Growing up Madeline Burns always knew she was Métis but there were minimal celebrations regarding her heritage throughout her life and she never knew how much she would cherish that background the way she does now.
Being so young she never really had an interest in her past. It was until she reached an age where she knew what was happening around her; people would stay silent about their legacy and the thought of this made her upset as she mentions it ‘pissed her off’. “Why aren't we celebrating who we are, I don't want to be ashamed of this,” says Madeline. After learning and developing a sense of her heritage she began to feel like an imposter, being Métis and therefore mixed ancestry, she worried that she would be seen as taking too much space in the community.
Madeline never really pictured herself with the success she has now, having a double major in Gender Studies and Political Science as well as finishing a Women and Leadership course. In elementary she had an excellent indigenous youth support worker who allowed her to feel proud to be Métis. When she moved into higher grades within school, she was not even sure she would graduate high school based on how little the teachers had believed in her; putting her down and basing her intelligence on how poorly she focused on grade ten mathematics. “I didn’t think I would go to university at all,” she says. She is currently completing a Women's Business and Leadership course before she begins to complete a life goal of getting her master's.
She thought back to her younger self and knew that the girl in high school or elementary would never believe what she had accomplished because of all the low expectations set by faculty in an educational environment. “I don't think I would have thought that I would be proud of being Métis or a part of the community this deeply,” she mentioned. However, her mom and grandmother were always her biggest supporters and knew if she put her mind to it, she could accomplish more than she was given which gave Madeline hope. If she had the opportunity to go back and talk to her mother 10 years ago, she knows that her mother would be the most supportive and understanding person.
Madeline has had many goals in the past few years and is still aiming to reach some of the major ones. Throughout her growth, she has been able to join friendship centers and work for them regarding helping Indigenous youth with age ranges from twelve to twenty-six. She is still on call for drop-in support for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ group. She has been able to keep up with her school programs as well as participate in three Indigenous councils through the Friendship Movement one council that is province-wide and two that are national. One of which has focused on a pressing topic throughout the years. The MMIWG2S focuses on the murdered and missing Indigenous girls, women, and two-spirited peoples. “I think my goals are all kind of too big, but community wellness is probably one of my biggest ones together with the dismantling of homophobia and transphobia” she expressed with a grin on her face.
The most memorable encounter that will forever stick with Madeline would be how welcoming members were when she joined the first people's house. She remembers some individuals introducing themselves to her and offering her food and that is when she realized that she was in a safe community. Madeline had no trouble getting comfortable and feeling like she was part of the team and took it upon herself to do the same to others. She now works hard to offer food to people who are newcomers within the center. “Breaking those cycles and making sure that, I don't know, we're all in good relationships with each other and it has been super memorable for me,” she notes. The comfortable feeling of walking into an environment and being offered food with no hesitation allowed her to fully realize that she was within a community that felt just like home.
Madeline continues to work hard to create change and support all Métis persons as well as giving them support and care as she was once given. She is hopeful to allow others to realize that having a family that comes in all different shapes and forms makes them no less important than any other. She knows with time that she will be impacting and changing people's lives forever. “You're not going to be as good at something if you're not invested in it,” she ended with.
