This article contains descriptions of abuse that may be triggering. Support for survivors and their families is available. Call the Indian Residential School Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066, or 1-866-925-4419 for the 24-7 crisis line.
Katie ManomieSA国际影视传媒檚 hands are etched with thin black lines in simple, angled patterns.
Traditional Inuit tattoos like this, often seen on hands and faces, are called tunniit. They are more than beatification or a desire to be different; they are a way of reclaiming the Inuit identity after the tattoos were banned by European settlers in the 20th century.
ManomieSA国际影视传媒檚 fingers work deftly, threading delicate, coloured beads along cuts of seal skin shipped down from Nunavut. SheSA国际影视传媒檚 practising a traditional Indigenous art form called beading, which uses small beads, a needle and thread to create jewelry or decorate clothing.
Manomie wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 always so in tune with Inuit culture.
SA国际影视传媒淎s a kid, I always just told my classmates I was Hawaiian,SA国际影视传媒� she says.
It was easier than telling the truth: that she was an Inuk girl given to a non-Inuit family as part of the tail-end of the SA国际影视传媒�60s Scoop.
The SA国际影视传媒�60s Scoop refers to a government-led initiative to SA国际影视传媒渟coopSA国际影视传媒� Indigenous children from their cultures by removing them from their families and entering them into the countrySA国际影视传媒檚 welfare system. A majority of the time, this meant placing the children in foster care or adopting them out to non-Indigenous families, often without consent or knowledge from the parents. While a majority of this happened in the 1960s, it ran in some form or another between 1951 to the early 1990s.
Manomie was born in 1987 in what is now Iqaluit. Her mother was very young and was strongly encouraged to partake in a custom of SA国际影视传媒済iftingSA国际影视传媒� her child to a family who could raise her.
A couple consisting of a Caucasian woman and an Inuk man who were living in the community at the time took Manomie. Soon afterwards, the couple split and the woman took Manomie SA国际影视传媒� who was the youngest of six other SA国际影视传媒渁doptedSA国际影视传媒� children SA国际影视传媒� to the community of Sooke, B.C., the traditional territory of the TSA国际影视传媒橲ou-ke First Nation.
SA国际影视传媒淚 wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 raised knowing any of my culture,SA国际影视传媒� Manomie says. SA国际影视传媒淢y adoptive mom would say ISA国际影视传媒檓 Inuk, but I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 know what that meant. She didnSA国际影视传媒檛 even know my biological momSA国际影视传媒檚 name.SA国际影视传媒�
Regardless, Manomie was called upon during social studies classes to speak on behalf of Inuit issues. She was called racialized slurs and felt ashamed of her heritage.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think ISA国际影视传媒檓 still trying to let go of that internalized racism,SA国际影视传媒� she says.
Finds biological family
When she was 17, ManomieSA国际影视传媒檚 adoptive mother abandoned her family to move to Russia, leaving Manomie homeless. She slept on friendsSA国际影视传媒� couches for two years and got a job in the hospitality industry.
A reliance on alcohol sheSA国际影视传媒檇 had since she was 13 soon formed into a full-fledged addiction that would last for over a decade.
It wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 until Manomie was in her late 20s that she first made contact with her biological family; one of her older adopted sisters who had moved back to Nunavut knew who ManomieSA国际影视传媒檚 mother, brother and maternal grandmother were.
SA国际影视传媒淲e formed a relationship over the phone. It was a little difficult because they donSA国际影视传媒檛 know much English, but it was still comforting to hear the Inuktitut language.SA国际影视传媒�
Going north to visit simply wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 possible, since flights to the remote town were nearly $10,000.
In 2018, ManomieSA国际影视传媒檚 grandmother passed away, so she was granted bereavement travel from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.
When she arrived in Kinngait (previously Cape Dorset), Manomie remembers hundreds of people waiting at the airport to welcome her and show her around.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was all a big blur,SA国际影视传媒� she says. SA国际影视传媒淢y little cousin, who was four, looked at me and asked SA国际影视传媒榳hy canSA国际影视传媒檛 she understand us? She looks like us.SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒�
A few years later, when the 2020 lockdowns closed down her workplaces, Manomie enrolled in the Indigenous Studies Program at Camosun College and found a safe space to learn about who she was and where she came from.
SA国际影视传媒淪tudying at Camosun made me want to reconnect with my Inuk identity SA国际影视传媒� I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 even know how to introduce myself before I attended,SA国际影视传媒� she says. SA国际影视传媒淚n our cohort, there were Indigenous people from so many different places, and we all were disconnected from our identity.SA国际影视传媒�
One of the classes through the program was Indigenous arts, where Manomie was introduced to beading.
Picking up the needle and thread came so naturally, that soon Manomie began creating and selling jewelry.
SA国际影视传媒淚 would sometimes look at what I made and think SA国际影视传媒榟ow am I doing this? I donSA国际影视传媒檛 even know what ISA国际影视传媒檓 doing.SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒�
ManomieSA国际影视传媒檚 grandmother was also a beader, and she believes the practice of beading is a way to connect to her.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 like blood memory SA国际影视传媒� I feel like my grandma is with me every time I bead, and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 why I like it so much.SA国际影视传媒�
Manomie has been sober for more than four years. She was voted the Indigenous director for the Camosun College Student Society, and this summer she graduated from Camosun College with a certificate in Indigenous Family Support and a diploma in Indigenous Studies. This fall she started at the University of Victoria in the Indigenous Studies degree program, with a goal of enrolling in UVicSA国际影视传媒檚 Indigenous Law Program.
SA国际影视传媒淚 donSA国际影视传媒檛 want to see Indigenous children treated the way I was while growing up SA国际影视传媒� I just dream of a world where everybody can be kind to each other because thereSA国际影视传媒檚 been so much in my life that hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been so kind.SA国际影视传媒�
Reconnecting with her Inuit identity has been a slow process. Much like beading, it took time, patience and some help from her ancestors. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 an identity thatSA国际影视传媒檚 still growing, slowly revealing something beautiful SA国际影视传媒� one bead at a time.
SA国际影视传媒擝y Nicole Crescenzi, Black Press contributor
