Reconciliation through Education from KAIROS and the Shelburne Public Library

April 9, 2016 · 0 Comments

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) informed Canadians about the injustices of the residential school system and inspired a movement to repair the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of Canada.

Justice Murray Sinclair, who led the commission starting in 2009, calls education the cornerstone for change.

“Education is what got us here,” he says, “and education is what will get us out.”

The ecumenical, social justice and peace organization Dufferin KAIROS supports the TRC and Call to Action #62 mandating “education as key to reconciliation.”

It calls for the “residential school legacy, treaties and past and present Indigenous contributions to this country to be a mandatory part of school curriculum in each province and territory.”

Members of Dufferin KAIROS hope to support that education, not only occurring within Canada’s school systems, but in the adult community.

They ask Shelburne and area residents to add their “voice to the call for Reconciliation through Education.”

As part of the national “Winds of Change” campaign, focusing on Call to Action #62, Dufferin KAIROS will hold a free evening event April 19 at Shelburne Public Library to facilitate discussion and share the film “Whose Land is it Anyway.”

Directed by Michel Philibert, the film looks at the role land disputes and political denial have played in the “relationship between aboriginal people and the rest of Canada,” and examines who should direct and benefit from resources.

The guest facilitator for the evening will be Colinda Clyne, the Curriculum Lead in Equity/First Nations, Metis, Inuit Education for the Upper Grand District School Board. Ms. Clyne, who holds several degrees, and is of Anishinaabe (Algonquin) descent, says “In an ideal world, I would work myself out of a job, as equity and indigenous issues would be embedded in every classroom and department of the system and there would not be a need for a champion.”

Currently, she says she will be “focusing on building relationships in the community, and building capacity of staff in the system.”

Recently, Ms. Clyne led students in a mural project “inspired by indigenous teachings and ways of knowing” at Centre Dufferin District High School (CDDHS).

One of the stunning pieces of artwork from the project will be on display at the Wellington County Museum in Elora, as part of a student art show, from opening night April 28 to June 19.

She invites area residents to the opening reception at 7 p.m. when there will be entertainment, vendors and snacks until 9 p.m.

Ms. Clyne says she hopes the April 19 KAIROS event “will give people a better understanding of some of the issues for indigenous peoples, and to get people thinking about their individual roles in reconciliation.”

“Being a part of the conversation and thinking about personal actions is imperative in the process of reconciliation,” she says. “Most of us, as adults, did not get the full history, or even accurate history when we were growing up, and so it is time for everyone to know the history, and work together moving forward.

“It is not about people feeling embarrassed that they didn’t know, or guilty or ashamed for what has happened, but rather focusing on the future, and so what now? It is important for Canadians to recognize that we are all treaty people; the treaties were contracts based on mutual respect between peoples, and apply to non-indigenous peoples as much as indigenous peoples.”

With the new Federal Liberal government promising a focus on reconciliation, Ms. Clyne says she is hopeful.

“I am always hopeful, or I wouldn’t be able to do this work!” she says. “I am disappointed with the budget allocation for indigenous peoples, but I do think that the new government is more willing to include indigenous voices than any other previous one, and hopefully those people will make a difference. My sense is that Canadians as a whole are much more aware of indigenous issues than ever before, and so I hope that everyone will hold the government accountable.”

Join Ms. Clyne and Dufferin KAIROS at 7 p.m. on April 19 at the Public Library at the corner of First and Owen Sound Street in Shelburne for this free event.

By Marni Walsh