The timeline below depicts Jennifer Manuel’s journey over the past twenty-five years of working with and living with Indigenous peoples. While others on this journey will take a different path, there are arguably common waypoints in that changes to one’s thinking occur first, then feelings and beliefs, and finally living the commitment to being an ally. As a result of this particular journey, a strong personal and professional network has been established, including Indigenous educators, political leaders, writers, and elders. As you explore the journey below, please note the significant turning points where all the previous experiences culminated in a change in thinking, feeling, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. At the end of this journey, you will find a statement about how this journey contributes to the Shawnigan Journey and Project Future.
Stages of Journey
1. UNAWARE
Living from a position of privilege and accumulated advantage, with no awareness of Indigenous issues.
2. THINKING IT
Hearing, reading, witnessing in a way that alters awareness, but it is an awareness largely confined to thinking.
3. FEELING IT
Increased interactions and deep listening lead to an altering of feelings, including empathy. Beliefs start to change.
4. LIVING IT
A lifelong commitment to becoming an ally, with the humble willingness to stand next to or behind, never in front of.
Jennifer Manuel’s Journey
1995
UNAWARECompleted a Bachelor of Arts (History and English) at SFU with an emphasis on European history and literature. Entered the Master of Archival Studies at UBC.
AWAREServed as Treaty Archivist for the Ktunaxa Nation in the East Kootenays. Identified documents to support negotiations. Communicated with Tribal and Treaty Councils and Ktunaxa elders on an ongoing basis.
AWAKEWitnessed the emotional importance of family and self-identification when the Ktunaxa negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding whereby they could declare "Ktunaxa" not "Canada" to border officials. Awoke to the impact of colonial borders in dividing a First Nation between BC and Idaho.
CURIOUSEnrolled in Ktunaxa language lessons. Attended numerous pow wows in Canada and Idaho. Immersed in work and life on the St Mary's Reserve. Listened to the fierce community debate over what to do with the former residential school building that eventually became a golf resort.
INTERESTEDListened to Council and read many documents related to BC treaties, including the pivotal Delgamuukw case. At the same time, struggled to understand certain values–e.g., the relentless negotiating of interim measures to ensure that traditional berry patches remained with certain families.
Appointed Chair of the Aboriginal Archives Committee by the Association of Canadian Archivists. Advocated for a wider definition of archives to include the "records" of those cultures, like the Ktunaxa, rooted in a strong oral tradition.
APPRECIATIVEInspired by the convictions, ideas, and actions of Ktunaxa leaders like Chief Sophie Pierre, Chief Negotiator Kathyrn Teneese, and Treaty Manager Cheryl Casimer, the seed of activism grew.
ENTHUSIASTICNEW THINKING: Any proposed change in Indigenous matters, will face systemic barriers and widely varying degrees of resistance. Carried out an activism campaign for the return from the National and Provincial Archives of all photographs that depicted sacred Indigenous activities. Published articles and spoke across the country, engaging in dialogue with Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to seek solutions. Delivered keynote speech at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and facilitated breakout sessions to over 120 participants with varying and competing interests.
NEW THINKING: A pan-Indigenous experience does not exist; within and between First Nations there can be political complexities.Selected by the Royal BC Museum to serve as the Kootenays Co-coordinator of the Living Landscapes Program. Chaired a committee responsible for selecting which heritage projects would be funded. Challenged by the political and moral dilemma of funding Sinixt First Nation's proposals as their historical existence in the West Kootenays was denied by other Indigenous groups.
NEW THINKING: An institution cannot build an authentic relationship with Indigenous peoples through occasional consultation.Designed, developed, and delivered the curriculum for the first Heritage and Ecotourism Certificate in BC as its Program Coordinator at Selkirk College in Nelson. Consulted with the program's Industry Advisory Group–a diverse group consisting of government agencies, Indigenous representatives, Doukhobor representatives, and business owners.
2000
Founded and built the online learning company, Pallaslearning, targeted to women. Only Canadian woman invited to participate in a Women in Technology Roundtable in San Francisco with First Lady Hilary Clinton. Started to consider how this work could benefit marginalized groups.
Revamped online courses in consultation with ACCESS Futures, an organization that provides training and employment services to Aboriginals in Vancouver. Sold the contents of the online learning company to ACCESS, where it was used for many years to increase employability and entry into higher education.
Contracted by the Metis Council of BC to train their facilitators in how to effectively facilitate workshops and visioning sessions. Advised on the management of their archives. Work in general slowed down for a period while raising three children as a single mother.
Volunteered design and technology development services to the Native Women's Association of Canada to increase web presence. Continued to read widely on Indigenous issues during this period.
