In time for National Indigenous History Month, Vanessa Snider, Senior HR Assistant at Calian, shared her story of her adopted son Noah. Noah is of Inuit background, and was adopted by Vanessa and her husband on September 29, 2018, when he was just 7 weeks old. We had the opportunity to chat with Vanessa to learn more about her experiences.

What are you hoping to instill within your son about his heritage—new traditions you have started? Incorporating any new holidays? Celebrating Nunavut Day with traditional music?

We have, from the start, wanted our son to know the proud heritage he has. We celebrate Nunavut Day every July 9^th, with music, traditional food (as best we can), and some of the language.

We also watch a local show from Iqaluit called Anaana’s Tent. This is a children’s show; however, it is perfect for those of us in Noah’s family who want to learn about their culture, the Inuit language (Inuktitut), and to see the breathtaking scenery of the surrounding area of Iqaluit.

What are some of the steps you are taking to expose Noah to his roots?

Noah has been in constant contact with his biological family, who are located both in Ottawa and Iqaluit (NU). We think it’s so important to keep this connection as it will be important as he grows up to be able to ask his family questions about where he is from and who his family are. Eventually, we hope to get the opportunity to fly to his hometown of Igloolik, which is a small island west of Baffin Island.

What does Noah’s maternal grandmother impart to him?

Noah was very fortunate to have his maternal grandmother, biological mother, brother and aunt to his first birthday party. While there, we copied down his grandmother’s recipe for Bannock, however, we still haven’t been able to replicate it perfectly.

His grandmother has also been a wealth of knowledge of the language, Inuktitut, and we are continuously reaching out to her for translations of certain words. He knows a lot of the basic words, for example Anaana (mother), Ataata (father), gamma (grandmother) and some other basic terminology.

She also provides us and Noah with family history, and the beautiful story of her maternal grandfather, who was also named Noah.

Has Noah’s grandmother started imparting the language to him? She had started to impart the knowledge of the origins of the name.

As mentioned above, we are so very fortunate to have constant communication with Noah’s biological grandmother with questions about the translation of everyday words from English to Inuktitut.

Another very interesting fact is that Noah has the same name as his biological maternal great-great grandfather, Noah Nasook. When Noah was born, his biological grandmother reached out to let us know. She asked us what name we had chosen for the new arrival. We told her that Noah would be his first name, as it’s a name that both my husband and I love. She paused, sniffled a bit and I knew she was crying. She said, “This is so special. My grandfather was also named Noah, and he was a very special, influential, and caring Inuk man.” I knew from that moment that we would have a special and wonderful relationship with Noah’s biological family.

A book we received as a gift, called How Nivi Got Her Names, is an easy-to-understand introduction to traditional Inuit naming. In the book, the stories of the people Nivi is named after lead her to an understanding of traditional Inuit naming practices and knowledge, including what those practices mean to Inuit.

What are some of your favourite memories?

A key memory that we want to always tell Noah when he is older is when we had his first birthday party in Petawawa and his biological family was able to come from Ottawa to celebrate with him together. Seeing his biological brother playing with his adopted brother, Eli, has been something that I look back on with wonder. They had no idea that this cemented the relationship and our acceptance into Noah’s biological family, which is something we treasure every day.

What are some of the challenges of raising him in his culture?

Something that we are very aware and cognizant is how he is seen to the people around him. Like most parents, it has been a goal of ours to make sure that Noah never feels left out or picked on. The difference for us is that not only is Noah adopted, but he is visibly different from all members of his family and friends.

Living in a smaller province, we do not have as many opportunities to involve Noah in Inuit events and/or celebrations. We do, however, have a vibrant Indigenous community on PEI, where we live, and I have been able to make some lovely connections with the Mi’kmaq community not far from where we live. They have celebrations, powwows, and events throughout the year that we are very excited to involve Noah in. He is a special little boy, and we want him to ALWAYS know where he came from.

Can you tell us about Noah meeting the Governor General?

Noah has had a few exciting events that have happened in his short life, but nothing would compare to him meeting Her Excellency, Governor General Mary Simon this past fall.

Mid-summer last year, I had a family friend reach out to me regarding the impending visit of the Governor General to PEI in the fall. This family friend works for our PEI’s Executive Council Office. Her team was asked if they knew of an Island child who was either of Inuk or Indigenous decent, as they would be asked to present flowers to Her Excellency, Governor General Mary Simon. Our family friend immediately thought of Noah and reached out to us, and the rest is history.

Her Excellency is a proud Inuk, from Nunavik, QC, so having Noah present to her was something that was meant to be for this family. Her entourage asked me about Noah’s biological family and I told them his bio grandmother’s name and his bio great-grandfather’s name. After the ceremony, the same person asked me the first and last names of Noah’s family and she told me that Her Excellency knew Noah’s great-grandfather very well! This brought so many emotions as it feels that it is full circle that little Noah Snider from a small community in Prince Edward Island would meet and present flowers to our representative to the King.

Do you think you will someday travel to Nunavut with him?

This is something that is on our bucket list to do with Noah and our other son, Eli. It is important that they both know where Noah’s family is from as it is an important part of our everyday life. Plus, it would be amazing to see some more of Canada’s beautiful land.