Hello CASC Members,
In honour of the upcoming National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, we are sharing some resources that we hope you will find helpful when commemorating the day and addressing the necessary calls to action for you, your staff and our network more broadly.
To learn more about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, you can start here:
- About Orange Shirt Day and the resources they’ve created.
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Why the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation isn’t just another stat holiday (CBC)
- Indigenous Watchdog – What progress has been made since the TRC Calls to Action were released in June 2015?
Here are some resources to learn more about Canada’s history of colonial genocide of Indigenous Peoples that you may want to explore individually or with your teams:
- Video recording – Interview with Elder and Residential School Survivor Clifford Quaw (~29 min) This video was recorded and shared at the CASC 2021 Conference soon after the initial announcement of 215 unmarked graves found in Kamloops.
- Indigenous Canada free online course by University of Alberta
There are many ways to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Here are just SOME suggestions:
- Connect with your local Friendship Centre. Friendship Centres offer a wide number of services and programs to Indigenous People living in urban areas, as well as resources to members of the public.
- Support Indigenous artists. Art is a very important and powerful tool that gives many Indigenous People a means of self-expression. In addition to supporting creators in your local communities, check out the National Film Board of Canada, the Indigenous Arts Collective, and the Indigenous Art Centre.
- Consider attending this webinar being hosted by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, coming up on September 26.
We encourage all CASC members to continue to put effort toward the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. Some resources that offer support in these efforts include: this TRC Action guide, this TRC reading guide for non-Indigenous organizations, and CBC’s Beyond 94 project.
Reconciliation does not have a fixed target – it is a lifelong journey that each individual takes. While on this journey, it’s important that each person continues to center Indigenous voices in all their reconciliation actions. Amid ongoing confirmations of graves on residential school sites and calls for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, it’s necessary to seek out Indigenous perspectives in all ongoing situations. Indigenous news sources like APTN News, Eagle Feather News, Indiginews, Nation Talk, and Windspeaker are great places to find these perspectives.
We hope these resources will lend themselves to thoughtful, compassionate and constructive conversations. If you have resources that you would like us to know about and share, please send them or post them in GlueUp.
Lastly, CASC members who identify as First Nations, Inuits and Metis are invited to join the The Indigenous Practitioners CoP , facilitated by Dr. Melanie Goodchild. Melanie is an Anishinaabe systems and complexity thinker and Systems Changer in Residence with CASC. Together with Dr. Goodchild, participants explore the experience of Indigenous professionals working in the informal science engagement space. If you’re interested in joining, please email info@casc-accs.com, and please pass this along to any of your colleagues who identify as First Nations, Inuit and Metis, and might like to attend.
Thank you,
Your CASC team