With First Nations blood in his veins, Wayne Fiddler wants to help develop his tribal ancestral reserve in Frog Lake after he completes his study and gains some experience. The First Nations are the predominant Aboriginal peoples of Canada south of the Arctic. Wayne was a Canadian born exchange student from the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus in Edmonton.
He first came to Zhuhai as part of a study group to visit UIC and explore other areas of Guangdong during the months of May and June in 2015. It was during this short trip that he fell in love with China and was excited to return. He came back to UIC in February 2016 for an exchange programme. The original time-frame for the exchange was from February until June, and then he discovered that one of his courses didn’t transfer so he needed the three additional credits; therefore he decided to come back for another semester. “It is a new adventure and I was tired of doing the same old thing,” said Wayne.
Adventures in China
Before coming to China, his impression was that the country wasn’t as developed as it is. He feels in some respects it is more advanced than the West as you can use your mobile phone to transfer payments to vendors out on the street, not even the top stores in Canada accept or have this form of payment.
As he is a native English speaker and UIC uses English as the medium he is able to understand everything and talk to all his fellow students. Also the introduction to Chinese culture that UIC offers allows him to better understand the country. “I joined a calligraphy class and also I enjoyed taking part in the Chinese traditional archery called Shedao,” Wayne mentioned.
During his first trip to UIC, he took classes in Calligraphy, Politics, Environmental Studies, and basic Mandarin language.
Wayne was attracted to UIC as it is a new environment, and he liked the diverse range of teachers plus class sizes are similar to what he is used to back in Canada.
Speaking of the differences between university life in Canada and that in China, Wayne said, “The biggest difference is the dormitory rules, because in Canada we are not restricted by a curfew.” Plus the dormitories in China are divided up by gender and the students hand-dry their clothes after washing, while in Canada the dormitories are mixed and the students use a tumble dryer to dry clothes. If Chinese students are going overseas Wayne would like to warn them that their clothes may shrink when using this type of dryer.
What he discovered when he came to China is that many Chinese don’t know about First Nations people, including the most educated people. First Nations Aboriginals are like Chinese in that they believe the best way to develop a business is to create a relationship (guanxi). The way they treat the elderly members of the family is very similar. Chinese eat every part of the animal just like the First Nations aboriginals.
In Canada, Wayne had never travelled by train but in China he has experienced train travel. He mentions how the trains in China have triple bunk beds and is frequently used by locals to get around China. Also the Chinese take instant noodles with them on their travels and therefore he notice a lot of hot water on tap being offered, which you would not see in Canada.
Wayne’s favourite activity in UIC is Shedao (Chinese archery), which he says has helped to calm him down and taught him to be patient as he used to be frustrated when he first started.
Wayne mentions that he feels UIC gives him the best introduction to Chinese culture as he is an active member in several clubs as well as taking part in trips around China.
First Nations ancestry and the reserve
Wayne is of First Nations descent. His father is a First Nations Aboriginal, and his mother is of European ancestry.
Frog Lake reserve has a reserve population of approximately 1,500 residing on-reserve as of 2013. Wayne lived on the reserve from grade 1 to grade 4 in school and he was one of the only “white kids” on the reserve.
Wayne with a traditionally-dressed First Nations performer.
The benefits of having First Nations blood are that you receive special grants from the government as well as being tax exempt if you work on the reserve. Theoretically, if a First Nations person owned just 1% of a business, located on the reservation, then the business as a whole should not be taxed. The reserve does not offer many jobs and Wayne would like to change this. “I would like to help change the reserve by starting off by building and opening stores that provide the ‘basic needs’ such as a supermarket, a hair salon, and other small businesses so that the money that comes into the reserve and stays in the reserve, while also providing jobs.”
Then he would like to try and attract foreign investment, especially from Chinese. He believes that Chinese could take advantage of the reserve by building a factory on the land and allowing First Nations to have shared ownership to enable the free taxation ruling.
Wayne obtained a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and Economics. As of February 2017 he started to work at UIC as an intern to assist the teachers in the English Learning Centre.
(Written by Samuel Burgess. UIC magazine New Dimensions presents the college‘s latest achievements in the areas of teaching, learning, research, and its engagement with society. To view Issue 2 in full, please click here.)
