Tomorrow is Canada Day.
If you’ve received the Inclusion Insight for a while, you’ll know how I feel about it.
Canada: 150 years of…?
Why I won’t be saying Happy Canada Day today.
What does Canada Day mean to you in light of the recent discoveries of mass and unmarked graves at the sites of former Canadian Residential Schools?
These horrors are not new. But because of a pervasive dominant (white) narrative which has hidden the awful truth of colonization, and continues to ignore, marginalize and make invisible the Indigenous People on this land, it is a new reckoning for some.
We are being called (again) to recognize and acknowledge the truth of Canadian history and it’s continued legacy in the present – and to act on it.
First, we must become aware. Here are a few places to start.
Learn
- If you haven’t done so already, please watch last week’s press release from the Cowessess First Nation (Saskatchewan) on their discovery of 751 unmarked graves.
- Learn about Indigenous history on Turtle Island – pre and post colonization.
- You can find resources for podcasts such as Unreserved and books here.
- Read the Truth and Reconciliation Report (2015!!)
Participate in Change
And then we have to act. We have to participate in change.
- Learn about what Reconciliation means and consider ways you can be part of it.
- Support Indigenous Activism – with your time, energy, and financial
Food for Thought:
How do we truly celebrate the land we are on?
What does this really require of each of us, as non-Indigenous People on this land?
How will you contribute?
Pay attention
PS – While we are on the subject, let’s also consider how Canadian companies are negatively impacting Indigenous Peoples outside of Canada. One example is happening right now in St. Lucia as Cabot Links builds a golf course on an ancestral burial ground. You can read about this (and how you can support) here.
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