Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Instead of celebrating Canada Day, I walked this evening with my family in a march to honour all the lost and murdered Indigenous children and had the horror of witnessing firsthand a drunken, racist, young white man scream "white power" and throw his drink all over a young Indigenous man who was marching with us. It was a disgusting act of hatred and deeply upsetting to us all. There was so much pain in the faces of everyone there that it felt unbearable. Pain stemming from years of being abused, neglected, shuffled aside and intentionally reduced to less than human status in the eyes of those in charge of this country. This pain must be acknowledged and the acts of reconciliation and healing must be taken seriously for citizens of this land to make amends with Indigenous persons.
Jill MacCormack
The remaining body of this text is from LeadNow:
The recent discoveries of 966 unmarked graves at former residential schools in BC and Saskatchewan have shone a harsh light on the atrocities and violence that Indigenous peoples were subjected to by the architects of the residential school system. I’m emailing you to please follow through on your commitment to reconciliation with urgent action to support Indigenous peoples, including: 1. 139 residential schools were identified in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, though this doesn’t include those run by provincial governments and those run solely by religious orders, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2015). We ask for preservation and forensic investigation of all schools and properties. 2. 94 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action: We ask that these are acted upon swiftly, and that the Governments stop fighting residential school settlements and First Nation Inuit & Metis (FNIM) children in court. 3. 231 Calls for Justice in the Final Report of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). We ask that these are acted upon swiftly and that Governments do everything within their power to protect FNIM women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA persons from ongoing genocide. 4. 9 non-compliance motions from the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society regarding the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT, 2016) ruling. We ask that Governments immediately fund FNIM children equitably, including immediate funding for family finding and preventative well-being services aimed at reducing the number of FNIM children in-care. Reconciliation is an empty promise without action to truly repair the harm Canada’s genocidal history has wrought on Indigenous peoples. This Canada Day, I invite you to reflect - and act. Sincerely, Jill MacCormack C1B1J2
To learn more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/truth-and-reconciliation-94-calls-to-action-1.3362258
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