b'THINKING: REMATRIATIONEverything in our Western knowledge systems is void of depth and context So, what were asking is, How do we reawaken that context and bring it back?Terrellyn Fearn, Turtle Island InstituteFearn shares her path with a growingword means, youll find it has a living spiritRESTORING THE FEMININE number of Indigenous women whoembodying the essence of mothering,Language rematriation is the first step in are seeking to return the sacred to theinstructing us through her lens whicha larger goal of reframing the lens through Mother in every facet of modern life.centres relationality and caregiving. Its awhich work on this earth is valued and Learning her language began when Fearncomplex word that speaks to our spiritualmeasured, a practice otherwise referred to as was completing her graduate studies inand emotional connectedness during thisglobal evaluation. What Fearn is trying to do education, living away from her traditionaltime at night, inviting us to attune ourselvesis revitalize the field of evaluation. Everything home territory of Mikmaki. She becameto the inner feminine essence within all ofin our Western knowledge systems is void of increasingly attuned to how much of theus, and its a guiding light for humanity,depth and context, she explains. Like the feminine context of the old MikmaqFearn explains. What happened over timeexample of the moon, the instructions that language had been removed or alteredis I started to really look at my language andguide our actions of how to be is erased. So, over the years. ask, What else dont I know? And thatswhat were asking is, How do we reawaken As a young one, there was one word,what started me on this journey.that context and bring it back?Skitekmujeouti, which my father under-stood to mean the work of the devil. But when I started to talk with the oldAr e You Intlanguage speakers, they said it actuallyAre Y ou intererestested in Ped in Policinolicingg??means the Milky Waythe Ancestors road. In our Creation story, its the path our ancestors walk as they move onto the next world, Fearn recalls. When I first heard that, it really made me stop in my tracks and wonder: Wow, how did that interpretation get so twisted to something dark from something so sacred and profound?Another example, Fearn recalls, is the word Tepknuset, a term that once described Grandmother Moon as one who nurtures and guides our conscious or sleeping states. If you look up the meaning in todays current Mi kmaq language app, Lnuisuti https://kinu.ca/app/lnuisuti/, her context has been reduced to moon and hollowed of its initial feminine essence. When you actually break down what that Ontario Native Womens Association21'