I'm Inuk

It's been awhile since I have written anything. Life has been gently gracing me with a break from my thoughts I guess.

I am going to tell you a little story about where I came from.

When I was just 3 days old I was dropped off on a doorstep, basically.

My biological mother didn't want me bad enough, she had told me that it was for my safety in which I guess it was. Meeting her in person wasn't what I bargained for, like at all. She gave the story of she was going to the store for cigarettes and never came back. Sad hey?

Anyway, when I was growing up I always heard that "She's native and needs her status card". That was from my adoptive parents. I never knew what the word "Native" meant. I was only like 7 when I heard this though. I always wondered. Through school I was always outcast-ed and I was always isolated in a room where they would give me these tests. Other children like me had to do them too. The ones that had darker skin, but I guess we were all the same in the education system's eyes.

I felt alone all the time. I had no true friends, no one to really hang out with me. I was the weird kid. Always singing to myself and walking around town singing all the songs on my music device. You're probably thinking, "Yeah, you are strange" Which is okay. In some sense.

I had a brother and a sister who were apart of my adoptive family. They moved away when they were old enough and started life on their own. Which made me feel more alone than I was. I loved my sister dearly. I still do. She is a world away but we talk from time to time.

When I was in her care, I was in rebellion mode. I wanted to be on my own. So I went into assisted living which was basically teaching you how to be an adult. I had some strange roomates. One liked to be up all night listening to music and the other one lived downstairs in the basement and was doing strange things. Anyway, when the worker who had placed me there she had called me with some interesting news, that I was the first recorded Inuit to be apart of the program. "Hmmm" I wondered. This was only the beginning of who I was trying to find within myself.

Years had passed and there was no more connection between that cultural life. I just bounced around like it was no one's business.

Then I had a conversation with my biological mother. The one that had dropped me off on a doorstep, remember? Yeah, she had confirmed that our family had come from Labrador, Canada.

I was blown away and still am, that I am Indigenous. Not only that, but like Inuk (is a word for one person of Inuit desent. Inuit is more than one person)

So with that information, I had digging to do. I branched out to see what the rest of my culture is like. I love everything about it.

The stories, the lore, everything. The way that my culture expresses themselves, the way they make things, the way that they cook and treat one another. Everything is amazing.

November is Indigenous Awarness Month. There are a lot of tribes here in Canada. We have done lots for our mother earth. We have certain ways to give back and seek guidance.

Everything is basically sacred within our culture. I am truly blessed to have Inuk blood flowing through my veins.

Naku (Thanks) for reading.