UC Santa Barbara

My dissertation titled Native ways of knowing: Navigating life as a transracial adoptee is anautoethnography of my experience in coming to understand my childhood and schooling experiences as a Native adoptee who grew up in a white family in Alberta Canada. I highlight my journey in coming to learn about my Native roots as well as unpacking experiences with various institutions, including primary, secondary and university schools’ systems, all of which represent ways of learning that exclude Native ways of knowing. I view this dissertation as a way of regaining what has been long denied centering on Native ways of knowing, and integrating teachings from my biological family members, particularly my aunt uncle who invited me to the Siksika Nation located in southern Alberta. I begin this thesis with an introduction to the reader as a participant in what is called a talking circle. A talking circle is a healing space for members to connect with Creator and share challenges and emotional wounds in a way that allows one to let go and replenish one’s soul and voice. I welcome the reader into my virtual teepee, and begin with a traditional smudging ceremony, all of which is visually illustrated through my artwork. As such, art is a throughline vi for this dissertation; I can best clarify meaning through art, which is a shared skill among members of my biological family who engage in a variety of crafts–beadwork, tapestries, painting, and the like. I come from a long line of artists and as such, the artwork presented throughout this thesis is a crucial component of my story. Following the practices of Native scholars like Kimmerer (2013) and Archibald (2008), I tell my journey about coming to understand my transracial identity through an approach that reflects values centered on the natural world that communicates with us if we have the ears to hear. The flow of my story work begins with establishing the talking circle (Grounding), then moves to my understanding of scholarship about and by Native communities (Native Ways of Knowing and Being), and how who authors such work makes a big difference in how the Native lens of knowing and being is represented. Then, I tell the reader about my own story (My Journey) about how I came to know my native roots, and how no matter how long it takes, it is never too late to cultivate connections to one’s roots. I end my talking circle with note of hope and care for all with experiences similar to mine (Onward), that while not all of us have, or will have the same opportunities to connect with our Native roots, and we represent a broad range of cultural identities, often a mix of ethnicities that should be celebrated.