Realized true vocation was in education. Entered the Bachelor of Education program at UBC with a profound interest in Indigenous education.
EMPATHETICNEW FEELING: Concern for the home and cultural environments of Indigenous youth is often in fact a racism of low expectations. Taught an intermediate class in Dease Lake, a small town in the far North of BC. Integrated Tahltan language and culture into the classroom. Coached youth hockey and high school volleyball. Also coached a Destination Imagination team (a theatrical problem-solving challenge with a STEAM focus) to the Provincial Championships. Team consisted mostly of Indigenous youth.
NEW LENS: Being truly present and open to a meaningful connection is not effective unless students are met where they are at, mentally, emotionally, academically–and not met where the teacher thinks they should be. Heard Dr. Russell Bishop of New Zealand at the BC Rural Schools Conference speak about Maori students and how relationship with the teacher was the single most influential factor to school success and feeling of belonging.
NEW FEELING: Being a "seen face" in the Indigenous community by attending all cultural functions where appropriate and by participating in all language learning opportunities is the basic foundation of building relationships.Taught Grades 3-6 in Kyuquot, a tiny, remote Nuu-chah-nulth community on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Invited elders into the class regularly to integrate huu-haa-pah into the curriculum. Picked up elders in school truck so they could attend Hot Breakfast with students, increasing the inclusivity of community in the school.
NEW FEELING: Regardless of one's feelings of guilt or shame, these narratives are about the people who live them and no one else. Even expressions of empathy can misplace the focus and lessen the stories of others.Participated with an open heart in several community sessions on intergenerational trauma. Challenged by how to react and behave in emotionally strained workshop settings that included many local residential school survivors. Thought of Thomas King: "But don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You have heard it now."
COMMITTEDNEW BELIEF: To those who questioned integration of culture and language into the classroom: If not here, then where? If not now, then when? Brought class down to the village to participate in Idle No More. In a team setting, organized a school potlatch, which was attended by schools from around Vancouver Island. Started to question what it meant to be an ally? An ally in more than name only.
NEW BELIEF: Meaningful change takes time. As Indigenous educator (Lillooet) Dr. Debbie Leighton-Stephens put it, "Walk slowly together."Championed evidence-based change in the classroom by carrying out action research projects as part of the Network of Inquiry and Indigenous Education.
2010
NEW BELIEF: A name can serve as not a label but as an aspiration. A hope to contribute something honest and humble and passionate to Indigenous peoples.Adopted by the John family and given the Nuu-chah-nulth name, aa-ap-waa-iick, which means, "Always speaks wisely."
NEW BELIEF: There are only two types of questions: questions intended to understand, and questions intended to destroy. Ask only questions intended to understand, and ask with curiosity and courage.Entered the Certificate in School Management and Leadership at UVIC, taught by innovative leaders, Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert. Conducted an action research project in my classroom which empowered Indigenous Teaching Assistants to take a more active role in the learning, thereby trying to make the classroom more inclusive.
Published short stories in various literary journals. All writing done in close consultation with the late elder Kelly John. Stories attempted to capture the biases, missteps, and misunderstandings of non-Indigenous outsiders in Indigenous communities from the viewpoint of the outsider.
RENEWED BELIEF: Indigenous ways of knowing are unique and even appear in subtle uses of deep metaphor. Entered the Master of Arts (Educational Psychology and Leadership) at the University of Victoria. Partnered with an English teacher at Rockridge Secondary. Kyuquot students exchanged multimedia expressions of culture and life with non-Indigenous students in West Vancouver. Project, featured in Adminfo publication, was called "Bridging Narratives."
Started the TRC Reading Challenge (trcreadingchallenge.com), an initiative which, after being covered by the CBC, gained over 3500 participants committed to reading the TRC Report and recording their progress publicly on the site. Participated alongside others and as a result, possess a thorough knowledge of the Calls to Action.
Published The Heaviness of Things That Float, a novel that went on to win the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Cree author Darrel McLeod, winner of the Governor-General's Award in Non-fiction and former First Nations' delegate to the United Nations, declared the novel to be "a valuable resource in our national discussion on reconciliation."
COMMITTED BELIEF: "An ally is someone who does not act on his or her own concept of what 'should' be done, but someone who listens deeply. The idea of listening deeply to me is you are listening with the attitude that you might be changed by what you hear. That's being an ally" (Jennifer Manuel, Speaking Our Truth: A Journey to Reconciliation). Interviewed by Cree/Lakota author, Monique Gray Smith for her valuable book for young people, Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation.
