What am I hoping to get out of this experience? What gifts do I bring to this group?....

I have been thinking a lot about our conversation from the beginning of the week. It feels rare at times to really think about what my gifts are that I bring to the table. The last year of my life has been quite busy and daunting as a PhD student and having moved to a new city, and going through various personal life transitions. And PhD students always have existential questions.

So when I consider what gifts I may bring and what hopes I have in what I hope to get out of this internship I am someone having to sit in my own thoughts for a bit.

Like I mentioned throughout some of our meetings, I am from Canada originally, and lived my entire life there. I often frequented the states, like many Onkwehonwe do, crossing the border asserting our rights and nationhood. However, I never lived here. Living in the U.S. now gives me such an expansive and different perspective of settler colonialism in North America. Being in the U.S. reminds me of the ways that colonial empire and imperialism operate differently in nation states.

What I am eager to learn about and be in conversation with and relation with is the other folks in the cohort and the people we will meet and the archives that we will work with in this project. I never knew how to put into words the ‘vibes’ I got from places like Boston and Philadelphia. They are quite old cities, with colonial architecture and a huge emphasis on their histories. All I think of sometimes are these old statues of white guys, related to moments in history that I couldn’t remember even if I needed to.

After some of the readings and conversations we have had this week, I am really looking forward to learning more about the Indigenous interventions on colonial history. Especially in a place like the U.S. comparative to Canada, Indigenous life feels so erased. It also depends on the context and the city. So I am eager to just learn and use this time to freely expand on my own thoughts and writing about Native American and Indigenous Studies methods, especially in the U.S. context.

In terms of what I bring to the group. As a PhD student, I think I can offer support and insight into different mentoring around graduate school. I’d be open to supporting others in the group with considerations for grad school. I also hope to bring to this group any of my experiences of research and collaboration. I am happy to share about what I have been able to work on as a grad student and any insights or tips.