PATHLIGHT Author Becomes Canadian Citizen & Joins the Team at NOSP Marathon
Originally from the U.S., Annie earned her Canadian Citizenship in 2013. Annie & her Husband live in Pic River First Nation. She works as full-time as an Adult Mental Health and Addictions Therapist at the Marathon office of North of Superior Counseling Programs. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a cinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She is a doctoral candidate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training. Do you have questions re: mental health, living a good life, relationships, etc. ?Annie would love to hear them and may even include your questions in a future column (published by-monthly exclusively on OntarioNewsNorth.com)
Send your comments or questions to Annie via email to Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
PATHLIGHT: MILESTONES & TURNING POINTS
Annie Wenger-Nabigon proudly holds her Canadian Citizenship certificate. Submitted Photo
Everyone’s life begins with an important “turning point” – the moment when we entered this life through birth and cried our first cry, letting the world know we were here – and what an awesome “here” it is. The journey that follows is full of milestones and turning points with tears and smiles along the way, yet we always have hope that the next milestone marks a turn to a better place – a place we want to go.
Last week I passed several major milestones in my life. First, I accepted a full-time position as a counselor at the North of Superior Counseling Programs in Marathon, moving back into the full-time work-a-day world after many years of being primarily in academia and doing other things. Second (and this is the BIG one) – I became a Canadian citizen! What an adventure it has been as I waited a long time and went through many stages of the process to get to the point where an immigration judge handed me my citizenship certificate, shook my hand, and welcomed me to the ranks of Canadian citizens. It was a long awaited and very happy day!
I did not get to that milestone alone. There were other significant turning points that I had to negotiate to be successful in obtaining my status as a citizen, the first one being when I met the Canadian Anishnaabe man I would marry, and began a relationship with his family and community. Then there were the relationships I developed at the University where I came to study and the many friendships I developed from that point on. I have found along the way that each turning point was marked by important relationships. I was given many opportunities to pick up responsibilities to carry forward, and to give back to the communities welcoming me to a new country.
It would be an understatement to say that I am glad to be a Canadian citizen. I am thrilled to be a Canadian citizen, especially because I have been welcomed and embraced by my “family-by-marriage” and their nation, the Anishnaabe Nation. This is the territory which I have come to love, and I am committed to making a positive contribution to the communities of Aboriginal peoples, and the larger Canadian society which provides the structures surrounding all our lives.
Before the immigration judge handed out certificates to 27 new citizens, he gave us a speech. It was personal, friendly, inspiring and motivating. I loved listening to what he had to say. Part of what he had to say about multiculturalism will stay with me the rest of my life, and I’ll share it here (although it might not be verbatim):
“I don’t know what it is about human beings that we find it so easy to hate. We have to work a lot harder to love, and it is that hard work of love which I am asking you to do.”
As we live out our lives in the years left to us, let us all resolve to do that hard work of love. My husband, Herb, says that our job here on earth is to first love the Creator, learn to love ourselves, and then love others and Mother Earth. I believe that to be true. I also know that all the world’s greatest teachers and spiritual leaders have always taught about love. If we do the hard work of love, other distractions will be easier to sidestep, and voices of violence will fade.
It is a real milestone to realize that at this stage of life I have successfully traversed the trajectories spinning off from many important turning points in my life. I’ve passed a lot of milestones! I’m very glad that I turned north one day and came to Canada, and that I can vote as a new citizen in the next election. I want to say a “chi-miigwetch” – a great big thank you – to all my friends and relatives for help along the way.
Three cheers for Canada! Let’s give her our finest and best, and keep working to love.
Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW
Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
ANNIE RECOMMENDS:
- The Hollow Tree by Herb Nabigon
- EldersTeachings.blogspot.com
- Pathlight: Journey to a Good Life archives
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*Health themed columns found on OntarioNewsNorth.com provide general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such.
If you have any specific questions about any mental health or other medical matter, please consult your family physician, primary health care team or other professional healthcare provider. Opinions and information contained in any column on OntarioNewsNorth.com are not intended to replace medical advice from your doctor or other professional health care provider. If you feel you are suffering from a mental or physical health issue, you should seek medical attention immediately. The information shared in this column or anywhere on OntarioNewsNorth.com does not constitute medical advice nor should any person delay seeking, disregard or discontinue medical treatment because of information contained in PATHLIGHT: Journey to a Good Life or on OntarioNewsNorth.com.
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