This is my last News Unsettled and my way of saying farewell. I joined the Native Students Union (NSU) three years ago. It was at the fall Semi-Annual General Meeting (SAGM) in 2019. I remember being so excited for the opportunity to be a part of the NSU.
The position of Communications Councillor was very new when I was elected, so there was not a fully defined list of responsibilities or expectations. I remember being told that one of the responsibilities that had been imagined for the position was taking over the News Unsettled column in the Martlet.
I was not very confident about my writing abilities at that point. I had never written for anything other than school. Professors and TAs were the only ones that had ever read my work before. I was extremely nervous thinking that the News Unsettled columns would be widely available, especially seeing the amazing articles that had already been published under the News Unsettled banner.
When I was first told that I was to write the next News Unsettled, I wracked my brain trying to figure out what exactly I should put in it. That is a feeling that has come back from time to time.
I began writing for the Martlet amid the Legislature occupation and the major Wet’suwet’en solidarity actions across Turtle Island. One statement rang true for me, “Reconciliation is dead,” so I remember I decided that was going to be my first topic.
There has been a lot that has happened since I took over News Unsettled. The U.S. and Canada have both been through major elections. Tensions flared between the state and defenders at 1492 Landback Lane, Mi’kmaq lobster fishers, the Secwepemc, the Wet’suwet’en (several times), and the Gitxsan. An OG colonizer finally left this world. Far right-wing conspiracists came out of their hidey holes and reared their ugly heads in public. The pope sort-of apologized. And, of course, we all have been dealing with a seemingly never-ending global pandemic which disproportionately affected Indigenous and other marginalized communities.
Because I am finishing my undergraduate degree, I did not run for re-election with the NSU. That means this will most likely be my final contribution to this column. I have seriously appreciated the opportunity to write for this column over the last three years. It has given me the opportunity to share what I felt was important for the readers of the Martlet to know. Of course, there was always the NSU and other Martlet staff, especially Kate Korte and Isabella Kennedy, to help me along the way when I couldn’t think of how to wrap up an article or craft an appropriate headline.
I have appreciated the feedback that I have received over the last three years on my News Unsettled articles. It is always jarring to think people read these. I have sometimes just used them as a medium to rant.
To wrap up, I want to say maarsii to everyone who has read and enjoyed these the past few years. Maarsii to everyone who helped me when it came to topics and direction. Maarsii to the NSU for a great few years. I also want to say good luck to the next council, and whoever takes over the column and the Indigenous issue. The incoming council are all amazing people and I know they will do amazing things.
Pishshapmishko pi maarsii.
