This year is the 5th July Reconciliation Month at WCWRC.
2017 marked the 150th birthday of the country we call Canada, here on Turtle Island. In light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report and the discrimination and racism that the women we support face every day, there was no cause for celebration. Instead, there was a need to meaningfully commit and dedicate resources to reconciliation. From then on, July was declared Reconciliation Month at WCWRC.
It began with reading the Calls to Action of the TRC and making a public commitment to focus on the ones that directly impact our work. Two years ago, staff read the National Inquiry into MMIWG Calls for Justice and added 31 of the calls to our commitments.
Last year, adapting to the pandemic included starting Monday morning smudges with Jojo on Facebook Live. We encourage you to join Jojo as she starts every week this month in a good way.
This year, as the bodies of children who died at residential schools are recovered (read our statement here), we enter Reconciliation Month in mourning. WCWRC stands in solidarity with all survivors and the generations that continue to be impacted by the trauma of this government-sanctioned genocide.
Throughout July, our social media accounts will showcase people and organizations from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and the world. All of them are currently fighting to protect all our relations: the land, the water, and the people.
We aim to honour their work and raise awareness of the uphill battle they face in combatting challenges. Such as the climate crisis, destruction and seizure of land, the impact of residential schools, the ongoing oppression of Indigenous people through systems like the child welfare system and the justice system, and COVID-19.
As a staff team, we are revisiting and renewing our commitments to the TRC Calls to Action.
- All staff will read the Calls and reflect on what we can do as a Centre and what they can do as individuals
- We will also be taking action through a letter-writing campaign to government representatives on how they can – and must – do better
For our community:
- We are offering Indigenous activity kits to all families who receive our emergency hampers
- Preparing a special Indigenous meal at the end of the month
- Offering tea, bannock and smudging in our community garden every Friday afternoon
We hope you join us on this journey and reflect on what you can be doing as well. Please follow #ReconciliationMonth and #ProtectingOurRelations on our social media channels for all the latest news and information.