After reading Chapter 20, “Reflections of a Japanese Canadian Teacher Experiencing Ethnicity” from Curriculum in a New Key, I was reminded of my family history as a settler in Canada. I related to the idea of viewing my life not in a “monovision” (Pinar & Irwin, 347) and not even in a double vision as the author writes, as I often feel the connections of my ancestors in four distinct branches. I think it is easy to overlook the past and what lives were lived in our family history. My sister and I have uncovered what felt like the hidden branches and roots of our family tree over the past ten years. My ancestors have lived all over Canada and the USA for varying amounts of time. My Dutch ancestors came to New Amsterdam in the early 1600s. My Scottish and English ancestors are scattered over Canada from the mid-1700s, and my Ukrainian ancestors came to the USA around the same time.

When reading about Ted Aoki’s observations of sugar beet workers being viewed as economic objects, I thought in a new way about how some of my ancestor’s actions would have impacted Japanese Canadian experiences in Southern Alberta. I know that my ancestors, the Suggitt family, founded the town of Coaldale in Southern Alberta and that the town was based around the production of sugar beets. I have family photos of the wealthy Harry Suggitt, and his children, including my great-grandmother, Muriel. I always thought about the impacts of this type of farming on the land, which was very destructive, but I had not before read about the people employed in this industry. I have read the entire book of the founding of Coaldale, and this does not stand out as part of the history that was recorded, although I plan to re-read this with a different lens next time.

I think of my Ukrainian ancestors who at the same time, were struggling as farmers in the Fraser Valley. One of my great-great-grandmothers is buried in a beautiful cemetery in Murrayville, Langley, but in an unmarked grave. A ten-minute drive away, you can find my British ancestors, the White family, buried in the Aberdeen cemetery with a stunning headstone. The family owned 160 acres in Abbotsford, and what was called White Hill and White Road, now renamed. I know that this land was purchased at a low cost back in the 1800’s and taken from those who used it since time immemorial. Although there is not much written history of this family, I know that some of their farm equipment was preserved in the Fort Langley Museum. I am curious now to go see this for the first time and to pay attention to what stories are told. Are there only stories about the white settlers?

I was confused about my ethnicity most of my life and it was not straightforward, and I could never understand “what” I was. Until my sister and I spent time uncovering our family tree, I knew little about the people who came before me. I still have a hard time envisioning what their lives were like and that they were like me in many ways. I also struggle with knowing how to reconcile wrongs that I know my ancestors committed, such as the example of the sugar beets, and what my role is now. Some key takeaways for me, are that I have a lot more to learn about the past, my ancestors, and how the stories of individuals and cultures weave together through time. As a teacher, I think it is important for me to share my ancestry, especially when teaching BC First Peoples 12 and English First Peoples 12. Although I do not make the course content for either course, there is a settler’s statement at the start of each that I could spend more time personalizing. I was also made more curious to look through a different lens at my family’s past, such as when re-reading the Coaldale History book and when hopefully finally visiting the farm museum in Langley.

Pinar, W. F., & Irwin, R. L. (2004). Reflections of a Japanese Canadian Teacher Experiencing Ethnicity (1979). In Curriculum in a New Key. Routledge.

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