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Beatrice

@beatriceaucoin.bsky.social

500 followers 240 following 290 posts

Queer 🏳️‍🌈. She/her. Writer. Mom to one 🧒 & two 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛. Genealogy nerd. E-Brompton cyclist. Dyscalculic. Vegan w/ EoE. OBOD Druid /|\. Stage 3a breast cancer thriver. Married to @brettbergie.bsky.social. Cape Bretoner in Calgary Elbow Métis District 6/Treaty 7.

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 4d

Bow Falls as seen from above.

Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 4d

More Banff goodness: Bow Falls trek, scenery in Banff, a painting in our hotel, and visits from local birds. (More details in alt text description.)

Seven-photo collage:

Top left: snow-covered rocks along the bank of the Bow River with snowy mountain, trees, and flowing water in the background.

Top middle: mountain, Bow River, part of a tree, part of Bow Falls as seen from a cliff above the falls.

Top right: Brett and Sam near the bank of the Bow River with our bikes. I took this photo of them from the cliff top.

Middle: Brett and Sam ascend the road from Bow Falls on their bikes.

Lower left: shallow waters and bank of Bow River with a few people scattered about, forest, and mountain.

Lower middle: Bow Falls from above.

Lower right: sun-saturated Bow Falls seen from where Sam and Brett were in top right photo.

Top: mountain and Bow River from Banff Pedestrian Bridge.

Middle left: cloudy and snowy mountain with trees, a snowy lawn and fence, and a snow-covered building as seen from Banff Avenue.

Centre: snow-covered buildings on Banff Avenue, a Canadian flag in the breeze, and snowy and cloudy mountains.

Middle right: snowy mountains and cloud cover.

Bottom: part of Bow River, snowy banks, trees, Banff Avenue Bridge, and clouds at sunset.

Top: Peter Whyte painting Sam and I both liked at The Moose Hotel that depicts fur trade era scene of Indigenous peoples around seven tipis in a clearing near mountains. People wear traditional clothing, and one person is meant to be a Métis fur trader with wearing a capote, a coat made of an HBC points blanket.

Bottom left: a raven who came to say hi outside our hotel room.

Bottom right: two house sparrows on ceiling infrastructure who got inside Wild Flour Bakery to get patrons’ crumbs.

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 4d

Some wonderful times in Banff: seeing our friend & Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno, going to Whyte Museum’s exhibit, enjoying rooftop pool & amenities, railfanning, and a non-traditional buffalo hunt I went on with my Métis family members. (More details in alt text descriptions.)

Five-photo collage:

Centre: me, Brett, Sam, and Corrie at Corrie’s Meet the Mayor Event on Bear Street. It’s a bright, sunny day, and snowy mountain peaks and buildings are visible in the background.

Upper left: fire pit in centre of outdoor community space on Bear Street.

Upper right: Sam stands directly beneath Corrie’s office.

Lower left: street lamp signage with an Indigenous artist’s painting that also reads as follows:

“The Whyte
“The Ancestors
“Are Talking
“Paintings by the Indigenous Seven
“May - October 2025”

No photos can be taken inside the museum, so I got a photo of this street lamp poster. It’s seriously a great exhibit with a wonderful guided tour. I encourage anyone who can to go. The three of us loved it.

Lower right: our bikes parked at bike racks at Banff’s Town Hall.

Four-photo collage:

Large photo: selfie of me in white robe, sunglasses, and hair tied back on the fourth floor of the outdoor patio of The Moose Hotel. You can see part of the snow-covered hotel roof, Banff Avenue, and a mountain in background.

Top photo: mountain view from patio.

Middle photo: fire pit on patio.

Bottom photo: Banff Avenue, buildings, and another view of mountains as seen from patio.

Sam is crouched with his phone on a siding to take a video of the CPKC cargo train rolling through Banff’s old train station. Sam is wearing his bike helmet, a blue coat, grey pants, and white sneakers. A Kansas City engine with red, yellow, and black stripes as well as the number 4841 is on the farthest track and starting to pass Sam.

We always make a point to stop at the train station on our Banff visits, and Sam was fortunate to get a video of the train soon after we arrived.

Brett and Sam pose with their bikes and a stone statue called Sleeping Buffalo in Banff’s Central Park. The ground is covered in snow. Trees and a mountain are in the background. This was an adventure geocache stop. The Métis people used to engage in highly organized community buffalo hunts, and I call this our non-traditional buffalo hunt because we were looking for this statue of a buffalo and Sam & Brett are Métis.

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Brett Bergie (she/her) @brettbergie.bsky.social · 4d

When we were in Banff, Sam and I took an hour to go bowling one evening. Sam was hungry for a win. We bowled three games, and on the last, he left everything on the lanes. Even though I had an exceptional game (for me), he topped me by bowling a 219 for the win! He’s our house champion now.🏆

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 6d

Sam has been taller than I am since he was 9, lol. Banff is super awesome. I miss Tom and Sterling a lot; the only downside to going on trips is not being able to take them with us.

Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 6d

Being in Banff with Sam and @brettbergie.bsky.social is amazing and restorative.

