So, not too long ago, Reddit user u/Typical_Ambassador91 asked, “Indigenous people who moved off of a reserve; why did you move and how did it affect your life (if at all)?” and people shared some really insightful answers. Here are some of the top-voted responses:
1.
“I’m 34 now. Left the reserve, where I was born and raised, at around 20. I was born and raised on a reserve between Sudbury and the Soo in Ontario. Lived all over Ontario since then. Nothing compares to coming home, though. I felt instantly disconnected from my reserve and culture and language the second I moved away.”
2.
“My mom is Indigenous. They moved away from the rez when she was about 10 years old due to my grandpa finding a ‘white man’s job’ that paid well enough to support his wife and 7 kids. She grew up in a small city, pursued post-secondary in a bigger city and went back home to the rez with her fancy credentials. Ended up doing spectacularly in her role and impressed some higher-ups in an organization they had partnered with, they offered her a position, she took it and blazed through her career.”
3.
“Typing for my father. He grew up on a rez until he was about 13 in the ’70s, and moved to the city with his mom afterwords he can’t recall why she left. On the rez, they had no telephones and no sanitation systems, so they had to use outhouses and boil water. Moving to the city improved those aspects. But he says growing up on the reserve had more freedoms, like being able to swim and fish whenever and wherever.”
4.
“My mom moved me at 6 months old. It was a positive thing for us given our situation. We worked hard and have done very well. Simple, straightforward story, TBH.”
5.
“Lived on rez til I was about 6. I loved living there; we had a gorgeous yard surrounded by woods and a river, and everyone was my relative in some way so I had built-in friends. We left because we got flooded out every spring (our house was outside of the dike) and we hoped we’d do better off rez by not being evacuated every year for sometimes weeks at a time. Lived in the next town over for a few years and then moved to the city.”
6.
“I am what is referred to as Indigenous but I call myself Inninew. I didn’t grow up on the rez but I did live on it a few years growing up. I was too brown for the kids in school off rez and I was also too ‘white’ for the kids on reserve. Quite often, I never felt I belonged anywhere. I’m over forty now and I still feel that way.”
Finally, if you’re Indigenous and want to share your experiences living on a reserve — or moving off of one — let us know in the comments below!
