Reconciliation and engagement key to 2nd annual Wicihitowin conference
- Andréa Ledding | October 18, 2016
The second annual Wicihitowin conference offered Indigenous expertise to the community.
Keynote speaker Marie Wilson, TRC Commissioner, opened the conference at TCU Place October 12th and 13th.
“My job is to back you up, when so many of the speakers have taken you forward with the action plans that are being contemplated or need to happen,” she said. “Wicihitowin, helping one another, in some circles we’ve been given that word to suggest reconciliation.”
She noted the TRC Calls to Action are about working, living, and learning together so that the authentic two solitudes of Canada, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, are truly reconciled. She then shared the stories of many survivors of the Residential Schools.
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“Residential Schools were not a short-term policy in our country. They were in place for almost a hundred and thirty years, and if you go right back to the earliest treaty...it absolutely sounds like the ball is in the court of the Indigenous peoples to decide what they want and where they want it to be, and think about how that actually played out.
“This is not a time in our history for sugar-coating things. It is a time for speaking truth to our own history. And it was about an attitude of superiority, and of greed. The government wanted access to Indian lands, and so they restricted movement in the country through the pass system. Culture, dress, and ceremony was outlawed. The right to vote was removed until 1960,” noted Wilson. “The Government saw Indians as uncivilized and inferior on every level: socially, intellectually, culturally, and also spiritually.”
After Wilson finished her presentation, two days of multiple workshops were offered on various teachings including child welfare, youth and Elders, church apologies, and various other panels and speakers.
“I’m really excited to bring the community together through the Aboriginal Engagement Conference and see the uptake,” noted Warren Isbister-Bear, United Way Director of Aboriginal Relations and one of the organizers, adding that the demand was there to more than double last year’s attendance. “The spirit around reconciliation and Wicihitowin, around building those healthy relationships and dialogue, in the spirit of Aboriginal engagement, is really inspiring to see in Saskatoon.”
He noted there was significant leadership from major city and provincial stakeholders, organizations, and corporations.
“We’re really glad to take a lead in creating the platform for those discussions.”