COMMITTED BELIEF: An ally always stands next to or behind, never in front.Interviewed on CBC Radio's The Next Chapter by Shelagh Rogers. Inspired by her activism with Indigenous peoples across Canada and how she used her platform to lift up voices. Influenced by her perspective on allyship and where an ally should always stand.
ALLYLIVING IT: It is easy to mistakingly think you are teaching in way that serves others when you might in fact be teaching to serve only yourself. Returned to Kyuquot six years later when the community couldn't recruit a high school teacher. Hired as a teaching Vice-Principal responsible for instructional leadership, Learning Assistance, and ELL/ESD. Lived closely with community for another three years.
Invited to speak at the Network of Inquiry and Indigenous Education conference on how to instil beliefs in Indigenous youth that they can forge their futures.
Invited to speak at the international conference jointly hosted by the Ministry of Education and Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development. Title of talk: "Eight Assumptions to Check About Indigenous Students."
LIVING IT: Balancing accountability to the prescribed curriculum with integration of culture in the classroom is a challenge to allyship.Helped organize Orange Shirt Day, Indigenous Day, and school potlatches. Worked closely with the Youth and Child Care Worker, whose work primarily focused on cultural activities because culture heals.
LIVING IT: Try to know the other, but never assume to know the other.Contracted by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and School District 84 to develop the Pathways curriculum, designed to support Indigenous youth during their education. Regularly presented curriculum progress to the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council representatives, receiving constructive criticism. In consultation, integrated Nuu-chah-nulth beliefs, values, and ways of knowing and being.
LIVING IT: To teach in an Indigenous community and not be trauma-informed or, worse yet, not believe in intergenerational trauma is harmful to students. Completed the Train the Trainer Mental Health Literacy at UBC, a program designed for teacher leaders to train other teachers in the mental health of children and youth.
Served as Faculty Advisor, UBC, Elementary Education Student Teacher Practicum. Served as Supervisor, UVic, Indigenous Language Revitalization Program, Student Teacher Practicum.
As an administrator, participated in Indigenous Enhancement Agreements, which involve ongoing discussions and negotiations with Indigenous peoples.
Mentored and worked with numerous Indigenous writers across Canada.
Became a grandmother to Nuu-chah-nulth grandson. Allyship became even more personal.
2020
Became grandmother to Nuu-chah-nulth granddaughter.
LIVING IT: Raise the voices of Indigenous youth. Build understanding in non-Indigenous educators.Currently working on a non-fiction collaboration with a teaching colleague and three former Indigenous students called, Conversations with My Teacher: What Three Indigenous Students Want You to Know.
Continually communicating with Indigenous television writers, director, and producer who are adapting The Heaviness of Things That Float into a television mini-series.
LIVING IT: Do not highlight only the trauma but the renaissance of brilliant youth, too. Finished edits on next literary novel, The Morning Bell Brings the Broken-hearted, scheduled for Spring 2023 release. Focuses on the fruitful yet inherently flawed relationship between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous teachers, as well as the damage that can be done when stories collide.
LIVING IT: Do not highlight only the loss but the possibilities of resurgence, too.Finishing the illustrations on a picture book called How My Tiichma Talks, co-written with a Kyuquot elder. The story depicts the eagerness of youth to learn their language and the loneliness of language fluency among some elders.
Hired as English teacher at Shawnigan Lake School.
The Shawnigan Journey and Project Future
Shawnigan Lake School has the opportunity to be the first school to model for all other schools in the province, public or private, what it looks like when an educational institution aims fervently to build a commitment of authentic allyship in each student. The journey outlined above took twenty-five years, and indeed the journey is not only a long one but a never-ending one. The learning never stops. Therefore, while graduates may leave the school only at the stage of “Thinking It” or perhaps “Feeling It,” they will have at least developed a metacognitive understanding of what the journey might look like for them. With careful intentionality and committed purpose, Shawnigan Lake School can provide the foundation that enables students to forge their futures as humble allies who understand and are willing to:
a) stand next to or behind, never in front of Indigenous peoples as an ally;
b) make the sometimes difficult choice of stepping aside to leave space for Indigenous voices;
c) notice in their future positions where there is an absence of Indigenous peoples at the table;
d) aim to commemorate more than the trauma of past by also acknowledging the contributions of Indigenous peoples;
e) take on the heavy lifting of learning for themselves, recognizing that Indigenous people are not obligated to educate non-Indigenous people and that to place such a burden on marginalized voices is an abuse of privilege;
f) contribute to the development of safe spaces for Indigenous peers.
Within the ecosystem of curiosity, compassion, community, and courage, each student would graduate willing to state:
“I will strive to be an ally. Because if not me, then who? If not now, then when?”
This should be one of the ways Shawnigan Lake School stands out as a leader.
