Fragments of Past, Present, Future: Journey Towards Reconciliation
My “Journey Towards Reconciliation” is extremely valuable for me. I arrived in Canada in 2016. I do not know anything about Canadian history. In fact, people outside of Canada have this notion of how Canadian history is boring because nothing significant happened unlike in the US. I will admit, I am one of many people who have voiced this opinion. Canada is also overshadowed by US. I would always see news about the US in our television, but never Canadian news, which even suppresses my knowledge of Canadian news and history. This opportunity to learn about Canadian history has opened my eyes to the possibilities. My “Journey Towards Reconciliation” is my method of exploring the Canadian history and learning the culture of all Canadians. Now that I am well-informed about most of Canadian history, I have made a collage with all the things I have learned about Indigenous history from the day I arrived in Canada until this ECS 101 course. This course allows me to expand my knowledge even further about Indigenous history as well as learning as a learner and teaching as a teacher.
Throughout my High School years, I have acquired a lot of knowledge in term of Indigenous history. I am saddened to hear from my classmates that they did not learn any Indigenous history back in High School. I am grateful to be able to attend Canadian High School where Indigenous education is highly encouraged. One of the aspects of Indigenous history that stood to me the most are the residential schools, the missing women, and the 60s scoop—that is why I decided to include those pictures into my artwork. I was lucky to be able to hear Gordon Downie’s album (2016) named Secret Path, view a powerful documentary called We Were Children, read Drew Hayden Taylor’s humorous play: Someday and Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, and many more. In ECS 101, I am grateful for an opportunity to view “Every Child Matters: Truth – Act One” (2020) in which Nikki Komaksiutiksak, one of the speakers, has a very hopeful and empowering message; she stated, “Reconciliation to me means rebuilding our families. Rebuilding who we are as Inuit so that our children are never hurt by anyone ever again” (NCTR, 2020). It is saddening that a school is supposed to be the children’s haven, but it is the opposite for Indigenous children. Furthermore, based on research of Professor Fatima Pirbhai-Illich and Professor Fran Martin (2019), Canada’s “governing structures at federal and provincial levels are dominated by white settler-colonial perspectives” (pg. 2). One thing I learned is that Canada needs incorporate Indigenous perspectives into governance. That way Indigenous people can contribute fully for the country’s reconciliation. In my opinion, an apology is not enough without knowing what really happened. The Truth and Reconciliation booklet (2016) implies that “Truth is about taking responsibility” (pg. 2). We cannot reconcile if we do not face the truth “no matter how horrible it is” (pg. 2). Overall, Canada has a long way to be able to fully reconcile, or it may never be able to. Time will only tell, and all we can do is be optimistic and hope for the best.
A word that intrigued me in this course is “Decolonization”—how come I have never heard of that word? It never existed in my country. Philippines has almost fully integrated its colonizer’s ideology into the country. I am impressed by Canada because it continues to fight against the colonization of European ideology. What is even more devastating to learn about Indigenous history is the massive cumulative trauma that residential schools inflicted with Indigenous people. For instance, Shauntelle Dick-Charleson, an inter-generational survivor, shares her slam poetry in “Every Child Matters: Reconciliation – Act Two” (2020). She talks about the effects of Residential Schools to her family and to her (NCTR, 2020). I have no words about this tragedy. An apology is not enough to compensate with all the heartaches, trauma, inter-generational trauma, and all the pain and suffering the Indigenous people had to endure. I think one of many solutions of reconciliation is to hear Indigenous people’s story and to listen to their requests. Based on a statement from Chief Wilton Littlechild (2020), a survivor and one of the speakers in TRC Act Two, he states that what elders all want is “recognition, respect, and justice” (NCTR, 2020). The TRC booklet defines “Reconciliation” as “The restoration of the relationship between a group or person that was wronged and the group or person that wronged them” (pg. 15). When we assigned Indigenous people in Residential schools and took them away from their families, we broke that bond and relationship between Indigenous people. Now we must rebuild that relationship by honouring, recognizing, acknowledging, and respecting Indigenous heritage, culture, language, and history. We can start by recognizing the treaty we are in. I really love when we start the ECS class by recognizing that we are in treaty four. It resembles Buber’s (1958) “I-Though” relationships (Pirbhai-Illich and Martin, 2019). We should start treating Indigenous people as our peers and not objectify them. We should embrace our “spiritual relation” and “togetherness” as one of our methods of reconciling to Indigenous people (Pirbhai-Illich and Martin, 2019).
Canada claims itself to be multicultural, and this thinking is also known outside of the country. Before becoming a multicultural country, Canada must face its past and resolve it. My take on for this class is that my duty to expand my knowledge even after this course is done. As a future teacher, it is my responsibility to teach my students to respect each other and their background. We will never know the struggles of someone unless we listen and understand their worldview. Even though I aspire to become a Mathematics teacher, I will always remind myself to start the class by recognizing the treaty land we are on. It may benefit a little in a larger scale, but it is significant enough to spread awareness about Indigenous history. Although reconciliation is not easy, it is necessary so that Indigenous people, the first people on turtle island, and us settlers will be able to live in harmony.
References
Canadian Teachers’ Federation. (2016). Truth and reconciliation: What is it about? Canadian Teachers’ Federation.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. (2020, September 29). Every Child Matters: Reconciliation – Act Two [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbbb5-Xp1Ys&t=2473s
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. (2020, September 29). Every Child Matters: Truth – Act One [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1849&v=SFTHHtRy8Do&feature=emb_title
Pirbhai-Illich, Fatima & Martin, Fran. (2019). “A relational approach to decolonizing education: working with the concepts of invitation and hospitality.”
Pirbhai-Illich, Fatima & Martin, Fran. (2019). “A relational approach to decolonizing education: working with the concepts of space, place and boundaries.”