Truth and Reconciliation Day is a day to remember the truth of Canadas past, face it, and take action to do what we can to correct it. District 14 and Local Lodge 1722 now have a Land Acknowledgement to be read and considered at all their future meetings. With this constant reminder, we hope that as union members and community members we can find ways to move towards gaining knowledge and understanding of Canadas past, by listening to courageous survivors, educators, and elders, by keeping engaged in Canada’s contemporary treatment of its indigenous peoples. We must remember, but we also must act!
“As we gather as Union members, as community members, we remember these lands we come together on, these lands we prosper on and acknowledge all we have come to gain from being able to live upon. Acknowledging our presence in Alberta on Treaty 6, 7, 8, 4, 10 lands, and Metis Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and in Northwest Territories on all First Nations, Inuit, and Metis ancestral land, all traditional gathering places for diverse Indigenous peoples whose ancestors, medicines, languages, and teachings of these lands continue to nourish our spirits and positively impact our lives and the lives of our communities. It is through building relationships with Indigenous peoples, gaining knowledge of this land and all its peoples, and moving forward together as one community, in union, that we are able to live, work, and play on these territories and regions. From the teachings of our Indigenous siblings let us as Union members do our best to give more than we take, from this land, from each other, and within our communities.”
To start our own journey of action we can look into these 94 Calls to Action below, and support the ones we can. I challenge you to read through them, and come up with your own list of ones you think you can personally do something about, if everybody is doing the little bit they can, in the spaces they occupy we can move through these Actions together. It’s also important to note the actions that the Government of Canada is responsible for and do your part in holding them to account.
Click this Link to Read all 94 Calls to Action, put together by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Join District 14’s Human Rights Committee to contribute to our future actions!
