'A one-of-a-kind experience': Growing up Black and Indigenous in Saskatchewan

The story originally published on Feb. 28, 2023.

When Tanya Ironchild from Piapot First Nation was a little girl, her mother knew Tanya would have a tough childhood. 

"I wasn't dark enough for my Black side, and I was too dark for my native side," Ironchild recalled.

"She let me know that my grandmother wasn't OK with biracial children, so that was something that I didn't understand when she told me. As I got older, I understood what she meant by that."

Ironchild, 37, identifies as Indigenous and Jamaican. She describes her mother as a strong Métis woman, born and raised in Regina. Ironchild never had much of a relationship with her biological father, who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica.

Ironchild's dual cultures affect the way she raises her children and the way she sees herself. 

When Ironchild was still very young, her mother met Michael Ironchild of Piapot First Nation, about 50 kilometres northwest of Regina, and they quickly fell in love. Michael soon adopted Tanya and her two sisters.

"He came and he met my mom's beautiful three black children. Back then it was rare for a native man to take us immediately as his own."

But Michael, she says, was a special man.

"He made sure that when we went back to the reserve that we weren't treated any different," Ironchild said. "And there was — I'm going to be completely honest — a little bit of an issue when we were young."

But Michael would often tell Ironchild and her sisters that they were no different than others at Piapot, despite the colour of their skin. 

"He really, really protected us. And when we went home it wasn't always welcoming, but eventually that changed."

While Piapot is her First Nation, Ironchild was raised in Regina's North Central neighbourhood. Despite some pushback from new relatives, shes says in general her Indigenous community was welcoming to her. 

"I go anywhere and you can just tell from the way that I carry myself, my energy … I'm Aboriginal."