Stories of resilience honouring my ancestors and traditional lands

Abstract

This thesis explores the resilience of my ancestors, focusing on storytelling as an act of cultural preservation and resistance. It examines how family and ancestral narratives serve as vital data, revealing insights into Algonquin history, ancestral lands, and the impacts of colonization within traditional Algonquin Anishinaabe territory. At its core, this study asks: How does storytelling function as a decolonizing research method that preserves Algonquin history, strengthens cultural identity, and fosters resilience through connections to land and ancestors? The primary objective is to demonstrate how storytelling decolonizes research methodologies while deepening the understanding of Algonquin identity, culture, and resilience. This research, grounded in Indigenous storytelling and decolonizing frameworks, uncovers recurring themes of resilience, including textiles and crafts as survival tools, waterways as protective pathways, women’s strength, and the significance of traditional transportation. By drawing on intergenerational stories, maps, archival materials, and cultural teachings, this study emphasizes the interconnectedness of land, family, and identity. Despite the absence of traditional interviews, this strengths-based approach highlights valuable insights into the resilience of the Algonquin people and their enduring connections to land and culture. This study explores key themes presented in Chapter 4 (Stories of the Algonquin Peoples), Chapter 5 (Stories of the Land and Water), and Chapter 6 (Stories of My Grandmothers), leading to the identification of five key findings:

Survival as Tradition: Resilience Textiles and Crafts as Resilience Waterways and Traditional Transportation Resilience and the Impacts of Colonization The Strength of Indigenous Women Together, these findings illuminate the role of storytelling in strengthening personal and collective identity, deepening connections to land and kin, and resisting colonial erasure. As a decolonizing research approach, storytelling offers a means of reclaiming Indigenous knowledge and ensuring its transmission for future generations.