My aesthetic representation that I chose to create was a drawing that I believe represents where Canada is right now with the Truth and Reconciliation process. On the left side of my aesthetic representation there are multiple simple items drawn in colour that I believe represent the Indigenous culture. These pieces are drawn in colour as a representation of how beautiful the Indigenous culture truly was before the colonization process began. There are multiple things drawn in this section to try represent the diverse and beautiful culture that the Indigenous people have. The next section of the drawing is processes that represent the mistreatment of Indigenous people; furthermore, I would like to state that this section only involves the basic and most known mistreatment of Indigenous people. There is a residential school, the colonization effect, and pass system drawn in this section, but it has been coloured black and white. This section is to represent the dark history of Canada, and to show that the beauty of the Indigenous culture was stripped away through these processes which meant that the vibrance and colour of their culture was removed from them because it was different from what the British and French expected a society to look like. The last section of drawings are a few ways that Truth and Reconciliation is trying to be met by Canadians. There is a drawing of an orange shirt, a teacher educating students about residential schools, and Stephen Harper making an apology to the Indigenous community for residential schools. What should be noticed from this section is that although there is some colour placed, it is not completely coloured. I purposely did this because Canada is not at a point where the process of Truth and Reconciliation has been completely made. Although there have been steps taken towards reaching this state in Canada, it hasn’t been fully met. Choosing to only colour it partly shows that the beautiful Indigenous culture hasn’t been fully accepted by Canada, and that when reconciliation truly happens it will be full of colour and beautiful again. However, as of right now, the dark parts of Canada’s history haven’t been fully accepted which means the reconciliation process hasn’t been completed. The most obvious part of the drawing is the words “Own your history Canada”. To me owning up to the obvious mistakes in history is one of the most important parts of the reconciliation process. “Owning” your history means that you fully recognize the mistreatment, the lasting effects the mistreatment had, and pushing to do everything you can to support and apologize for this mistreatment. Although I didn’t have a part in residential schools as I was born after the last residential school was closed, it was my ancestors that chose to create and support these awful schools. For me, this means that I also must play a part in “owning” Canada’s history.