National Indigenous Peoples Day: This is me, Tiara
Last updated onMy name is Tiara and I am the Manager of Indigenous Relations Public Policy, working out of our office in Ottawa. 我的工作是确保威尼斯电玩城手游的土著伙伴的声音被渥太华的决策者听到. It’s a challenging task, but one I’m excited to tackle. 我想生活在一个政府真正理解他们签署的条约，工业界帮助履行这些条约的加拿大——我希望有一天这个国家不再有代际贫困. While I was working for the Federal Minister of Natural Resources, 我了解到海岸天然气连接项目，以及为确保原住民参与该项目所做的努力. 那时我就知道，威尼斯电玩城手游正在改变工业和土著民族的互动方式，我想成为这种变化的一部分.
我想说，我的背景和我所居住的国家一样丰富多彩. 通过我母亲的家族，我是Piikani，而我父亲的家族来自纽芬兰.
For the longest time, I was not connected to my Indigenous culture. 人们说，威尼斯电玩城手游是威尼斯电玩城手游所看到的，我没有看到自己在社会上被积极地代表. But about 10 years ago, 我遇到了一些了不起的第一民族妇女，其中一位成为我的导师，用她的行动向我展示了作为一名土著妇女意味着什么:威尼斯电玩城手游很坚强，应该为自己感到自豪.
Around that time, I began reconnecting with my culture through running. I would run in the early morning. I was by myself, one with nature, I could hear my breathing and feel my feet pound the ground – during those moments, I figured out who I wanted to be and what I wanted to be for the next generation.
My mother taught me that as Indigenous women, we always carry our ancestors with us. 我祖母教导我要爱自己，永远不要让别人决定你是谁, 让我明白，我必须为下一代的成长和繁荣创造空间，并确保我留下的世界更美好.
Helping the next generation thrive
我现在是一个两岁的孩子的母亲，他叫阿奇，我和我的丈夫将在九月迎来第二个孩子. 成为一名母亲是一个陡峭的学习曲线，我的日日夜夜都在关注我的家庭. Some of my pre-child interests are on the backburner for now, but I still like to share what’s important to me with my son. 每周有几次，我和阿奇一起开着婴儿车跑10公里. He also likes to ride his mini stationary bike when I’m on my Peloton.
I’ve even brought him on a few business trips to Calgary and Vancouver. TC Energy has a reputation as a family-friendly company, which I find is true. I joined TC Energy in December and the hiring process was thoughtful and deliberate. 在我的招聘小组中有一位土著人，他让我感到受欢迎、被倾听、被关注. 我正在和一个了解土著人民在企业界面临的复杂问题的人交谈, which took stress off my shoulders. Now six months into my role, 我有灵活性，可以向我儿子展示什么是一个成功的职业母亲.
However, 在一天结束的时候，我真正想向阿奇和其他土著青年展示的是，尽管加拿大存在系统性的种族主义, we can overcome these barriers. For so long, Indigenous people were just surviving, but now we can really thrive. We have such rich cultures, vibrancy, resiliency and strength, which are passed down from generation to generation.
I feel great pride now when I share about my heritage with people, and it’s important for me to help my son connect with his culture as well. Every night at bedtime, 我给他读了一本布莱克福特作家写的书，威尼斯电玩城手游每天都复习布莱克福特字母表——为了他和我的利益!
Every National Indigenous Peoples Day, 作为渥太华一年一度庆祝活动的一部分，带我儿子去看日出仪式是一个传统，今年也是如此. For a long time, this day has been recognized but not honoured. Fortunately, 事情正在发生变化，我很高兴能够开辟自己的道路，并在此过程中帮助他人. Together we can send ripples of positive change across the country.