How 3 Indigenous families in Manitoba are reclaiming, preserving culture for their kids

When Mtis and Cree coupleJordan Skipper and Diandre Thomas-Hart became parents, they decided to celebrate their cultures and bring traditions to their everyday life.

The Winnipeg coupleknew they wanted toraise their child traditionally an experience neither of them had.

Their journey began when they got pregnant. They found adoula, who helped them incorporate traditional practices into the pregnancy and birth.

Thomas-Harthad a traditional cedar bath a ceremony that involves bathing incedar water that has been prayed over by a doulaand theytook theplacenta home to bury it onSkipper's grandparents' land.

"They have a little acre of land so [our daughter]can always be connected with her great-grandparents," Thomas-Hart said this week.

She is one of the Winnipeg parents who talked with CBC duringNational Indigenous History Monthabout how they'represerving Indigenous culture and traditions for their children.

For Thomas-Hart and Skipper,learning about their cultures and bringing traditions into their home with their 19-month-old daughter, whom they namedBinesi Ksik Hartskipper an Ojibway/Cree name which means"thunderbird"is anongoing process.

Both Thomas-Hart and Skipper work in Indigenous-serving organizations, so their culture is always around them. Thomas-Hart also notes that her daughter has both parents in her life something she didn't get to experience herself.

"She's definitely a daddy's girl. That's [a] big thing, having a two-parent partnership," she said.

A connection with nature

Sarah Brazauskassays she and her three-year-old daughter, Albina, connect with theirFirst Nations roots by spending as much time outdoors as they can.

"Something that I'm hugely appreciative of is the fact that I grew up so close to the land and in nature," Brazauskas said. "I was not connected to my Indigenous roots growing up."

Her father, a Sixties Scoop survivor from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba's Interlake,didn't play a role in her upbringing. She was raised by her mother, who is of Lithuanian, Irish and Scottish descent.

It wasn't until her adulthood that Brazauskas began to connect with her First Nations culturethrough art, taking inspiration from First Nations artists such asNorval Morrisseau and Alex Janvier.

Brazauskasnow beads and makes mukluks and moccasins, and has started goingto powwows. Through the Manitobah Mukluks Storyboot School, where she works, she alsovisited different First Nations to teach people how to make their ownart.

Brazauskassays getting pregnantchanged the way she approached reclaiming her culture, since it was no longerjust for her it was also for her daughter.

"I feel like I just have a newfound sense of purpose," Brazauskas said."I wasn't really immersed in my culture. And that's something that I really want for her."

She takes Albina to WhiteshellProvincial Park as often as she can to share the place where she connected with nature as a child.

"The area that I grew up in was so beautiful. I was always outside. And I can see that in her as well," Brazauskas said.

"I want her to be really proud of who she is."

'Am I Indigenous or not?'

Award-winning filmmaker Fawnda Neckoway's life revolves around Indigenous culture and storytelling.

Earlier this year, her nine-year-old son, Tyrell, asked her if he isIndigenous.

"[My mom is] Indigenous," said Tyrell "And I wanted to know am I Indigenous or not?"

"I was like, 'Yes my boy, you are Indigenous," Neckoway said as she laughed.

One day, Tyrell came home with a folder he had drawn on that said "Indigenous Learning." He was curious about residential schools.

"He came home and he was a little bit confused," Neckoway said."I didn't really know how to respond to it."

They talked about their family's history and navigated through difficult conversations. But Neckoway said it was worth it, becausethey connected with each other, their community, and their family back home inNisichawayasihk Cree Nation, in northern Manitoba, through those conversations.

They were even inspired to create a film together, called Kita kiskihtihtakwaw: So They Will Know,which aims to help parents talk to children about residential schools.

"I was kind of shy, but I wanted to do it for my mom and I wanted to support her and show [everyone] the love that I have for her," Tyrell said.

It seems storytelling is in his blood, too, because he's helping his mom with her next film, Language Keepers.

Indigenous parenting and connecting with culture

2 years ago

Duration 2:32

For National Indigenous History Month, we're taking a look at Indigenous parenting. We spoke to 3 families who say having children changed the way they connect with their culture.