Brittney Bear Hat

Oki

Tansi

I want to welcome everyone to this space and give this very tender area some much-deserved respect. This is the meeting place where the Elbow River and Bow River confluence, this is my maternal home territory that has been understood as Kootsisáw (Tsuut’ina), Mohkínstsis (Blackfoot), and Wincheesh-pah (Stoney Nakoda) for many millennia. Mohkinstsis is the landscape that raised me during my adolescence and is the place I have rooted myself in as an adult. My mother was born and raised in Siksika Nation, unfortunately through her traumas and lived experiences of residential school and reserve life; she resolved to root her adult life in Mohkinstsis. Blueberry River FN is my paternal home territory and my family expands through Prophet River FN and Halfway River FN. My father is of Dane-zaa and Cree descent, his lineage is based on where the muskeg and trees meet. My family has lived and trapped alongside these rivers for many generations. I will not acknowledge the treaties that have bordered off these lands into territories by the government of Canada as all of these commitments have failed all Indigenous peoples across this country. There is so much unrecognized strength and sacrifice from the backs of my ancestors and I am slowly returning to practices that are unfolding the weight that goes into being a caregiver of land

I thank all those voices and spirits that continue to guide these sacred lands.

Contact 

e: bearhat.brittney@gmail.com