by Jessica O’Toole (Simon)

Jessica O’Toole (Simon) lives in Norwood, Massachusetts. She hails from the SIMON clan here in Sipekne’katik. Jessica is a Shubie Band Member and has been accepted into Harvard. This is her Admissions/Application Essay. Please give this a read. Wela’liek Jessica, we are very proud of you!

0250xxxxx

Unlike the square root of negative one and the numbers I record on countless journals and ledgers in Accounting class, this number is not imaginary; it has meaning. These ten digits tie me to my heritage. These ten digits tie me to my history. These ten digits tie me to a place six-hundred fifty-three point two miles away from my home. I promise I am not always this dramatic, but these truly are the numbers that reassure me that I am a part of a family outside my home: a greater family of the Mi’kmaq tribe.

These numbers represent my registration as an Indian under the government of Canada. Now how is a girl from Massachusetts recognized as a Canadian Indian? That is due to my grandfather, a man I have never met, but whose presence can be seen on this earth in a multitude of ways, both in my home and in my home away from home.

Buried within my home away from home, a reservation in Nova Scotia, is my grandfather’s braid. A few years before he passed, my family was concerned that his braid would present a hazard around the machines with which my grandfather worked, so it was determined that the braid must be cut off. By traditio ...

To view the full story, you must be a subscriber. Click here for information on how to subscribe.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,