In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission made public its final report on the history and legacy of Canada’s residential school system. There were 94 Calls to Action. Call to Action #80 called upon the Federal Government to establish a statutory holiday, A National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In consultation with Canada’s indigenous people, September 30 was declared to be that day.
This Thursday will be the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Wildsight Golden is taking the day to honour our First Peoples and the truth of this horrendous history. We are encouraging all to reflect and deepen their understanding of the lasting legacies of residential schools on survivors, their families and the families of missing children.
Indigenous communities have a close relationship with the environment and their historical knowledge must be at the centre of the climate action discussion.
“Many of the richest biodiverse regions are protected largely in part because of the resistance by Indigenous communities to those regions,” says Eriel Deranger, executive director of Indigenous Climate Action.
Indigenous people have a historical, spiritual and social relationship with the land and their science is key to understanding our connections to the land. Without including Indigenous science and leadership to combat our current climate crisis, we are lost.
“Indigenous peoples are repositories of learning and knowledge about how to cope successfully with local-level climate change and respond effectively to major environmental changes such as natural disasters,” says Myrna Cunningham Kain, chair of the Pawanka Fund.
Honouring Canada’s First Peoples, listening to their stories and working on reconciling the major trauma that colonization has had on their culture and knowledge is critical for reconciliation. Reconciliation is defined as: “the restoration of friendly relations” (Oxford dictionary) and reconciliation must happen so that we can work together to save our planet.
Read more here