There have been a lot of people who have treated me as if it my personal fault I wasn’t raised in the Arctic. As if, I, asked to be taken away.
And I’m here to say that lateral violence stings.
I didn’t have the privilege to be raised how I wished I was raised as a young child. It was only when I had autonomy of my self, enough safety, education and support/resources, I was able to begin my journey reconciling and reconnecting that which was taken from me.
I was one, of hundreds of thousands, of Indigenous children who were the by-product of cultural genocide.
I want to be clear, anything I share, anything I create, anything I post, is just my personal journey. Do not hire me as an expert on Inuit. I can only share my story. I share what I learn, I share what I experience and I share myself. I will never speak for anyone else, I cannot. I want to be a voice. Just one. My voice. I do not want to take your voice, it’s yours and it holds so much value.
There isn’t a “be all and end all” way of being Inuk, of reconnecting. You cannot shame my journey of unlearning and learning who I am and where I come from. The judgement, shaming or belittling me on my journey, is not a truth about me, but a reflection of what lives inside you.
I am Inuk, and I am proud to be.