On National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrate being Anishinaabe, Mushkegowuk, Haudenosaunee, Métis, Mi’gmaq… or whatever nation that you belong to.  Live it everyday with outward humility and inward pride.
 
Remind our partners, allies and fellow Canadians that everyone needs to understand Truth – Debwewin – before we can truly move on to Reconciliation.
 
Truth means:
  • Appreciating and believing the history, personal stories and perspectives of Residential School survivors, Elders and Traditional Knowledge keepers.
  • Appreciating Indigenous perspectives and worldview and incorporating this in all parts of our society.
  • Learning the history and modern reality of Indigenous peoples as nations.
  • Understanding concepts such as assimilation, colonization and genocide.
  • Appreciating the need to ‘rights-the-wrongs’ from the Residential School experience, the 60s Scoop and intergenerational trauma.
  • Being an advocate for action to improve social conditions and Indigenous health and wellness.
  • Knowing the fundamental importance of restoring culture, language and identity.
  • Protecting and restoring Treaty-protected and Indigenous Rights including the inherent right to self-determination.
Truth is all these things.
 
Without Truth, Reconciliation will forever be misunderstood as a time-limited and politically-motivated effort in social equity, diversity or a special interest rather than what it should be: holding up Indigenous nations as a founding nation of Canada.
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day, everyone.
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