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Hello, Boozhoo (Oji-Cree) Tánishi (Michif)
I am the daughter of a Métis father and a first-generation Canadian English mother. I am 43 years old in the second half of my life. I have two young sons, both of whom I parent solely on my own. I currently live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and was raised in Red Lake, a small northwestern Ontario town. Red Lake was formerly the site of a Hudson's Bay Co fur-trading post in the late 1800s. Its modern way of life originates from gold mining, a significant Indigenous population and a hub to surrounding remote fly-in First Nations.
 
I am currently engaged in research projects and writing publications connected to my teaching/mentoring experience. My heart work is the creation of Rising Indigenous Voices in Early Learning (RIVEL), a group of over 100 Indigenous ECEs living in First Nation communities in Ontario. 
Come to know 
Professional Picture: Lori Huston, 2019
Image Source: Huston, 2019
Coming to know reflects the idea that understanding is a "journey, a process, a quest for knowledge and understanding with all our relations" (Cajete, 2000, p. 66). I am very much connected to Cajete's words, and I relate to my metaphor as a ritual that supports my coming to know holistically - Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit. When taking up an “all my relations” perspective, I recognize that relationships with family and community, with broader society, and the living and non-living elements of the physical environment are essential and necessary sources of my identity and young children’s identity building and learning. I have lived most of my life in Northern Ontario, and my approaches to ECE are grounded in Indigenous pedagogies connected to place. I have been entangled in the histories of those living in traditional lands and the mainstream all of my life. I often felt unclear where I came from as if I had no culture as I am experiencing a sudden shift in identity; my experiences will influence the formation of my Métis self.  
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As the Cheyenne proverb tells us, “Our first teacher is our own heart.”
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The new beginnings “Beneath the Crescent Moon” represent continuous ideas, insights, and resources that we share as students and educators. I see all of my experiences and work in phases that have beautiful new beginnings. I have always seen my projects connecting to another as this e-portfolio is connected to my completion of the M.Ed and the beginning of a Ph. D. journey.
 
 
Metaphor
Wave
Boozhoo and Tánishi both translate to "Hello" in two Indigenous dialogues. I have included Oji-Cree because this is the Indigenous language that I have been exposed to alongside Elder Brenda Mason and many Indigenous ECEs.  Michif is the Metis language, which I am interested in learning and further connecting with. 
Reference: 
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Cajete, G. (2000). Native science: Natural laws of interdependence. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers.
 2021 by Lori Huston, created with Wix.com 
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