I have been caught up in the idea that you learn by hearing information and building on it, Dr. Martin Brokenleg goes a step further to explain that you cannot just absorb knowledge and education in your mind, but that it needs to get into your heart. He explains the importance of not just listening, but doing, taking action, and creating experiences in order to truly teach someone. Education in Indigenous culture does not just include dates and facts, it incorporates other aspects of life such as love, truth, honesty, courage, respect, wisdom and, humility: the seven grandfather teachings. These terms are something that I keep finding myself thinking back to and reflecting on with each new course topic. Love, specifically, is one of the teachings that I find myself relating to the most. Elder David Courchene said that “I love you” are the three most important words. I often struggle to put some of these words into action or to grasp their true concept. They may sound like simple words but they go deep. These seven words were the basis of my aesthetic representation. I wanted to find a way to visualize and express these concepts in a simple way. These seven teachings are key concepts not just in how people should live, but how we can work towards reconciliation. They are things that are necessary for reconciliation to happen but people do not know how to embrace those words and use them. We need love, truth, honesty, courage, respect, wisdom, and humility to reach reconciliation because without those things we have nothing. 

The hard thing is that it is much easier to think about reconciliation than it is to act on it, but action is what we need to do, that is the important part. Throughout this course, my thoughts have expanded and I find myself thinking in new ways and embracing new ways of thinking that I now need to put into action. Reconciliation is not something we can just talk about, it has to be an action which is why the Calls to Action were created. After taking this course, I have a better grasp of the meaning of these calls to action and reconciliation and I feel better equipped to continue to work on my own personal journey towards reconciliation. In the words of Elder Dave Courchene, “you have to have courage to do the right thing.”

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