Pathways to indigenous identity: one family’s story of colonization and reintegration

This research study is an examination of one family's journey of finding out about their Indigenous ancestry later in life and how, if at all, it has affected their sense of identity or feelings of interest in engaging with the Indigenous communities of Canada. In cooperation with her father, the principal researcher uses an Indigenous research method of storytelling and a methodology based on medicine wheel teachings to discuss their learning about their Indigenous heritage as adults with little to no connections to their original community. Through storytelling, the research study hopes to reveal the complications of forming an Indigenous identity later in life and after generations of colonization have erased familial traditions and knowledge.