About Me
My name is Fatima Jarid, and this portfolio represents a meaningful chapter in my academic and personal journey. I created it as part of a decolonial psychology course that challenged me to think beyond conventional frameworks and invited me to explore knowledge through relationship, reflexivity, and story.
Outside of school, I’m someone who finds a lot of peace and inspiration in art. I love sketching and creating things by hand and it’s one of the ways I process emotions and make sense of what I’m learning. I also adore my cat (who has kept me company through many late-night study sessions) and make it a priority to spend time with my family and friends as much as I can. Those connections keep me grounded.
What you’ll find in this portfolio is a collection of selected work, personal reflections, and insights that mark my growth over the term. Each piece included here holds significance, whether it pushed me to confront discomfort, helped me see from another perspective, or sparked something I want to carry forward.
This portfolio doesn’t mark the end of learning, it marks a beginning. I carry these teachings with me, not just in theory, but in how I hope to live, work, and continue showing up in the world.
PSYC 503 in a Nutshell
PSYC 503.02, taught by Dr. Melanie Grier, was a course rooted in relationship, reflection, and reimagining psychology through a decolonial lens. We explored complex themes like historical trauma, land-based learning, ethical space, radical relationality, and the politics of representation and this was often through story, dialogue, and community-based knowledge. This wasn’t a course where you just memorized concepts. It was one you felt your way through.
Dr. Grier created a space that was more than academic, it was relational, thoughtful, and deeply intentional. Through her guidance, and the teachings shared by our guest speakers and peers, I was able to reconnect with the heart of learning: not just to know more, but to grow in how I walk through the world.
Planting the Seeds: Class lectures
The lectures were more than academic content, they planted the seeds of a new way of thinking, relating, and learning. Each session offered a lesson that slowly took root in me, shifting how I see psychology, knowledge, and my own role in both.
The lecture on Decolonizing Academia was especially eye-opening. Learning about the 25 principles of decolonial practice (Louie et al., 2017) and the idea of “cosmetic Indigenization” (Bastien et al., 2012) helped me see how institutions often adopt surface-level change without disrupting colonial power structures. It made me reflect on how easily I’ve accepted those systems without question, and how decolonizing must involve changing the foundation.
These lectures were like sowing seeds, some ideas bloomed quickly, others are still growing. But the process has already changed me. I think more critically, act more intentionally, and listen more fully. I carry these teachings forward, knowing that the real work is in how I continue to nurture what I’ve learned.
Voices of Wisdom: Guest Speakers
Some of the most impactful moments came from the guest speakers who generously shared their knowledge, stories, and ways of seeing the world.
When Shelly and Dustin spoke about learning from the land, their words carried a rhythm and warmth that made the land feel alive. They didn’t just talk about land as a source of knowledge, they embodied it. The way they spoke made me realize how often education separates us from land, when in fact, land is the original teacher.
What made these guest visits so powerful was the way they re-centered the idea that knowledge is not owned, it’s shared, gifted, and relational. They didn’t speak at us. They spoke with us, inviting us into a circle of learning that felt generous and alive.
Their teachings were like sparks that lit something in me, a deeper curiosity, a stronger sense of responsibility, and a clearer vision of what decolonial psychology can look like in practice. I carry their words with me as part of my learning journey, grateful for the wisdom they offered and the relationships they modeled.
Gathering Around the Fire: Discussions
The discussions often felt less like classroom dialogue and more like gathering around a fire, a space where stories, questions, emotions, and experiences were shared with warmth, openness, and intention. Throughout these discussions, I often felt a sense of collective responsibility, like we were tending a shared fire. Not everyone spoke every time, but there was a feeling that we were all participating, simply by being present and attentive. When someone did speak, it was like adding a log to the fire, keeping the warmth going, inviting more reflection, and deepening the glow of understanding.
When we discussed perfectionism, it hit close to home. Many of us shared how we’ve internalized the need to constantly prove our worth, to get it “right,” or to sound smart. These patterns, we realized, aren’t just personal habits, they’re rooted in colonial values of productivity, control, and individualism.
These conversations didn’t offer easy answers. But they helped me sit with complexity, honor different ways of knowing, and trust that learning doesn’t always need to be linear. What I take with me from these fireside circles is not just knowledge, but a felt sense of connection, responsibility, and relational learning.
Harvesting Stories: Readings
Readings felt like walking through a garden and gathering teachings that were not only intellectual, but deeply relational and healing. These texts offered more than information, they were seeds of wisdom I had to sit with, listen to, and learn how to harvest responsibly.
In Brave Heart’s writing on historical trauma, I encountered the weight of intergenerational grief. Her concept of the historical trauma response (HTR) helped me understand trauma as not just a past event, but an ongoing presence in the lives of Indigenous Peoples. Harvesting this knowledge meant recognizing pain and it shifted how I think about mental health and reminded me that healing must be collective and culturally grounded.
These readings taught me how to move differently, as a learner, researcher, and human being. They asked me not just what I know, but how I come to know it, and what I do with that knowledge.
Learning Tasks!
01
Decolonial Psychology PSA
This PSA invites viewers to learn how Indigenous traditions, rooted in balance and community, can enrich approaches to psychological healing and well-being.
02
Land Appreciation
This reflection shares a personal connection to the land, highlighting how Lake Minnewanka became a meaningful place of inspiration and belonging.
03
Intergenerational Interview
An intergenerational interview exploring how Lake Minnewanka connects family, memory, and evolving relationships with the land.
04
Decolonial Psychology Zine
An overview of Two-Eyed Seeing, focusing on the importance of integrating Indigenous and Western perspectives across education, healthcare, environmental science, and beyond.
05
Learning from the Land
A reflection on learning from the land through the teachings of Indigenous Elders, exploring how small, mindful acts can deepen connection to land, memory, and community.
06
Honorable Harvest
Practicing the Honourable Harvest by fostering gratitude, reciprocity, and community, while honoring the land and strengthening connections through celebration.
Looking back, this course has shifted not only how I think, but how I move, through research, through relationships, and through the world. I’ve learned to listen more deeply, to question more critically, and to engage more ethically. The perspectives I’ve gained here are not ones I’ll leave behind after the semester, they’ve become part of my practice. This journey has been one of transformation, and I carry it forward with clarity, intention, and care.