembered how I had had a similar problem at their age and explained to them how I had overcome it. I seemed to connect with them a lot more this way. My overall goal is to work in therapy when I graduate and I fully intend to use this principle in practice. Sometimes, defying the norm is so important to making a person feel comfortable and respected. And that, of course, is priceless (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M Class, 2023).

Yours truly,
Giselle

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Dear Diary,
I can't believe today's our last class! Unfortunately I've been sick these past few days and couldn't attend class in person. I caught up by watching a bit of the audio recording posted online. Today we talked a bit about resistance and its importance in driving meaningful social change. Resistance is usually held in negative regards by a lot of people because its associated with causing trouble, inconvenience, and difficulty. But change doesn't come without difficulty or messing things up a bit. We talked about all the ways in which we can be resistant: art, speech, social media, protests, music, etc. The important thing is you do it in a way that is meaningful to you and aligns with your journey (McPherson & SOWK 2070 M Class, 2023)

This whole course, I think, is an act of resistance. It is resisting how social work is taught, how we think about FNMI communities, even how we think about ourselves and our relationships as human beings. And going forward, implementing the lessons I've learned from this course will also be acts of resistance. No matter how small, all our actions are working towards a better future, a better world for racialized communities, social workers and social service users, and Indigenous folks alike. Whether it's by challenging cultural stereotypes, integrating more Indigenous perspectives into my daily life, or refusing to remain silent in light of the atrocities going on towards so many today, I plan on being an agent of change, and that can only be done through resistance.

Thank you for accompanying me on this first part of my journey.

Yours truly,
Giselle

P.S. I just handed in my final project for this course. I must say...it was the most enjoyable final project I've ever worked on. I feel inspired, as it was deeply personal, moving forward after writing that.

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Baskin, C. (2011). Chapter Thirteen: Caring for Families, Caring for Children. Strong Helpers’ Teachings: The Value of Indigenous Knowledges in the Helping Professions (pp. 271-294). Canadian Scholars Press.

Desnomie, T. (Director). (2008). Second Stories – It Had to Be Done. National Film Board of Canada in association with CBC, APTN, SCN, SaskFilm, & Manitoba Film and Sound.

Dimaline, C. (2017). The Marrow Thieves. Cormorant Books Inc.

Hart, M. (2003). Am I a Modern Day Missionary? Reflections of a Cree Social Worker. Native Social Work Journal 5, 299-313. https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/419

Horn, K. (Host). (2018, June 26). Ma Steals Larry The Baby, Surviving the 60s Scoop (No. 4) [Audio podcast episode]. In Coffee With My Ma. https://overcast.fm/+MyAYJw9rc

Justice, D.H. (2018). How Do we Learn to Be Human? In Why Indigenous Literatures Matter (pp.33-70). Wilfred Laurier University Press.

Justice, D.H. (2018). Introduction: Stories that Wound, Stories that Heal. In Why Indigenous Literatures Matter (pp. 1-32). Wilfred Laurier University Press.

King, T. (2011). Chapter 2: You’re Not The Indian I Had In Mind. In The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (pp. 31-60). House of Anansi Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/york/detail.action?docID=744696

McPherson, C. & SOWK 2070 M Class. (2023). Week 1 Readings Discussion [Zoom recording]. Eclass@YorkU. https://passportyork.yorku.ca/ppylogin/ppylogin

McPherson, C. & SOWK 2070 M Class. (2023). Week 3 zoom link [Zoom recording]. Eclass@YorkU. https://passportyork.yorku.ca/ppylogin/ppylogin

McPherson, C. & SOWK 2070 M Class. (2023). Week 7 class [Zoom recording]. Eclass@YorkU. https://passportyork.yorku.ca/ppylogin/ppylogin

McPherson, C. & SOWK 2070 M Class. (2023). Week 10 [Zoom recording]. Eclass@YorkU. https://passportyork.yorku.ca/ppylogin/ppylogin

McPherson, C. & SOWK 2070 M Class. (2023). Wee 11 Zoom recording [Zoom recording]. Eclass@YorkU. https://passportyork.yorku.ca/ppylogin/ppylogin

Mullins, G. (Host). (2020, January 31). Episode 12: Love in a State of Emergency [Audio podcast episode]. In Crackdown Podcast. University of British Columbia & Yale University. https://www.patreon.com/posts/33531974

Orange, T. (2018). There, There. Knopf.

Rice, W. (2018). Moon of the Crusted Snow. ECW Press. http://ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1835948&site=ehost-live

Simpson, L. (2008). Looking after Gdoo-naaganinaa: Precolonial Nishnaabeg Diplomatic and Treaty Relationships. Wicazo Sa review 23(2), 29-42. 10.1353/wic.0.0001

Sinclair, R. (2017). The 60’s Scoop – There’s a Truth to be Told [Film]. Splatsin Tsm7aksaltn Teaching Centre.

The Agenda | TVO Today. (2018, May 7). The Indian Act Explained [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhBrq7Ez-rQ