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Women Negotiating Life in the Academy pp 119–130Cite as

Looking Back While Moving Forward: A Narrative Journey Toward Self

Abstract

Negotiating life as a First Nations woman is often done on the fringes of society. Along the margins, my learning has involved a constant interplay between the trauma of colonization and the perseverance of my people to survive and thrive within a social context marred with systemic oppression. Despite these many challenges, higher education has offered a path toward personal empowerment that has enabled me to discover a unique, culturally grounded understanding of what it means to be resilient within the context of tribal self-determination. In this chapter, divided into two parts, I offer a personal narrative of resilience that draws on my experiences as a Blackfoot woman along my journey toward achieving my Ph.D. in Educational Research. In doing so, I conceptualize resilience from a uniquely Blackfoot perspective that also holds a deeply human relevance. In the first part of the chapter, I describe my experiences as an Indigenous post-secondary student in order to offer a glimpse into the lifeworld of a typical Indigenous student. In the second part, I offer up reflections on the lessons learned along my journey as a way to highlight the multiplicity of experiences that women must negotiate within the context of the academy.

Keywords

  • Self-determination
  • Blackfoot resilience
  • Indigenous students
  • Indigenous women
  • Trauma narratives
  • Anti-colonial theory

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Gabrielle Lindstrom

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  1. Gabrielle Lindstrom
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Correspondence to Gabrielle Lindstrom .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton

  2. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Dr. Amy Burns

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Lindstrom, G. (2020). Looking Back While Moving Forward: A Narrative Journey Toward Self. In: Eaton, S., Burns, A. (eds) Women Negotiating Life in the Academy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3114-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3114-9_10

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