First Nations and military come together for Indigenous awareness week
Military members learn to dance in powwow
This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.
Ann Paul grew up being taught to take back what was hers.
That's why at a recent blanket exercise, which brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to learn about colonization and resistance, Paul couldn't help but not want to give up her land.
She used her feet to pull the blankets back.
"I grew up different," she said. "I am Maggie Paul's daughter."
In a blanket exercise, a floor is covered by a variety of blankets, each representing land occupied by an Indigenous people. One by one, blankets are taken away, and the people on them are asked to leave the floor. By the end, only a few blankets remain.
The experience, which Paul had during the Indigenous Persons Awareness Week at the Gagetown military base in May, is what stuck with her most.
She's done a blanket exercise before, but it was virtual because of the pandemic, and it didn't have a significant effect on her.
This time, though, Paul called the blanket exercise "awakening."
As she stood there in the middle of a pile of blankets, Paul thought of generational trauma, of her uncles who went to residential schools, and she thought of herself, an Indian day school survivor.
She thought about how there's still a long way to go to have real reconciliation.
"It's just starting," she said. "It's not all the way there, not even halfway there."
The week also featured powwow dancing, ceremonies and a flag raising.
Scroll through the photos and watch the video to see what Ann saw.
Ann's Eye
Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work.
