scrolled through LinkedIn this morning and noticed a trend.
Indigenous organizations I follow reminded us that today is both Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Other organizations, often quick to get on board with acknowledging days, are quiet.
It’s been 10 years since Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its 94 Calls to Action. More than 100 years of broken promises to Indigenous people in Canada. Consequences of families torn apart, harm done to children, children who did not return home, families and communities still reeling from actions of colonial systems that reinforce “otherness” on the land to which has been their home since time immemorial.
Author David A. Robertson has said reconciliation is not possible because we had never been partners. To me, a settler, those words cut in their truth. I did not tear Indigenous children from their families, but I have an obligation as someone with the capacity to take action now. It’s like that old saying about the best time to invest was 20 years ago, and the next best time is right now.
As a communicator, I can use this space I have made to talk about reconciliation and to coax each of us to take action toward fixing systems in every small way we can. I can choose words in my communications that uplift. I can remember that there are other ways of being in the world and use those when I work with other people. I can pay attention to what Indigenous colleagues and clients need and be aware of how I advocate for workplaces that pay attention to them. I can educate myself, because there is so much available to learn, so I can be a better neighbour, a better colleague, a better human.
So, on this day—on all days—know that reconciliation is our responsibility. Lament the past and know that consequences endure day to day. But be relentlessly positive that changing the way we do things is a way to share power and to nudge toward a world that is a little different than the one we closed our eyes to yesterday. There is hope in action.
Indigenous-led organizations are showing us the way. Take a step by following along:
EDIT: Since posting, I have gone back to LinkedIn and have seen more non-Indigenous organizations talking about reconciliation. Glad to see it!