Read my acceptance speech here:
"First of all I would like to thank the creator, my friends and family, and those who nominated me, and the organizers at IAAW. I am born of missing and murdered Indigenous women. I am born of residential school survivors and Metis Resistance. I am born of colonization and assimilation. I am born of survivors and warriors. I am born of culture carriers, storytellers, and medicine people. I carry the wounds and the resilience of my family and ancestors.
I want to share a story about my oldest son, Matt. When he was in daycare he would cry every time we left. One day another mom brought in her child’s favorite music, so I thought I would bring in a powwow CD. The daycare was so excited to have this that they started exploring drum music from around the world, it wasn’t until the native drum played that my son took notice. He recognized the big drum from all other drums. He went to a toy drum in the room, called his friends over and showed them how to drum. They watched powwow videos on youtube, and he exclaimed ‘mommy – daddy’ it was the first time they heard him speak. The next morning he grabbed his own shoes and coat and went to the door. I didn’t have to fight with him. When we dropped him off he no longer cried. His culture allowed him to feel safe, to share his knowledge, and to be happy and successful. This is the reason that I do this work, this is my why."
Hiy hiy, thank you!