It is one day. Sept 30th. But in Canada, Truth and Reconciliation needs to be in our minds and actions every day.
But what can I do? Listen. Believe.
I will listen to the experiences of our First Nations, Métis, Michif and Inuit brothers and sisters--their past and current day experiences. I will continue to learn about what I do not know.
Don't know where to start?
Recommended adult reading: Jesse Wente's Unreconciled, Michelle Good's Five Little Indians, Thomas King's The Inconvenient Indian, And They Told Us Their Stories by Shirley Bear and Jack Funk, Poetry by Abigail Echo-Hawk.
Recommended children's literature: When We Were Alone and On the Trapline by David Robertson, Phyllis's Orange Shirt, The Orange Shirt Story, and With Our Orange Hearts by Phyllis Webstad, When We are Kind, and My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith, Stolen Words by Melanie Florence, We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp, The Giving Tree: A retelling of a traditional Métis story by Leah Dorion. (There are so many more. These are books I know.) Stand up for what is right and speak up when you see injustice and inequity. You can wear an orange shirt if you have one. You can also support Indigenous business owners and artists: Awasis Boutique, Silverwolf Trading Post, Wanuskewin, Bannock Express...