Selfie of Brett, me, and Sam with Bow Falls visible over Sam’s left shoulder.

Selfie of Brett, Sam, and me on a bridge over the Bow River. Mountains and trees are also visible in the background.

Brett and Sam in the distance near Bow Falls.

Brett and Sam ascend a paved road on bike. On either side of the road is snowy and rocky terrain along with trees.

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Brett Bergie (she/her) @brettbergie.bsky.social · 6d

It’s been a stressful, strenuous year. Things at home are good and strong, but other compartments of life take their toll.

I’m grateful for a bit of time off work this week and the unexpected opportunity to escape with (or perhaps into) Beatrice and Sam.

Our usual signifiers of time away:

Three bike helmets are hung on the wall. Three bikes are folded in a row along the wall. A bike trailer is also in view, waiting to be unpacked.

Three bikes are parked and self-standing while we hop into a destination. Some snow is apparent in a nearby planter.

The late-evening sun hits the mountain top and hovering cloud. Snow covers the landscape and the bridge deck. A river flows freely beneath.

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 7d

Today is both Thanksgiving and Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. I’m grateful I get to be with my family on this chilly day in Banff. I know too many people who have passed from #mbc who should also be here spending today with their families. #stage4needsmore

My family’s bikes parked outside Patagonia on Banff Avenue.

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 10d

@brettbergie.bsky.social’s shoebox with her new shoes has passed the Sterling test. #yyccats

Sterling, a grey Russian Blue cat, stands on a wooden floor, sniffing the top of a sealed cardboard box with red “VANS” tape and shipping labels that have been digitally blurred to redact personal info. The background shows a white cabinet.

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 10d

It was suspicious to begin with that the govt had this “tool kit” ready to go immediately. The curricula it contains sound like bizarre random bits of AI slop. This, along with book bans & $30 daily parent payments, is what the UCP does instead of support students, teachers, & public education.

Lisa Johnson @reportrix.bsky.social · 10d

Maren Aukerman, an education professor at the University of Calgary, says the Alberta government's nearly 200-page "tool kit" hops from one topic to another without context and barely aligns with the provincial curriculum.

"It is incoherent." www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/...

'A big mess': Expert, parents criticize Alberta tool kit for students during strike

EDMONTON - An education expert is criticizing online lessons the Alberta government has curated for students during a provincewide teachers strike as "incoherent."

www.thecanadianpressnews.ca

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Calgary Brompton League @bromptonleague.bsky.social · 13d

Join us on a 40-km pathway loop from downtown to the reservoir after dark.

Lights mandatory.

Meet this Friday at the south side of the George C. King (Skipping Stone) Bridge in East Village at 6:20 p.m.

Wheels roll at 6:30 p.m.

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Reposted by Beatrice

Brett Bergie (she/her) @brettbergie.bsky.social · 16d

On my grocery trip by bike, I was inspired to take a moment.

A bald eagle stands tall on some rocks in a shallow Bow River.

After being bothered by some magpies, the bald eagle is photographed taking flight on a low path over the river.

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Reposted by Beatrice

Calgary Brompton League @bromptonleague.bsky.social · 16d

Join us on a 40-km pathway loop from downtown to the reservoir after dark.

Lights mandatory.

Meet on Friday, October 10, at the south side of the George C. King (Skipping Stone) Bridge in East Village at 6:20 p.m.

Wheels roll at 6:30 p.m.

A line of bikes and riders roll along the Glenmore Pathway. It is dark, but head lights show the way, and red taillights are prominent in the photo.

Bikes are settled in place with lights on. People are scattered about socializing during a break. Dark tree silhouettes fill out the background.

A dark pathway is lit only by a bicycle head lamp. Trees with pale park are lit from ground to below their canopy.

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 18d

Our home learning plan, based on Sam’s interests, for any weekdays teachers are on strike: 1) French lessons; 2) doing some deeper dives into Métis culture & history; 3) bike riding. We are deliberately not doing any AB curricular outcomes bc we are in solidarity w teachers. #kidscantwaitab /4

Poster that reads:

#KidsCantWaitAB

THIS ISN'T JUST
ABOUT TEACHERS.
IT'S ABOUT EVERY
STUDENT IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS.

The Alberta Teachers' Association

StopTheExcuses.ca

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 18d

As a family, we’ve discussed why the teachers’ strike is happening, what we think of the govt’s poor responses, & that we support teachers’ demands & public education. Imagine if the govt took the funds they put into parental strike resources & put them into our schools. #kidscantwaitab /3

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 18d

@brettbergie.bsky.social & I have often remarked to e/o how much Sam’s teachers do to help their students in class & with creating community. For Sam on the latter, we’ve seen everything from teachers opening classrooms at lunch for a club to initiatives for Indigenous students. #kidscantwaitab /2

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 18d

When @brettbergie.bsky.social and I went to a parent-teacher conference at Sam’s school last year, I was struck by a remark his science teacher made. Sam’s class had 25 students instead of the usual 40, and the teacher liked getting to know her students in Sam’s class so well. #kidscantwaitab /1

