Acting on reconciliation
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/07/2021 (692 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The continuing discoveries of children’s bodies in unmarked graves at former Indian Residential Schools in Canada has sparked a lot of conversation. We are certainly way past due for real action and reconciliation, which is why all governments and elected officials must do their part to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada.
I believe there are various ways we can approach this, but here are a few working ideas in which I would like to hear back about:
As many of you know, my father, who is the MP for Winnipeg North, and I host a Canada Day celebration for our community every year. Over the years, we have hosted several Indigenous performers who have been amazing. However, I believe we need to go beyond celebrating Indigenous culture through performances and do even more. We need to be creating the opportunity for elders and those in the performance groups to talk, teach and connect with others in attendance. One way of doing this would be by creating an education segment in our agenda.
Furthermore, with respect to Canada Day specifically, I would like to set up an area where people can come to learn about our history — including residential schools. My hope is that this will provide an opportunity for more people to learn about Canada’s true history.
In addition to official days such as National Indigenous Peoples Day and Canada Day, the other avenue I would like to take is more detailed education within our schools. Though I trust that teachers are already adjusting their lessons about Canada’s history, I think that we need to ensure that our education curriculum from kindergarten to Grade 12 is adjusted. Students should be exposed to the good and the bad. I do not believe that this has always been the case with respect to our past and current curriculum.
Ultimately, my hope from this column is to ask those of you who are reading if you have any ideas. I welcome ways in which we can better incorporate the ideals of Truth and Reconciliation, specifically at our Canada Day gathering at Tyndall Park School on July 1, 2022.
I also welcome any other ideas I would be able to pursue provincially.
Thank you and miigwetch.
Tyndall Park resides on Treaty 1 territory, traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis nation.
Cindy Lamoureux
Tyndall Park constituency report
Cindy Lamoureux is the Liberal MLA for Tyndall Park.