I hope that, by working toward my goals, it will help my children to see that anything they want to accomplish can happen if they put in the effort. I can only hope that, in the future, my children will be courageous and proud of who they are, unafraid to speak up for themselves and go after their goals.
Sometimes I wonder if I am still lost, but then there are times when I receive signs that I am on the right path, and I hold on to those moments for as long as I can. The last time that I had such a strong message was while I was telling a story about my grandma to a friend of mine, and a woman nearby overheard me. She said, “I know your grandma; I took her sewing class.” My grandma taught a sewing class at the local friendship centre every Thursday night when I was a little girl. Instead of taking up sewing, I would draw pictures of my dream home while listening to my grandma and the other women in the class gossip and laugh while she helped them undo their stitches and start all over if they made a mistake. The woman said, “I have something to give you,” and the next day she met up with me and brought a pattern of flowers that my grandma had drawn for her to be used to make a pair of moccasins. I instantly recognized my grandma’s flowers. She said, “Your grandma gave me this pattern to practise beading, and I never found the time to sew. I’ve been hanging onto these for almost thirty years.” I unfolded the cloth and was instantly taken back to my childhood. I was back at my grandma’s kitchen table, listening to her humming while she sewed. I tried to hold back my tears. The woman held my hand and said, “Keep it, it means more to you than me.”
When I got home that day, I carefully traced the outline of the flowers that my grandma drew. I knew what I had to do. I gave a copy to my mother and asked her to use the drawing to sew moccasins for her grandchildren, and for the first time in a long time, she picked up a needle and thread and starting beading. The pattern was a gift from my grandma meant to help guide us on the path toward reclaiming our identities.
With me in spirit, my journey is forever guided by my grandmother’s wisdom and the gift she gave of an everlasting love, now found in the miraculous splendour of a northern wildflower reminding me to be brave, strong, wild and free.
Epilogue
Catherine now serves in her community as a leader. In 2016 she was elected to sit on the Council for her First Nation, where she serves as one of the Council members and holds the portfolio for justice, heritage and housing. Catherine is also the Director of Indigenous Education and Community Development for Dechinta Bush University, a land-based university located in the Northwest Territories that is rooted in Indigenous culture and traditions while providing post-secondary education in the fields of Indigenous governance, colonialism and decolonization. Catherine would have never thought that she would one day become a foster parent after having herself been a foster child; however, she has been fortunate enough to be able to give back and feels blessed to be able to provide stability, love and care in a nurturing home environment for those in need.
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