Assignment one
Responsibilities
This section is excellently done. You have indicated responsibilities you carry for each of your relationships. Thank you for speaking to the canoe build including the offering of tobacco, strawberries, and sage –– you have this spiritual relationship bound up in Indigenous Laws to the land. It is good to hear these are being lived out in these ways.
What does acting responsible mean to me?
Throughout my other paragraphs about responsibilities there are a few recurring topics which are support, teaching, caring, loving, being kind. I think that all these things and some more make you a very responsible person in all types of communities relationships and in your life in general.
What are my responsibilities to the indigenous community?
My responsibility to the Indigenous community is to help others when they are being discriminated against or just are feeling great, being supportive is a big part of responsibility to me. I also think to be a responsible member of my Indigenous community I have to help people learn about our history and parts of our culture. To also stand up for the right thing. These are are things that can help you be responsible in your communities.
What are my responsibilities to the queer communities?
My responsibility to the queer community is to be a proud and out queer person to show others that it is ok to be pat of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and that it doesn't make you wrong or bad if you are. I also think it is my responsibility to be there for all the other people in this community, and I think it is important to educate others and help others be the allies they can be.
What are my responsibilities to the planet?
I have to responsibility to give back to the planet and only take what I need from it and give back what I can. For example I can plant trees offer to the waters, offer to the land. One time I can remember giving back to the planet was this summer when I did my canoe build we offered tobacco and strawberries and sage to the land we were on and the water we were in. This was a time I felt like I was being responsable for the planet.
What are my responsibilities to my friends?
Friendship you have to have the responsibility of being supportive and being a shoulder to cry on and ear to listen. IN my relationships we talk to each other about the things we can't tell other people and I think that is very important. I need to love for my friends and care for my friends and just be there for them.
What are my responsibilities to my family relationships?
My responsibility to my family relationships is to be there for them when they need me and to be able to love and care for them through it all. I also should be there to give them the things they need weather that is food, love, or even a friendship.
Community
Other communities in my life.
I am part of many communities some include the john.f.ross community, the grade ten civics class community, the food basics community. Theses are all groups and people I have something in common with. These communities play a small role in making me who I am. They aren't the same as other relationship's I have with other communities as in they don't support me and love me the same way but they still are there to help me escape or learn and I thought I should mention them.
The queer community.
What I do for them?
I try to support my people in this community just like they supported me through my hard times and how they continue to support to this day. I always try to speak for queer people and try my hardest to help people feel validated in there identities, and know that they are perfect just the way they are.
A real life example of the queer community supporting me is when I first told someone that I was gay they called me gross and asked me if I had a crush on them and then proceed to tell me that I couldn't go over to there house anymore incase I had a crush on them or tried to kiss them. This instance pushed me even farther into the closet. When I came out to someone in the queer community I got accepted and it was one of the best feelings I have ever had, and I find that these people in this community are always there for me when I need them.
The queer community has recently played a huge part in my life they have helped me figure out things about myself and guided me to be my true self. I am a lesbian and I have known this for a very long time when I was younger I was bullied for being gay and I kept my sexuallity a huge secret for so long I thought that me being gay was terrible and I hid it so that I wouldn't be judged . Once I was introduced to the queer allies and community into my life I felt like I was finally accepted.
I'm sorry to hear about the bullying! I am glad this community is supporting you and you are feeling accepted.
The Indigenous community.
What do I do for them in the community?
I try to always be there for people who have been there for me and all the people that are in the Indigenous community have never refused me and have always been there for me therefore I always am there for them. There are lots of struggles in our community lots of pain and lots of grief I always am there to support others and care for them in there hard times. I have also been there to support people in the injustices they face I have been to protest and try to teach people about my culture always as we all keep learn and learn to unlearn.
Community makes collective healing, struggle, and resistance possible. Thank you for speaking to this.
What they do for me?
