My introduction to Indigenous culture was probably unconventional – across the ocean and through ideology and literature. I grew up in Eastern Europe, and the earliest acquaintance with First Nations was made through transformative art – relatives telling me fascinating stories about freedom-loving Indians that they knew from the books and movies of the Soviet Union era. Later, I took up reading and discovered the translated books about a war between the French and the British forces in North America, in particular, at the Great Lakes area.

Therefore, the most applicable Ontario educational history-related resources that unite the past and present for me in the most comfortable way will be the Leatherstoking Tales by J. F. Cooper as well as any truthful readings on internationalism and socialism. I would say that Wikipedia entries will do to refresh the memories and systematize everything anew.

So, back in the day, James Fenimore Cooper, an American writer hugely popular in the Soviet Union, told me the stories about First Nations of 18^th century: their way of life, places they traveled, their friends and enemies, their morale, their love for life, courage, perseverance, children and Ontario.

I realize that Cooper’s books, so called historical romances, were fictional works as opposed to impartial chronicles. But I consider the author’s style quite objective because he described Indigenous people the way any nation can be described – with decent and rotten folks mixed together, the same man being good and bad at the different stages of his life or while interacting with different people etc.

I am glad to know that Wikipedia similarly points out that James Fenimore Cooper “published numerous social, political, and historical works of fiction and non-fiction with the objective of countering European prejudices and nurturing an original American art and culture” (“James Fenimore Cooper,” 2022).

I also understand that everyone who was poor and socially oppressed through their own history was hailed a hero in the Soviet Union, and because of that only books favourable to First Nations would be published there. Accordingly, I was raised pro-Indian, internationalist, with vivid pictures of rich Ontario nature and deep respect for minorities and the underrepresented in general. Now I hold a PhD and Post-PhD in Education with my research focusing on modern Ukrainian higher education and West European universities.

This European and Soviet Union background and the fact that I currently live in Canada bring me to an interesting question about immigrants to the Western world and “white guilt”.  For example, I am a first-generation immigrant to Canada. I come from predominantly white Ukraine that had neither colonies, nor Aboriginal people on its territory. I am aware that I have nothing to apologize for, and I feel great dealing with people of all races and walks of life here in Canada. As a human being, I am terrified that so many young and innocent lives were lost in those residential schools of the past.

But after I live in Canada longer and feel more Canadian than Ukrainian, will I start experiencing this fathom guilt too? And if I have kids here, will they bear this collective responsibility because their mother is white? If yes, where does this guilty feeling come from? Is it territorial, to be inherited together with the place of birth or living? Does it mean that any land has this mystical connection with people dwelling on it, or is it just an economical tool to explore?

It is mind-blowing how everything is intertwined on this planet – history, literature, ideology, ethics, religion, sociology, biology, pedagogy, psychology etc. I will be happy to read the responses on land acknowledgement from other Ontarians too, especially from the immigrants. Will there be an option for the group members to exchange their Indigenous experiences?

Regarding the terminology, I used the terms “Indian”, “Aboriginal” and “Native” in my native languages. The words “Indigenous” and “First Nations” were less common in Ukraine.

As for this course and my aims in it, I tried to start my UBC studies with ETEC 511 because it is logical to begin with the foundations. Unfortunately, registration for this course proved to be tricky, but I am here finally and look forward to learning theory and practice of everything digital. Another aim, not any less important, is to improve my English. Writing is considered the most difficult of basic language skills, and I will be happy to practice it as much as possible.

References

James Fenimore Cooper (2022, May 9). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Fenimore_Cooper&action=history