Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Fear was a huge part of my childhood and not the healthy fear. I was afraid of school, afraid of what friends might think of me, afraid of my family, my grandmother, my mom and her whole side of the family. I was afraid of everybody and everything, but the Lord it seemed.

I was raised as an Algonquin/Mohawk in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa. I stress the urban part of my life because I think this was the biggest difference that separated my brother and me from both reserves. My mom’s reserve was Kahnawake just outside of Montreal and my dad’s reserve Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg was ab...