Naomi Sarazin
Topic: Empowering Youth through Land-Based Learning
Background:
Naomi is Anishinabekwe from Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation. She is rooted in her homeland and has a deep love for aki and nibi (the land and water) that surround her. She has worked in the field of Indigenous education for more than 10 years and is enrolled in the Master of Professional Education program at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on (re)claiming and (re)vitalizing traditional models of Anishinabe education, where the land and waters are our classrooms. Her passion for engaging and empowering youth to become the next generation of leaders, and stewards of the land and water, has led her to her current position at Ottawa Riverkeeper. At Ottawa Riverkeeper, she is the Senior Manager of Youth and Education Programs, coordinating the Youth Water Leaders Program and conducting a feasibility study to determine what it will take to launch a River School in Ottawa.
Heartwork:
In 2018, Naomi came across an online ad that was selling her grandfather Daniel Sarazin’s birchbark canoe. It was handcrafted in 1970, and two generations later it presented itself to Naomi. Since then she has embraced what she calls her tcîmân (canoe) journey. She repatriated the wìgwàs tcîmân (birchbark canoe) and is coordinating a coming home ceremony with her family and community. It’s a journey that is deeply rooted in love and learning. Love for her family, community, and the land where she is from. Learning, forever learning, Anishinabe gikendaasowin (knowledge) and izhitwaawin (culture, traditions, and practices). As she journeys around Anishinabeg territory she asks herself: what can I do to ensure my (unborn) children and grandchild have access to Anishinabe gikendaasowin and izhitwaawin? How can I center that learning – on the land, from the land, and with the land? Her heartwork is deeply connected to answering these questions in pursuit of developing and creating land-based learning opportunities for young people. It’s for continuance, and the generations to come.
Indigenous Women:
Anishinabekwe share a sacred connection to the spirit of water through their role as life givers and carry out the responsibilities to protect and nurture water for current and future generations. Since Naomi was an ikwezins (young girl), she learned about her role as Anishinabekwe – to be a caretaker of the water. Through both her work and research, she finds creative ways to engage, empower, and support youth in embracing the responsibility of being good stewards of the land and waters. She humbly embraces her Anishinabe teachings of spirit, family, and community as sources of strength and inspiration as she continues her tcîmân journey of creating land-based learning opportunities.
