Until she came to ±«Óătv, Haylan Jackson never reflected much on the importance of her hometown of Inglis, Manitoba. Back home, all she wanted was a change. When her older sisters went west to university, she went east to experience something completely different.
âI came out here because I was fascinated with this otherness,â she says, referring to Nova Scotiaâs distinct cultural identity. But when she got here, the east awoke in her a deep curiosity about her western identity. Suddenly, she stood out.
âWhen I came out here, I was different. I was the other,â says the student from a prairie town of 150 whoâs graduating with a double major in Canadian Studies and History.
One day she found herself in a class looking at photos of the Inglis grain elevators projected on the wall. Her town boasts the largest standing row of grain elevators in Canada, she says; theyâre a national historic site.
âThere were my grain elevators up on the screen,â she says with a firm sense of ownership. The ones she grew up with â the ones she gave guided tours in â had followed her to the academic world.
âI was completely awestruck by that. From there, I realized that the West was cool, and Canada was cool, and we could be studied in an academic way. Thatâs how I got into Canadian Studies.â
Her professors encouraged her western perspective. In her last year, she finally wrote about her grain elevators. It was a passionate exploration of the effect their powerful symbolic presence has had on the western imagination. This summer, her research will be published in ±«Óătvâs first Canadian Studies journal.
Sheâs returning to big sky country with plans to teach Canadian history and literature in a high school. âI want to give students like me that same opportunity to say, âoh right, weâre importantâ,â she says, proudly.