Honouring National Day for Truth & Reconciliation in Canada - September 30th

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This was a very personal and intimate experience of looking into the eyes of those displaced as they moved to lesser occupied places on the land. How many times I heard the words, "I am so sorry" from Settlers as we physically nudged them to allow us to stand where they had comfortably stood.

Kerry Richards

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Six years ago, I stood with 80 others on a large canvas map of Canada that showed only topographical landforms such as lakes, rivers and mountains. No cities were marked. The event I was at was hosted by the Canadian Council of Churches to commemorate the passage of the Truth and Reconciliation Bill. Amongst us were many from indigenous backgrounds.
 
Our indigenous friends stood upon the map in the places that identified their legacy as First Nation inhabitants of this land known as Turtle Island through the millenniums of it being their place called home.
 
Then, we who are called Settlers, moved to the places on the map where our immigrant ancestors occupied the land upon their arrival. The map become crowded and we as Settlers displaced the Indigenous amongst us from the places of their family heritage. This was a very personal and intimate experience of looking into the eyes of those displaced as they moved to lesser occupied places on the land. How many times I heard the words, "I am so sorry" from Settlers as we physically nudged them to allow us to stand where they had comfortably stood. There were tears as the visceral reality we know today became real.
 
As we all stood upon the landscape for the next thirty minutes, historical quotes of government officials, newspaper headlines and newly passed dehumanizing Canadian laws were read aloud by those amongst us that reinforced the systemic participation of all Settlers.
 
This was a profoundly moving experience for me. Indeed this was my first real introduction to my history as a Settler which was never taught in school. Since that day, I have read through the entirety of the Truth and Reconciliation Act and its 94 "Calls to Action" urging all levels of government — federal, provincial, territorial and aboriginal — to work together to change policies and programs in a concerted effort to repair the harm caused by residential schools and move forward with reconciliation.
 
Our Call to Action
The "calls to action" are divided into two parts: legacy (1 to 42) and reconciliation (43 to 94). I have read the heart-rending statements of apology of the many Churches who participated in the operations of the hundreds of compulsory Residential Schools established in 1878 until the last one closed in 1996. As a Settler, I identified with the entirety of the acknowledgement, emotions and accountability that rests with me. For all of us as immigrant occupants of the homeland of Indigenous nation's numbering 10's of millions, let us always remember our shared responsibility to bring reconciliation in active ways and means to honour the worth of those who welcomed us as neighbour in their homeland. Thanksgiving Day, in its original Good Samaritan like portrayal of Indigenous peoples tending to the life threatening vulnerability of early Settlers, shows the blessings of community shared towards us. May we be so inclusive and demonstrate love of neighbour in our own intentional acts of giving back with Thanksgiving.
 
For the first time, September 30th in Canada, is a new day of acknowledgement that has been enacted to always remember that Truth and Reconciliation that is our individual responsibility. I pray that we each honour this day with deep reflection, learning and resolve that leads to healing and transformation.
 
May the blessings of community unfold across this glorious land.
 
With Meaning,

Kerry Richards
CEM President