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 19d

Know what’s normal for your own breast tissue, and if something is off, go get it checked out. That’s how mine was found. That’s a big part of why I’m alive today and with my wife, @brettbergie.bsky.social, and our son, Sam. /end

Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 19d

The most important thing I can tell you, though: breast cancer isn’t just something that can happen to older cis, hetero women; people of different ages, genders, and sexual orientations can develop breast cancer. /2

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 19d

Today marks the beginning of #breastcancerawareness month, and like many people who have or have had #breastcancer, I have a complicated relationship with #pinktober. I’m going to be posting about this throughout the month. /1

Selfie taken by Brett of our family: Brett has shoulder-length, straight, Métis bronde hair. I’m rocking a buzz cut after my first chemo. Sam has curly, shoulder-length, damp, Métis bronde hair. Brett and I are 36 here while Sam is 5.

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Reposted by Beatrice

🪬🇺🇦🌻 mon petit choufleur 💙🇺🇸🪬 @asassytart.bsky.social · 20d

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Reposted by Beatrice

killerwhaletank 🍁 @shaner38.bsky.social · 20d

Stick tap to @janisirwin.bsky.social who posted these responses to the parental teacher strike stipend on her Facebook page.

The government has the money, they just want to break the teacher's union.

#ABPoli

turn.kim

After a little rough math, Imake approximately
$12/student per day. This government that has
nomoney can somehow afford $30/student per
dayto subsidize childcare?

mduse_

Here's an idea-the UCP could take that $30 per child,
per day and invest itinto public education. The strike
would be resolved. But this government would rather
doANYTHING rather than adequately fundpublic
education.

kwolff_09

Isupport
AB
teschorgi

There are 35+ kids in my child's Biology 20 class. They
are sitting 3 kids at each table meant for 2. When
writing tests they use dividers between students to
reduce copying off of each other but there aren't
enough dividers. It's a small issue but if Danni can
afford $30/kid/day she could probably fork over a few
dollars for teachers & classroom supplies.

I support Alberta teachers!

rhonnielb

Hey Danielle Smith, Nate Horner and Demetrios
Nicolaides, ifyou paid teachers $30a day per
student we wouldn'tbe on the doorstep ofa
teachers strike!

Soyou are telling Albertans you DO have the
money, youjust refuse to invest itin public
education. #visciousnegotiating

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 20d

Sam, @brettbergie.bsky.social, & I attended Orange Shirt Day at The Confluence for National Truth & Reconciliation Day. We went to Hunt House, the oldest structure in #yyc that is also a Métis cabin, & learned that Adelaide Belcourt Glenn, who was a Métis matriarch, is Sam & Brett’s distant cousin.

A collage showing three people inside a Métis cabin, displays of Métis sashes and other cultural items, and historical photos.

Top left: Brett, Sam, and me smiling indoors, wearing orange “Every Child Matters” shirts. I’m also wearing a purple coat.

Top right: a table with folded red and multicoloured Métis sashes.

Middle left: a table with three laminated, black-and-white portraits of Métis women, bordered by a sash. The top photo is Adelaide (Belcourt) Glenn (1852–1941), labeled “Grandmother of Midnapore.” The middle photo is Isabella (Hardisty) Lougheed (1864-1936) Lady Lougheed. The bottom photo is Jane (Howse) Livingston (1848-1905).

Middle right: a close-up of the black-and-white photo of Adelaide (Belcourt) Glenn (1852–1941), labeled “Grandmother of Midnapore.” Brett and Adelaide are 2nd cousins 4x removed while Sam and Adelaide are 2nd cousins 5x removed.

Bottom left: a red Métis flag, a Hudson’s Bay blanket, a map showing the Otipemisiwak Métis Government districts, a flyer for The Confluence, and portraits of three important men in Métis history: Gabriel Dumont, Louis Riel, and Cuthbert Grant.

Bottom right: a display table with a metal pitcher, beaded moccasins, and photos of plants and flowers.

Photo Brett took of me and Sam under a canopy outside. Beside us is Hunt House under restoration. If you look between the tree branches in the centre background, you can see the Calgary Tower.

Selfie Brett took of Brett, me, and Sam behind Hunt House. You can see Brett and Sam’s Every Child Matters shirts.

$Two photo collage of images projected onto a large screen: top is of Métis fiddler and bottom is of Métis youth jig dancers. You can see just a small fraction of the large crowd gathered for Orange Shirt Day.$

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Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 22d

My headcanon is that Sir Lowham is the older of the twins, so he inherited the title from their dad. Sir Topham received a knighthood for establishing the Sodor Railway. Sir Lowham is immature & likely a bachelor with no kids. So the inherited title will go to Sir Topham or next male heir.

Beatrice @beatriceaucoin.bsky.social · 22d

I’ve definitely put a lot of thought into & had lengthy discussions with my son on how in the Thomas & Friends universe, both Sir Topham Hatt & his twin brother, Sir Lowham, are titled.

The title from their late dad would be held in abeyance if they appeared to each have an equal claim.

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