English 372

My name is Brenda Druhall! I’m a 3rd/4th year English major at UBC. I transferred here from a college in the US. I grew up in a medium-sized seaside “town” in Washington State, which many people probably have heard of—Bellingham! I decided to move to BC to take advantage of my dual citizenship and see the big city, as well as attend my parents alma mater. I chose to study English because I fell in love with reading and writing when I was in middle school, which expanded even more when I began my first official job at a local bookstore. I worked there for almost three years before I moved up here.

I have been exceptionally interested in social justice issues since I began volunteering and educating with my local Planned Parenthood during my early high school years. Reproductive issues are often related to social justice issues, so I’ve learned quite a bit about both through the years–but still not enough. I want to learn how to use my privilege to help people, without silencing them.

I feel that the focus this class carries, and the lenses it will have us look through, should be required studies for any student studying at UBC—and Canada at large. UBC lies on Indigenous ground, and while you hear about this fact across campus and it’s sometimes mentioned in classroom syllabuses, many students don’t know what that truly means. On a larger scale, many people in Canada, every day, benefit from the oppression and genocide that has been committed against Indigenous people while refusing to acknowledge all of these atrocities. Our own Prime Minister meets with Indigenous people to “hear them out” and then builds an unnecessary pipeline that sets back indigenous rights and relations. 

Indigenous people (especially women) go missing on such an unbelievably large scale with such a glaring course of inaction from our government, that their lost lives have been referred to as a ‘Canadian genocide’. These subjects (and more) just aren’t talked about enough, and they should be. That’s not only why I believe that this class should be required for all Canadian students. but also why I’m so glad I have the opportunity to learn and grow through this class this semester.

I’m excited to be joining this course, albeit a bit late—but I can’t wait to jump in and read everyone’s contributions, thoughtful insights, and new discoveries.

Sources:

APTN National News. “Canada Guilty of Cultural Genocide against Indigenous Peoples: TRC.” APTN News, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, 2 June 2015, aptnnews.ca/2015/06/02/canada-guilty-cultural-genocide-indigenous-peoples-trc-2/.

Neylan, Susan. “Canada’s Dark Side: Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Heritage.” Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, Ohio State University, June 2018, origins.osu.edu/article/canada-s-dark-side-indigenous-peoples-and-canada-s-150th-celebration.