Mikahelia Wellington
RD, MPH, CDE
she/her
Hi, my name is Mikahelia, a.k.a. Mika. I am the founder of Making Kitchen Legacies Inc., a company I created to make memories through food and nourish people through community nutrition
My hope is that Making Kitchen Legacies. Inc will be the space where people go to create new memories while learning and practicing affirming and nourishing health promotion and health management through community nutrition.
The Kitchen Legacy
Memories are everything. If you’re not making them, you’re not having them.
I was inspired to start Making Kitchen Legacies Inc. when I realized the importance of shifting my perception of how my family were living with my Dad’s worsening Alzheimer’s disease. It’s been scary, depressing and tragic. I still grieve who my father was and the life he and we do not get to live.
PERSONAL SETTLER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Yes, I am a registered dietitian, but like you I am also continuously learning. Instead of aiming for perfection, which is not possible, or operating under the title of an expert, which is not necessary, I would like to share the little I am learning with you so that we can grow and heal together. This is my approach to taking responsibility for working towards allyship in a sustainable way.
I work, live and play from the Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog First Nation, which is the territory that is covered by the Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1788, and the Traditional Territory of the Seven First Nations of the Chippewa of Lake Simcoe (Beausoleil, Georgina Island and Rama) and the Mississauga of the north shore of Lake Ontario (Alderville, Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Scugog Island), lands under the dishonoured Williams Treaty of 1923; a treaty that currently represents Canada’s habits of making broken promises, stealing land and punishing Indigenous People and communities for practicing their rights to ownership as the stewards of their lands and their culture.
As a person who exists because of the strengths of generations of people who have strived through the oppressions of the Trans- Atlantic Slave trade, I recognize and appreciate the Indigenous Peoples of this land who have and continue to strive through the oppression of colonialism and the current oppressions that Canada imposes on them. Because of their endurance, teachings and compassion, I have a home that offers privileges and hope.
As settlers, we get to learn and acknowledge the oppression, share the truth, and reconcile the exploitative relationship we create and foster toward the Indigenous Peoples and their land.
I attempt to do my part by learning from and practicing the wisdom of my African and Caribbean ancestors along with the wisdom shared with all settlers through the oral traditions of the Two Row, The One Bowl and Silver Covenant Chain wampum belts; ancient, wise and living agreements generously offered to us from the Mohawk Nations hundreds of years ago.
Here are three significant wampum belts that describe the relationship that the Indigenous People and settlers of these lands get to honour:
- The Two Row Wampum Belt represents the Kaswentha. Kaswentha is a Haudenosaunee term that explains the ongoing relationship between the Indigenous Peoples of the Northern Americas, the European colonizers and their descendants. The lines in the belt symbolize separate-but-equal relationships between two entities grounded on mutual benefit and respect for each party’s inherent freedom of movement. Neither gets to control the vessel of the other as it travels along its own self-determined path.
- The One Bowl Wampum Belt informs us how to care for the Earth and maintain healthy relationships with other nations with whom we share the land.
- The Friendship Belts aka the Silver Covenant Chain Wampum Belt illustrates an unbreakable treaty that, like silver, will tarnish over time, requiring both parties involved to “polish” it, or have its terms revisited. If either party needs assistance, they may shake the chain to have their needs addressed.
My attempts in honouring these agreements through the work of Making Kitchen Legacies Inc. may not be perfect, but I am invested in trying.
* I will share my findings about the wisdom of my African and Caribbean Ancestors when I have enough information 😉
I ask that you research and reflect on your history and the history of the lands on which you reside to discover your role and responsibilities in creating a better future for us all.
To help you along your path, here are a few resources to guide you:
- A short production by filmmaker Tasha Hubbard for CBC Docs briefly illustrating the Canadian government’s history of broken promises and treaties: https://youtu.be/IUHnKUaDYjs?si=Bx7-MeDlXUoeLTTP
- An article by Sarah Isabel Wallace on the Canadian Encyclopedia detailing the history of the Williams Treaty of 1923: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/williams-treaties
- This article by Traditional Hands Native American Jewelry and Art explains what wampum are along with a brief history of their use in creating wampum belts: https://www.traditionalhands.com/what-is-wampum
- A video story by journalist Candace Maracle on CBC First Nations, offering a brief history about wampum belts as the first treaties of North America: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6419691 and https://youtu.be/5jWcmTsKOp4?si=5cE2kJChVppOliIR
Contact
Memories are everything. If you’re not making them, you’re not having them.
Let’s make some today. Send me a message to see how you can get started making your own kitchen legacies.
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