Canada Day

Aaniin, ndizhnikaaz Kelsey.

Hello, I am called Kelsey.

I’m currently living in Ontario which includes land under 46 treaties and other agreements including land purchases made by the Crown signed between 1781 and 1930. Treaties are legally binding agreements between First Nations and federal and provincial governments. There are many different groups that consider parts of Ontario as their traditional territory, including but not limited to: Anishnaabeg, Haudensaunee, Attawandaraon, Ojibway/Chippewa, Huron-Wendat, and Cree. I am grateful to be able to live and work on this land which includes much of Southern Ontario and other provinces in Canada.

This year I will not be celebrating Canada Day. This has absolutely nothing to do with cancel culture. This is about taking a day to recognize the darkness in Canadian history. Every country has a past that includes indigenous people that should not be forgotten.

The last residential school closed in the mid 1990’s. That is in my lifetime. This is not ancient history; it is my history as a Canadian. Residential schools were a part of a systematic genocide of indigenous peoples carried out by my own government. Church’s and the Crown encouraged and enforced many of these actions. Children were forced to assimilate, losing their cultures, traditions, languages, families, and in many cases, their own lives. My heart breaks for all of the children lost, and families needlessly destroyed.

Please take time to educate yourself on your country’s history. Understand what had to occur for you to live where and how you do now. Allow the truth to come forward. Take action. Take this further than wearing orange and not celebrating Canada Day.

Miigwech.

Thank you.

Thank you to the professors that taught me about indigenous history in college and others that have taught me about indigenous people in Canada and other parts of the world. Thank you for sharing your culture, views, and ways of knowing. I have learned so much, and still have so much more to understand.

The land I live on has dramatically changed throughout history. It continues to change today. Lyton, British Columbia has reached a temperature of 49.6 degrees Celsius (121.28 in Fahrenheit) breaking a long-standing record. Climate change affects indigenous communities more than any others. Partly due to their remote locations, and partly due to the lack of infrastructure that the Canadian government continues to ignore. Some communities do not have clean drinking water and must rely on imported bottled water. Some communities are unable to hunt and gather their traditional foods that they have relied on and used to survive for hundreds of years including salmon, caribou and other wildlife that were once abundant but are now species at risk (or extirpated already). This is in Canada and it is unacceptable.

If you are in need of resources, please consider reaching out to the following services:

1. The Indian Residential School Crisis Line offers emotional and referral services 24 hours a day for survivors and families of residential schools at 1-866-925-4419.

2. Indigenous peoples may reach out to the Hope for Wellness Helpline for Indigenous peoples (1-855-242-3310) or the Native Youth Crisis Line (1-877-209-1266).

3. Learn about treaties and indigenous territories using this map: https://native-land.ca/

4. Read reports and calls to action: https://nctr.ca/records/reports/

5. Contact your local library or research the treaties and indigenous groups in your area.

Some books to consider reading to increase your knowledge:

1. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

2. The Orange Shirt Story & Phyllis’s Orange Shirt, written by Phyllis Webstad and illustrated by Brock Nicol

3. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

4. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph

5. Dancing On Our Turtle’s Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

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Everything is connected. Written by Kelsey Reich on July 1/2021 in Ontario, Canada.