C’uu
Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dan Mack. I am of half Native and half Chinese Descent. I come from the Toquaht Tribe, a Nuu-chah-nulth nation. My mother’s name is Gloria. I am very grateful that the Coast and Strait Salish peoples have allowed me to grow up on their territory. I appreciate the fact that I am able to work and play in such a beautiful landscape.
For as long as I could remember, I have always wanted to become a warrior. My mother is someone I’d definitely describe as warrior. Mom always taught me to be proud of who I am and where I came from. She also taught me martial arts (mom’s always been an accomplished martial artist). I remember this one time as a child, I think I was five at the time, that I came running into the house drenched and crying because I was being picked on by the neighborhood bully. I could tell my mom was furious but rather than the go out and resolve the matter herself she told me, “Well go right back out there and show him what you’re made off!” Motivated, I think I literally ran out the front door and I picked up the very hose that the bully was face washing me with and I turned the water up full blast. With a feral facial expression, and vindicated enthusiasm, I aimed the water hose at my oppressor’s face.
Afterwards, my mom told me that wasn’t exactly the reaction she was trying to provoke and that next time she’d like me to start with speaking up for myself first. Most of my teenage years were spent trying out various sports. Unfortunately, when I got to high school the only subject I was really interested in was “High School Wrestling”. People tried to tell me that “wrestling” wasn’t a subject but I didn’t listen. With only one credit away from graduating I dropped out of high school. Meat. Head.
Eight years later, I grew quite tired of working dead-end jobs and I finally made the decision to return to school. I’m now in my second year of the Indigenous Studies program at Camosun College
Thank you for taking the time to read a little about me.
Klecko Klecko,
Dan Mack
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Hello and welcome! My name is Trevor Day, I have Indigenous, English & Chinese ancestry. My Indigenous ancestry is from St'uxwtews in Secwepemc territory. I acknowledge the Songhees & Esquimalt people whose traditional territory Camosun now sits on today. It is an honour to be a guest here in Victoria.
I'm a 2nd year student in the Indigenous studies program at Camosun and I came up with the idea of creating this blog as part of my Special Projects class. My inspiration for the blog came from my experience at school last fall semester. Because I only had classes two days a week, I found that I was losing touch with my classmates and the folks in the Aboriginal Education & Community Connections office. I thought that if someone started a blog that talked about what all our Indigenous students at Camosun are up to, someone like me could better keep in touch with what was going on in our community.
So that's what I'd like this space to be. A space to share what students are working on academically, and what's happening socially in our Indigenous Camosun community. And even though school will be finished in a few short weeks, this project is intended to last beyond the semester. If you are a spring & summer semester student interested in taking on the responsibility of contributing to the blog, email IndigenousStudents@gmail.com and we will set you up with an account. We also hope to have an honorarium system setup to give few dollars to those willing to keep the project alive.
For now, my classmate Dan Mack and I will be posting stories to this blog but we want to hear from all Indigenous students at Camosun. If there is something cool your class is doing, maybe you went to see a great Indigenous guest speaker or a local Aboriginal event, or maybe there is a personal reflection you have about being an Indigenous post-secondary student, we want to hear it!
That's all for now, enjoy what's left of the rest of the semester!
-Trevor Day
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So that's what I'd like this space to be. A space to share what students are working on academically, and what's happening socially in our Indigenous Camosun community. And even though school will be finished in a few short weeks, this project is intended to last beyond the semester. If you are a spring & summer semester student interested in taking on the responsibility of contributing to the blog, email IndigenousStudents@gmail.com and we will set you up with an account. We also hope to have an honorarium system setup to give few dollars to those willing to keep the project alive.
For now, my classmate Dan Mack and I will be posting stories to this blog but we want to hear from all Indigenous students at Camosun. If there is something cool your class is doing, maybe you went to see a great Indigenous guest speaker or a local Aboriginal event, or maybe there is a personal reflection you have about being an Indigenous post-secondary student, we want to hear it!
That's all for now, enjoy what's left of the rest of the semester!
-Trevor Day
