Showing and Telling the Story of Nikis (My Little House): An Arts-Based Autoethnographic Journey of a Cree Adult Educator

Abstract

As I look back at my childhood, I search for what was there, in order to explore and understand how I experienced the residential school policy of Canada. I use arts based methods as my approach to Cree autoethnography. My memory map, drawings and poems of Nikis (my little house) reveal the life of a Cree family as I revisit the 1960's of the Flats, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Lines are drawn and connections illustrate my spiritual journey as Cree adult educator. As I take the story of Nikis to many communities, I find a space for this truth, people are ready to hear these stories. Ultimately, this journey has brought me to my own reconciliation with the past and the residential school policy. What emerges is ethnography of the Flats, which goes beyond my loss of siblings to residential schools. I searched for Skwessis, the girl left behind, but found my wholeness, my history and my understanding of key issues: removal, sexual abuse, and lateral violence, cycles of violence and how these affected my life as a Cree woman. By allowing others to look into my house of the Flats, they can get an inside look into the experiences of a Cree family. My journey as educator is a spiritual journey as I find self-healing and strength in showing and telling the story of Nikis. I offer my life and my lived experience as the context from which to explore the reality of being Cree and to encourage others to speak about their own culture as well.