Embracing Cultural Connections Across the Globe – CBU to Aotearoa

Creating Cultural Connections: Journey to Aotearoa

In the spring of 2024, two Mi’kmaw students from Cape Breton University (CBU), Leim Joe and Brady Lee Doucette, set out on a journey that would change their perspectives and broaden their horizons.

A Journey Across the World

As participants in the CBU Study Abroad program, they travelled to Wellington, New Zealand—known as Aotearoa in the Indigenous Māori language—alongside a group of fellow students and staff from CBU’s Centre for Sound Communities and Unama’ki College. This experience offered the two students profound reflections on the similarities and also the distinct elements of Indigenous cultures across the globe.

“It’s the type of trip that stays with you for the rest of your life,” says recent graduate, Leim. The opportunity to immerse himself in Māori culture, learn from their customs and witness how they navigate their identity in the modern world gave Leim a new perspective on his own Mi’kmaw culture and his educational journey. “Seeing how the Māori live was eye-opening to me,” Leim shares. “It gave me a new perspective on how to conduct myself and how I plan to approach my learning and education in the future.”

Similarities and Differences in Indigenous Cultures

Leim was fascinated by the similarities and differences between Māori and Mi’kmaw cultures. “I saw many similarities in their teachings, stories, traditions and customs,” he notes. “Their creation story is similar to the Kluskap creation story.”

He also observed parallels in their colonial histories. “There were a lot of colonial dictations on what the Māori could do and what they weren’t allowed to do, almost like the Indian Act with us,” he says. “I thought that was pretty interesting. We shared stories of how they battled with that and how we, the Mi’kmaw, battled with our own similar challenges.”

These parallels in their cultural and historical narratives provided a sense of connection and familiarity, showing that Indigenous peoples across the world share common threads in their histories and traditions. However, the trip also highlighted significant differences between the two cultures, particularly in their musical practices. “They don’t use drums or rattles like Mi’kmaw; they use wind instruments,” Leim observed. As a musician and student of musicology, Leim was fascinated by this difference and was inspired to blend the two musical traditions in his final project. By combining Mi’kmaw chanting with Māori instruments, Leim created a piece symbolizing the meeting and merging of their cultures, reflecting the deep connections he felt during the trip. “To try to put that into my piece and blend the two, I think, was symbolic of our meeting together,” he shares.

Learning from Maori Education Practices

Brady Lee Doucette, a Master of Education student, also approached the trip with a clear purpose: to learn from the Māori people in Aotearoa and how they conduct education. He notes that they are “More ahead in terms of getting government approval and making a way of life for themselves, more customary to what their lives were like before colonization.” Brady’s goal was to bring those lessons back to his community, where classrooms still deal with the echoes of colonization. “I think the terms professor and student are really colonized. So as someone studying education, I aim to be a cultivator of learning spaces who highlights customary practices within traditional or Indigenous communities,” Brady says. 

A Deep Connection to Lineage and Tradition

Brady was also impressed by the deep connection Māori people have with not only their language and culture but also their ancestry and tribal identity. “When they introduce themselves, they introduce themselves from their tribe… They know at least seven generations back of their lineage,” he marvels. This deep-rooted sense of identity resonated with Brady as he reflected on his family’s history and the importance of education as a path forward from the legacy of residential schools.

Rethinking Tradition and Education

Beyond cultural exchange, the trip also challenged Leim and Brady to rethink their understanding of tradition and education. A Māori perspective on the word “tradition” particularly struck Leim. “I heard an argument against the use of the word traditional because it implies that there is a genuine way that Indigenous people are supposed to practice their customs,” says Leim. “There’s no blending modernism into the culture.” This idea resonated with him as he considered the importance of adapting and evolving Mi’kmaw culture in a way relevant to modern times, similar to the Mi’kmaw concept of Etu’aptmumk or Two-eyed Seeing.

Brady’s experience in a Māori studies lecture at the Victoria University of Wellington deepened his understanding of how education can be more inclusive and engaging. “It was interesting because a lot of classrooms here in Unama’ki, when we have these conversations about colonization, reconciliation or Indigenous issues… non-Indigenous folk tend to clam up and be quiet,” Brady explains. In contrast, he says the Māori studies class was full of vibrant discussions, with everyone eager to contribute. This experience inspired Brady to create more open, conversation-based learning environments where all voices are encouraged, heard and respected in his future educational work.

He also observed in Aotearoa that cultural education permeates every aspect of life, not just academic spaces. “It was the first night; I remember I turned on the TV, and a host was speaking in Māori on television, which is a wow moment on its own, but then the camera turned to a child, no more than six years old, who completely answered in Māori.” He hopes through education about Indigenous cultures here, we can begin to integrate and normalize it as an integral part of our society. 

Returning with a Renewed Purpose

As their journey in Aotearoa ended, Leim and Brady returned to Mi’kma’ki with a renewed sense of purpose, a new appreciation for a culture on the other side of the earth and a new kind of understanding of how to engage with their own culture. For Leim, the trip reinforced the importance of Etuaptmumk, or Two-Eyed Seeing, as a way to adapt and thrive in a modern world while preserving Mi’kmaw culture. “Two-eyed seeing was the only way we were able to survive; we have to be able to give some and also be able to take some,” Leim reflects. “As people, we’ve stood our ground and have been able to adapt to modern times using colonizer technologies. I think it’s important that we continue to grow, adapt and live as Mi’kmaq in a way that makes sense in the modern world.”

On the other hand, Brady found inspiration to create learning environments that embrace open dialogue and shared knowledge, breaking away from the traditional hierarchies of teacher and student. “I think that we’re already on a good path towards a more sort of conversation-based learning or learning with and from one another,” Brady says, expressing his hope for the future of education in Unama’ki.

Their experiences in Aotearoa broadened their horizons and deepened their commitment to their cultural and educational journeys. As they continue their studies, Leim and Brady carry the lessons learned from their Māori counterparts, ready to apply these insights to their work in Mi’kma’ki and beyond.