Introduction: My Story Begins

Abstract

I am a Berber, or more precisely an Imazighen (free man), living in Canada. We are the indigenous people of North Africa. I am a Kabyle (the Arabic word for tribal people) from the villages in the Djurdjura Mountains, in northeastern Algeria. I have lived a nomadic life since I left France for Canada in 1998, living in different places in Canada: Quebec, Newfoundland, Alberta, North West Territories, and British Columbia. I have returned to Algeria every year since I was a child, and more recently to France, to see members of my family, who do not got to Algeria anymore. All these years I only stopped working once, for a period of six months, during which I traveled in Asia to reflect on my life. From that period came the inspiration for my master’s degree project and finally the PhD inquiry that I undertook in New Zealand. These nomadic periods of my life are all contributing factors in the development of this narrative of my Kabyle identity. They are a part of my journey back home to the village of my Ancestor. I illustrate the interconnectedness of all these scenarios, through nonlinear cameos, like miniature paintings, that all contribute to some part of my deepening understanding of Self and Spirit that this journey has allowed. I believe this nontraditional style of writing is essential and unavoidable, in order to present the narrative with integrity and in a way that is respectful of indigenous methodologies (Smith, 1999).