Who Are You, Why do You Care?

My name is Sarah Russ. I’m half Haida, a quarter Icelandic, and a quarter German. I have always identified as First Nations since I knew what it meant to be Frist Nations because I think your heritage is something you should be proud of and not judged for. Sadly, I don’t know a lot about the culture I come from and the background I claim; It makes me feel like a bit of a fraud. I inherited my First Nations blood from my father and in a perfect world he would know about his culture and pass it down to my brother and I. This hasn’t happened because before my dad had the chance to truly learn about his own culture he was taken from his mom and put into foster care during the Sixties Scoop. He isn’t as mad as he could be about his childhood because he was placed in a family that loved and cared for him; he has told me though that he wishes he knew more about his heritage.

Even though I am incredibly grateful to be First Nations there are times assumptions are made that make me sad. I inherited my pale skin and green eyes from my mother’s side of the family (I assume as my dad didn’t know his father) and when I tell people I’m Native they ask why I’m so pale “because Native people should be tan”. I just shrug my shoulders and say it all comes down to genetics, but inside I want to cry and I begin to question my own background and if I deserve to call myself Native. It also makes me sad when I hear stories about my childhood, but specifically about my own schooling. When my parents were trying to find schools for my brother and I to attend they asked what would happen if they identified their children as Native. As a result, they were told that my brother and I would be put into ESL classes and receive extra help because an assumption was made that because we are Native we are somehow intellectually inferior. If I could go back and talk to the people that made those assumptions I would tell them they were wrong and that not only is my mother a lawyer but my father too.

I decided to take FNIS because I wanted to learn more about where I come from so I can share that knowledge with people who ask, I want to be able to give examples of outstanding Native people both from the past and the present when they ask an ignorant question or wonder if I’m being truthful about my own heritage, but most importantly I want to learn about my heritage because I want to give my dad back what was taken from him.