“Reconciliation is an ongoing learning and unlearning experience that is mutually beneficial to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples” (Joe, 2022). Truth and reconciliation was hardly talked about during my high school years so I did not know what I needed to reconcile about. I have truly started my journey this year because I have found myself surrounded in an environment that cares about people (like me) knowing the truth and reconciling with the truth.
Firstly, I have learned that in order reconcile, I must know what I am reconciling about.
Secondly, I have learned that reconciliation is about recognize and acknowledge the problem or the racism and learn how to overcome the problem to fix it. I have learned that it is important to understand that we just can’t “move on” as a society because these things for the past need to be addressed even if as a society, we do not want to address them. To recognize when something is a problem, we need to be able to recognize the truth. Understanding the truth is the only way to achieve reconciliation.
Lastly, I learned that reconciliation is a journey about learning from mistakes from the past so there can be a better future. It is important to understand that reconciliation does not happen overnight, it takes time. Reconciliation is a journey no matter who you are, it is important to start that journey. It does not matter when I started my journey, what matters is the progress that comes with the journey. As a future educator, I feel like it is important to educate my class on what truly happened in the residential schools and how the past affects the future. I want to be able to give my students the opportunities to start their journeys. I want to give them that space to ask questions about how to start their own journeys because I did not get that in my high school. In my classroom there will be zero tolerance for racism and when racism occurs, it will be dealt with and put to a stop. I find it extremely important to recognize racism when it occurs and help students understand why it is wrong to hope that they learn from their mistakes.