Speaking Our Truths: The Journey Towards Reconciliation - Part 1 August 3
From the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at the University of Toronto.
For U of T staff, learners and faculty.
Culture is expressed in the worldviews of peoples from different backgrounds, lived experiences and histories. It is fostered through ones’ unique identification with ones’ values, beliefs, languages, and traditions. For Indigenous peoples this also includes a spiritual, social, physical, and emotional connection with the land.
We all hold truths to help us make sense of the world around us, shaped by the values, traditions and belief systems we acquire from family and societal influences. However, few Canadians take the time to recognize, comprehend and appreciate the values, traditions and belief systems of Indigenous peoples that may be markedly different from ones’ own.
This training asks participants to shift their focus from the differences of Indigenous peoples, to how ones’ own beliefs, practices and histories have impacted the health and wellness, self-esteem, and the socio-economic wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples.
In Part 1 we look at the hidden history of Canada, a history that has been largely untold that examines the attitudes, legislation and policies of the Crown that erased Indigenous peoples’ history from Canadian landscape. We examine how powerful Indigenous nations, critical allies and trading partners were devalued and systematically stripped of their lands, resources and eventually their identities.
In Part 2 we examine how the past attitudes, policies and legislation has impacted the current situation of Indigenous peoples and how the current trajectory can be remedied. Indigenous peoples have displayed their resilience as will be shown by the many Indigenous success stories.