NEWS PHOTO LAUREN THOMSON
David Restoule, an Anishinaabe Ojibwe who took the role of Indigenous Student Support specialist at Medicine Hat College in 2019, will be featured as a regular columnist in the Medicine Hat News.
lthomson@medicinehatnews.com
Editor’ note: The Medicine Hat News is proud to welcome columnists David Restoule and JoLynn Parenteau to the team. Medicine Hat’s identity intertwines with Indigenous culture on a number of fronts, from the iconic Saamis Tepee to the masthead of this newspaper, but Indigenous voices have been underserved in our community for too long. We cannot wait to learn from David and JoLynn, who both bring a diverse range of knowledge and experience to their new roles. Below you’ll find some insight into what David brings to both his column and to our community. Check back Saturday to learn all about JoLynn.
David Restoule, of the Anishinaabe tribe from the Ojibwe nation in central Ontario, looks forward to bringing more connection and inclusion to the Indigenous community in his role as a columnist for the Medicine Hat News.
Restoule grew up in the small town of Astaire, just south of Sudbury. He grew up Catholic, attending a French Catholic school, and moved out of the house shortly after turning 17.
When he was 19, his parents moved back to their reservation, the Dokis reservation, just south of Sudbury, a move which ultimately led Restoule to the reserve for the first time. He recalls that after feeling lost in addiction for nearly 15 years, he wanted to get sober when he was 33.
“I started to be called to ceremony, I was having dreams of it, not only when I was sleeping, I saw it in my mind when I was awake, in my imagination,” said Restoule. “When I described it to a friend, he said I was seeing the Sundance ceremony. I saw myself participating in it.”
He became clean and prepared for the ceremony, an event which involved four days straight of dancing with no food or water, repeated each year for four years in a row.
“I went to my first Sundance and it was amazing. I was just enthralled you know, and I revelled in it because that was exactly what I was meant to be doing,” Restoule described.
“To be a Sundancer, you’re supposed to put others ahead of yourself. You offer help to anyone and everyone, when you see someone in need. It’s instilling in yourself those warrior qualities and practising them in your everyday life.”
Restoule came to Medicine Hat in 2016 to help his daughter with her new baby. After being here for a few days, he knew he needed to stay and be close to his grandsons.
He began working as the Indigenous Student Support specialist at Medicine Hat College in May 2019, where he loves connecting with and supporting students.
“I make sure Indigenous students who come here see that they have a place, that’s there’s other people like themselves that are at the college and willing to help,” Restoule explained. “Having that warm sense of community helps them feel at home.”
Restoule also seeks to connect students with their Indigenous roots and says hearing from them that they feel a deeper connection to their culture is one of the most rewarding parts of his job.
“For a lot of them it’s the first time that they’re finding that connection, so it’s so rewarding for me, because I tell them about myself and how it took me 33 years to actually be interested. Once you learn a little bit, you want to learn everything,” Restoule said. “A lot of us find, what I came to find out for myself is that’s what I was missing … that connection to community and to my culture.”
Restoule hopes to bring not only his own, but many other Indigenous voices to his column and wants to reach people who have not yet begun learning about the past.
“I hope to bring some more understanding for the general public, to bring more inclusion. Diversity is being invited to the party and inclusion is being asked to dance, and we’re finally being asked to dance a little bit.”