THis community supports and loved me when I am struggling with my culture, my feelings, and my life in general. For example, when I was struggling with trying to figure out my heritage and about myself, everyone in this community supported me in the hard and long journey and made me feel safe, and the people in this community have also helped me in to process of getting my status. It has been a very long an hard process for me to get my status because my great grandmother was adopted there for they say they can't track our ancestors and have refused my status multiple times even though my mother and my grandmother both have theirs. They have been very helpful and support through both of these processes.
The Indigenous community has become a huge part of my life in the past few years. I have always known that I am Indigenous but when I was younger I never learned about my culture and my Indigenous background I think this is because my grandparents are the ones that known about our culture and they had that stripped from them when they were young due to residential schools. Recently I have became involved in our schools Indigenous community and the local Indigenous community.
The legacies of colonialism and genocide are so real and you are experiencing them in your relationships. I am glad that you are on a healing journey and forming meaningful relationships in this community to learn and live!
Relationships
My relationships with nature.
The planet gives me all the things that I need in my life as in it gives me life it gives me love and gives me care. As we talked about in class when we had that debate I talk to the tress and know my ancestors are there for me and my relationship with the planet is my relationship with my ancestors.
Yes to the ancestor!
I feel as though is very important for my life to have a good connection with the animals, the land, the air, and the water. I feel as though this connecting and loving relationship being one with our planet is important to me. The water and land make me feel grounded.
Who and what do I have relationships with?
My relationship with nature. I try to have a loving relationship with nature and I love going to go out to the forest and talk with the trees. Nature cares for me by keeping me alive and well.
My relationship with my animals. I have tons of animals at my house and I care for them all differently. I have four dogs, a lizard, and a bunch of chickens. The dogs and lizard care for me by supporting me emotionally, and I care for them by loving them and feeding them and cleaning up there poop lol.
Sounds like a home that is full of life! Yay to chickens!!
I have my friendships, these are the people who I hangout with and share things with. They definitely care for me even though our relationship can be quite frustrating and hard at times. I have recently been connecting with new people and it has been great. My main friends are Daniela Dipaolo and Sav Green.
I have a big family. My relationships in my family can be hard sometimes but I think it is that way for everyone. I have my mother Michele who cares and loves me very much, and I have my sisters which I have four of and they care and love and support me all the time and I do the same. I also have my father.
It's great to hear you have a big family and that you wish you could speak about all of them. Thank you for sharing about your mother!
And sharing about your 4 sisters and father!
I have tons of realtionships in my life. Between my family my friends, my animals, and nature.
How do I care and love for people I am in a relationship with?
I care for nature by giving back to nature, the water, trees, and everything around me. I try to respect the environment because I need to have a great relationship with the environment.
I care for my animals by giving what they need to live and I love them unconditionally.
I care for my friends by being there for them loving them and always being able to spot them or give them what they need.
I care for my family by supporting and loving them as much as they love and support me. I always try to be there for my family including my mother and my sisters.
How do other beings care for me?
I like how you have structured this entire top section of relationships. All of your points in this part of your mind map speak to relational care and love between humans and more-than-humans. Well done!
Nature cares for me by helping my mental health when I am going through hard times and never leaving my side and it helps me know that the forest and nature will always be there. It also helps me connect with my culture and ancestor.
My friends show that they care for be they being there through the hard times and being there if I ever need anything just like friends are suppose to do.
My family takes care of me by giving me all the necessary things to live and they support me in all the things I do, and most of all they love me and show that they love me.
My animals care for me when emotionally. For example when I am sad and just want to cry my dog with come and cuddle and comfort me, and that is how my dogs care for me.
How does love and care play a part in theses relationships?
Love and care play a huge part in these relationships and they're the only way that relationships work, relationships are a two-way street no matter who or what the relationships are with.
How do they play a part in my life?
Each and every relationship in my life play a different part in my life. For example, my family relationship plays a very different part in my life then my relationship with nature does. My family supports me in my daily life and throughout all of my struggles for example if I am having a hard time at school my mother or my sisters are always there for me. But I use my relationship with nature to ground myself and to support my mental health.
