Going on the land of the unknown

Just a few days ago, I left everything I knew behind about society and its' culture to explore and emerse myself into the land of the unknown. Prior to my trip to Milford house and the Kejimkujik National Park - I had a small amount of knowledge of the Mi'kmaq people. I claimed that I was knowledgable at the time of my learnings (but then again, I was in grade seven so of course I thought I knew everything!), but after an eventful two days I realized that there is much more for me to learn and this trip was only the start of it. This experience has really opened my eyes - to hear Dr. Don Julien talk about his past and experiences, to hear part of Elsie Basque's story. Phenomenal. It was just a breathtaking experience.

The start of this experience was interesting one for sure! By the time that our car got to the park ... we learned that every other car had taken a completely different route because they were following the directions (the direction's weren't completely wrong mind you they were just going to the other Keji park on the South Shore). Upon waiting for the rest of my classmates- I took at little look around the vistors building. Inside the building, Donna our guide, had shown me various paintings on wall that reminded me of the photos inside our reading of Red Earth. The petroglyph paintings were really interesting to look at because a few of them had some similarities to the ones in the book. Taking what I saw of the petroglyph paintings inside - to the rocks was amazing. The smallest of pictures that the Mi'kmaq drew! It was simply phenomenal! It was really sad to see that people have the nerve to write their names and spoil what the Mi'kmaq have left.

Going through the trails and hearing the stories, the artifacts and pictures that Donna had for us was really putting the readings into perspective. The Mi'kmaq were just trying to go about their everyday lives like we are today, yes they did have different tendencies than they did but who are we to cause them grief? How would we feel if someone came into our everyday lives and just upset the natural order of everything! Listening to the stories that Donna had told us, and the things that Dr. Don Julien have shared with us really touched me. I'm not one to show much emotion but I can understand where they are coming from to a slight degree. We will never be able to understand the full depth of it but we can try. Taking into perspective everything I've ever done in my life, all of the people I've ever helped and the situations I've dealt it. It made all of them seem so mediocre.

My favorite part of this entire experience though was staying an extra day. I got to experience something magical the second day. Meeting Elise was such an honor. To hear her stories - the struggles she faced as a child, the struggles she faced when she tried to teach and her will to keep fighting was inspiring. I thought about how I was going to write my blog the entire trip. I was thinking about how I was going to express what I saw, and what I heard - I can't. The entire experience has touched me on the inside and it is really hard to vocalize how it made me feel, how it changes the way I see things. Just trying to imagine how Elise felt during her time at the residential schools - seeing the pain on her face as she recalls those horrid memories. It's something that you won't be able to forget.

The potential project we have to Elise is fantastic. What I would give to have the opportunity to work with her and have people understand her story. It's breathtaking. It's fantastic. I've been at a loss for words since this to Keji and that doesn't happen very often. The photos I've taken during the trip will explain what I can't write. A photograph is worth a thousand words - these photos are worth a lot more then that. They are just simple photos taken of people. They're the photos of survivors, photographs of a culture that is still fighting to this day, photos of a new wakening.

To be blessed to be in the presence of these three amazing individuals has already made my year. The opportunities that are going to come from this class are going to be endless. The friendships and bonding experiences that we've had so far are completely priceless. I feel very privileged to have this opportunity and I'm going to do what I can to help. Going on the land of the unknown didn't hinder my spirits, they made them sore.

(On a side note, I'll get the photos up from the trip soon!)