What does reconciliation mean to me?

As an Anishinaabe man, husband, father, uncle, and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation (Treaty # 1) in Manitoba and as a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, for me reconciliation means the re-establishment of lost lands, economies, cultures, families, dignity and respect.

All of these aspects listed above, I have recovered; in a certain respect, in my personal life. For example, I took several years out of my life to search for my natural mother, my home community and my extended family. In 2000, I was reunited with my mom and my home community. In the last two years I searched, I found my natural sister and we are now on our journey to discover what this sibling relationship means to us.  My five-year-old son can speak Ojibway in his classroom without negative consequences – something that hasn’t occurred in my family for at least a few generations.  Putting together the pieces leftover from the destabilization of my family through the residential school and the Sixties Scoop has been a monumental task. However, I bring this passion and drive to Save the Children in Canada as means to try to prevent what happened to me and thousands of other children from occurring again.

As the Director of the National Reconciliation program at Save the Children, reconciliation means, in very straightforward terms: Making Things Right.  As a child rights-based organization in Canada, Save the Children recognizes that not all children’s rights are equally realized, and those most deprived of their rights are First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children. For children not to exercise their rights equally has devastating impacts on them, their families, communities, and nations.

I believe that for genuine reconciliation to be achieved, past injustices against First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples must first be acknowledged. It is essential we come to an honest understanding of our shared history to break the cycle of intergeneration trauma. I also understand that reconciliation is a long continuous and evolving process that requires critical reflection, thought and action.  Save the Children is firmly committed to bringing reconciliation to life at every level of our organization and through every aspect of our programs, policy work, and operations.

To this end, I am pleased to share that our National Indigenous and Canada programs will be transformed to a National Reconciliation program, which has the full support of the organization, including staff, leadership, and board of directors, and our Indigenous community partners. We will be on the only International Non-Governmental Organization that works domestically here in Canada towards Reconciliation through a child rights approach.

Our National Reconciliation Program will bring meaningful, tangible and sustainable results to reconciliation through a child-centred approach. For us to achieve this we will be implementing a Wi-Mino-Kisikat Relationship Framework, (Cree for “it is going to be a good day – new beginning”) which has been developed through a partnership with Indigenous advisors to exemplify the principles of cultural safety needed to work in meaningful relationships with First Nations, Métis and Inuit partners.  It is used to honour and respect Indigenous rights to self-determination including decolonizing approaches as an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships.

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