What Makes YOU Ukrainian?

By Vera Zabeida and 
Adam Kuplowsky

 “What makes YOU Ukrainian?” this is the question that initiated our five-day journey into Kalyna Country,  Alberta, the land of the first Canadian-Ukrainian immigrants.

The Kalyna Country Educational Excursion program, held this year from May 13-18, is a newly created project sponsored by the Ukrainian National Federation and the Ukrainian National Youth Federation of Canada. The program’s primary objective is to show young Ukrainian-Canadians the origin of their roots in Canada by immersing them into the world of the first Ukrainian settlers - particularly, the difficulties that they faced and the contributions that they made in forging a new life outside their homeland. During this excursion, all participants were graciously accommodated at St. John’s Institute in Edmonton.

During our five-day stay, youth from all over Canada was able to visit and discover the past of our ancestors. With the illuminating assistance of Jars Balan, contributor to the Kalyna Country ‘eco-museum,’ we had the opportunity to observe and learn about the land on which the first Ukrainian settlers built their villages and homes. This visit allowed us to pay tribute and honour the memory of the first pioneers of Canadian-Ukrainian immigration by visiting their graves, churches, farms, and villages.

We also received the opportunity to experience immigrant life first-hand in the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, situated 25 km east of Edmonton. Through various workshops, we learned about the conditions in which the first Canadian-Ukrainians lived: their daily routines and the importance that they placed upon community, schools, and churches. We even learned how to make traditional Ukrainian bread, “korovay”, how it felt to be a student in a 20^th century classroom, how the first Ukrainian immigration meetings were conducted, etc…

Although a part of the journey was dedicated to the remembrance of our Ukrainian-Canadian roots, this excursion did not only focus on the past, but also on the present and future of Canadian-Ukrainians. We were introduced to members of the Edmonton UNF and UNYF Branches, who cheerfully welcomed us with a hearty dinner and introduction to some traditional Ukrainian dance steps, “horovody”. We also had the pleasure of meeting the Honourable Gene Zwozdesky, Alberta Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Deputy Government House Leader in the Alberta Legislative Assembly, as well as Dr. Roman Petryshyn, Director of the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre at Grant MacEwan College, and discuss with the future of Ukrainian-Canadians. These discussions fostered a sense of pride and responsibility towards our community.

Our visit to the Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore at the University of Alberta, and to Austin O’Brien High School, known for its Ukrainian language program which offers students the possibility to study Ukrainian as a second language within the public school system, also deepened our understanding of the Ukrainian community in Alberta.

However, even with this very tightly planned schedule, which included the commemoration of Holodomor victims in front of Edmonton’s City Hall and Sunday Mass Liturgy at the Great Martyr St. George the Victorious Ukrainian Catholic Church, we also found time to appreciate each other’s company, create new friendships, and learn from one another. Ghost stories, Ukrainian singing, and dancing by a campfire in Elk Island National Park, Anthony’s unforgettable “Viy” (Ukrainian witch “vid’ma”), and a few hours shopping at the West Edmonton Mall, the largest of its kind in North America, were also part of our Kalyna Country adventures.

Now, returning to the ‘initial question’ which was raised at the outset of our journey: what does it mean to be Ukrainian? Being Ukrainian means various things to various people. For some, it may simply be the fact that their parents are Ukrainian. For others, it may be the fact that they have preserved their culture despite being surrounded, daily, by different ways of doing things and thinking—whether by ‘preservation of culture’ involving eating and cooking Ukrainian food, going to various Ukrainian social clubs, or being blessed with incredible party skills (which all true Ukrainians possess).

Personally, as the journey progressed, I came to the realisation that I consider myself Ukrainian because a Ukrainian community exists, because we have a past, and because this past has enriched me as a person, making me a more whole and better-rounded individual.

 Written by Vera Zabeida from Montreal and revised by Adam Kuplowsky from Toronto. Both were 2009 participants in the UNF Kalyna Country Excursion, Alberta.