Through a “synchronicity,” I went into that meeting with one contract, and came out with two. The group was looking for an author to do the written portion of this multimedia kit. They needed somebody Aboriginal, and somebody who knew literacy. The facilitator asked if I could step out of the room for just a few minutes. I did. When they called me back into the room, they offered me the contract. Things like this have been happening to me since I have consciously and consistently involved Creator in my work.

The best is yet to come. Not only did they offer me the contract, but they wanted me to approach the work in a specific way. This committee had been meeting for a few months, and had agreed that, for Aboriginal Peoples, there were many types of literacy – not just the written word. The committee asked that I use the rainbow as a symbol, that I research each colour of the rainbow, and assign a type of literacy for each colour. They had absolutely no way of knowing that my Anishnawbe Spirit Name translated into English is Rainbow Woman. Synchronicity! This was my sign that I was meant to be there, that I was meant to do this work.

Also in 1996, I was contracted to do some work with the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition (ONLC). The MTCU had just come out with a document entitled “Program Reform.” This document basically defined literacy, who was eligible to participate in literacy programs, and who was not, what activities constitute literacy, and what the measurable performance indicators would be. Aboriginal language literacy had a narrow and restrictive definition. In fact, the definition of literacy itself needed expanding. It considered only cognitive outcomes that would result in Learners going on to further education or training, to getting a (better) job, or to independence. In a resounding voice, practitioners told me that the most important outcomes for the Learners with whom they were working were actually non-cognitive. In fact, those qualitative outcomes were actually a necessary foundation for the cognitive outcomes. So, it was really refreshing to see that a national committee of Aboriginal literacy practitioners had said that, for us, there are actually many types of literacies.