Loss of culture as an Indigenous person

It was extremely difficult to communicate how important those traditions and culture were to your very existence. People didn't understand. That wasn't important to them. The important thing is do your job, be a good officer. Here are these officer-like qualities: lead your people, so on and so forth, all important. And it wasn't as if they discarded your identity, but it wasn't important, and it never came up in conversation. So there were those of us on the Indigenous side who had our own private conversations, but we didn't bring it up in social settings. It wasn't- we weren't invited to do so, nor did we feel it was appropriate to bring it up. - Military Veteran

You may or may not have expected a certain degree of separation from your Indigenous culture when you joined the service. You may have experienced losses such as:

• Connection to land, water and nature,
• Participating in traditional activities, like smudging, beading, canoeing, hunting, trapping, fishing,
• Being able to speak your traditional language,
• Familiar food,
• Learning from Elders and Knowledge Carriers,
• Your children not growing up around extended family and cultural practices.

When visiting home, you may have felt surprised at your sense of isolation from your community, who may not have understood what you were going through as a member of the CAF or RCMP.