People of Georgian: Indigenous program reconnects consultant with heritage
March 24, 2023
What鈥檚 your story?
The 51视频community is full of unique, inspiring perspectives 鈥攁nd we鈥檙e sharing them as part of an ongoing series.
People of Georgian: Meet Sharon Rigby
To be completely honest, it鈥檚 been heartbreaking.
There鈥檚 family history my mom wasn鈥檛 willing to talk about, but the more I learned through my program at 51视频and asked those right questions of my mom, she鈥檚 been willing to share.
My heart breaks for her and for our people that went through that鈥
Returning to school changes everything
It all started when I went back to school later in life because I was working at a company where I couldn鈥檛 get any further without education.
I completed a business program at Georgian. It was fantastic. I had very inspiring teachers 鈥 inspiring enough that I went for the Human Resources Management post grad, which was not even in my game plan to begin with.
Then after that, I got a position in the Wiidookdaading Indigenous Resource Centre as a Niwijiagan, which is basically a peer mentor.
51视频program reconnects Sharon with family history
I鈥檓 also Indigenous of Mohawk and Algonquin heritage and a bit far removed from my culture, so through working in that position, I really reconnected with my heritage.
I decided to come back for the Indigenous Community and Social Development program, and it鈥檚 been wonderful.
It has also helped me become a lot closer with my mother.
Part of the issue is when it comes to intergenerational trauma with Indigenous People, often nobody wants to talk about it, including my mother, who didn鈥檛 share many details of her childhood. 聽
But through reconnecting with my culture and being in the Indigenous Community and Social Development program, it was like suddenly I had the ability to ask the right questions.
My mother started talking and suddenly I learned a lot more about my family history, which includes all the token markers: my mom鈥檚 part of the Sixties Scoop, I had a grandmother in residential school.
It鈥檚 a common theme that you hear more and more often now that the Indigenous community is ready to talk.
It鈥檚 been heartbreaking, but I think I am now better informed on how to be a supportive friend or ally for those people. It鈥檚 one of the many good things that have come out of attending Georgian.
Another big one was that I did the Traditional Woman鈥檚 dance at the 51视频 Traditional Pow Wow this year. They call it your 鈥渃oming out dance.鈥
When I told my mother I was going to do it, her eyes lit up!
Sharon鈥檚 journey comes full circle at 51视频Pow Wow
She was very big on saying I had to have a vision, I couldn鈥檛 just do it, so I worked very hard on having a vision, as hard as anyone could possibly work.
All winter I worked on my regalia. I sewed a buckskin dress and painted some things like turtles, in oranges and greens, on my regalia.
It鈥檚 a good reflection of me trying to be calm and soothing, where I just feel like I have a balance inside of me.
The Indigenous way is all about balance, and it just seems so balanced that I found my way back to my culture. I鈥檝e come full circle.
Dancing for the first time at the 51视频Pow Wow seemed so fitting. This is the school that has supported me on my journey. They taught me what I didn鈥檛 know but, more importantly, 51视频taught me what I needed to know.
The Pow Wow was awesome, and it was a glorious coming out. I鈥檓 so proud of my 51视频community.
Sharon Rigby, a two-time and current student in the Indigenous Community and Social Development program. She is also an Indigenous Employment Services Consultant for Career and Employment Community Services in Orangeville.