Taanshi (Hello),
It is a privilege to live, love, learn, and work on the unceded traditional territories of the Pentlatch, E’iksan and K’omoks First Nations. I am honored and grateful to be a guest on such beautiful lands and waters.
My name is Paul Arthur and I am one of the new Indigenous Support Workers at Mark R. Isfeld Secondary. I take great pride in being born and growing up in the Comox Valley until I was adopted at 5 years old. Once I was adopted I lived on Malcolm Island (Sointula), a small north island community that is east of Northern Vancouver Island. I have spent all my life around West Coast Indigenous communities, Elders, teachings, and ways of being. However, I grew up
significantly disconnected from my Metis heritage and culture. It was not until the summer of 2020 as I was finishing post-secondary that I found out I am Red River Metis. My paternal grandfather (British and Irish) is Harold Clarence Pitt of Ferguson Montana and Tipton Kansas. My paternal grandmother (Irish and British) is Josephine Isabella Kinnee of Grandview Manitoba. She also has ancestral roots to the Plymouth Colony and the Mayflower. My maternal
grandfather (Red River Metis, French, British) is Joseph Charles Jr LaRiviere of Winnipeg Manitoba. He also has ancestral roots to the Plymouth Colony and the Mayflower. My maternal grandmother (German, Polish, and Jewish) is Anneliese Rauball of Agassiz BC and Wachenhousen Germany. My other Red River Metis families are: Lagimodiere, Nault, Marion, Laurence, Primeau, St Germain, Robillard, Blondin, Gray, Collin, Villibrun, Roy, Cadotte, LaFreniere, Beauchimen, Ducharme, and Delorme. My Metis communities include: Fort Smith
in the Northwest Territories, St Boniface, St Norbert, St Vital, Ritchot, St Francis Xavier, and St. Rose de luc.
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vancouver Island University with a major in Indigenous Studies and minor in Canadian History. Recently, I completed the Indigenous Family Support certificate through Camosun College. I am a writer and poet with much of my work about blood memory as navigated through the perspective as a non-visible Indigenous man. I went to a really rough secondary school that was not easy for me and since then I have navigated my way back to
revealing my identity and learning about the communities, families, kinships, and ways of being. I understand as an Indigenous Support Worker how to be there for students from these experiences. I hope to connect with each student in their own beautiful way and use creative expression such as writing as a connecting outlet.
I am honored, grateful, and proud to be doing this work. I look forward to meeting everyone and maintaining a safe, heard, and balanced environment with the students.
