Opinion: Another step in the road to reconciliation
BY SARAH GOODMAN, SPECIAL TO THE SUNSEPTEMBER 20, 2013 http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Opinion+Another+step+road+reconciliation/8939584/story.html Chief Robert Joseph and his daughter Karen display tiles painted by schoolchildren with messages of hope and reconciliation. Photograph by: Steve Bosch, Vancouver SunA year ago, I met Karen Joseph, a strong, humble and passionate leader who is also from the Gwawaenuk First Nation. She told me about her father's audacious dream of tens of thousands of people walking together for reconciliation after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hears the testimony of residential school survivors in Vancouver in September 2013. I say "audacious" because, at the time, with just a year to go, no organizational structure or funding was in place to support this walk. And it wasn't just about a walk to honour survivors and to begin transforming relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and all Canadians. The vision included dozens of reconciliation workshops around British Columbia and building a diverse, multi-faith, multicultural movement to carry on the long-term, meaningful work of reconciliation. Over our first dinner together, Karen told me about her father's transformation. Once angry and broken from his horrific residential school experience, today Chief Dr. Robert Joseph is an internationally regarded advocate for reconciliation and an open, loving, and compassionate father and grandfather. His vision underpins Reconciliation Canada, a collaboration created between the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society and Tides Canada. "Reconciliation" is based on the idea of restoring friendship and harmony - about resolving differences, acknowledging the past and working together to build a better future. Reconciliation Canada is engaging all Canadians in an open and honest conversation about our diverse histories and experiences in order to build resilient, sustainable communities. The call for reconciliation transcends issues of left and right and is blind to what faith you hold dear. It is a calling to live the values of compassion, diversity, and social justice. As Karen put it to me the day we met: "I want the kids back home in my village to know that Canadians care about them." Chief Joseph's dream of a walk for reconciliation is now a reality. Thousands of individuals and almost 400 teams - representing faith groups, universities, governments, companies, unions, environmental organizations, school boards, aboriginal organizations, and multicultural groups - will walk for reconciliation on Sunday, Sept. 22. The daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. will open the walk with a keynote address. Bernice King's participation during the 50th anniversary year of her father's "I have a dream" speech is especially fitting. The road to reconciliation is long and complex. True reconciliation requires a deep commitment at an individual, organizational, and societal level to do things differently; to hear and respect those with fundamentally different views and experiences. But like every journey, it begins with a single step. There is great power in walking together in the spirit of building a new way forward in the relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and all Canadians. The walk is open to everyone. We hope you will join us on Sunday, Sept. 22, in downtown Vancouver. Register today at reconciliationcanada.ca/participate/walk-for-reconciliation Sarah Goodman is senior vice-president at Tides Canada. © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun PreviousNext Sarah Goodman [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Native News North List info{all lists}: http://nativenewsonline.org/natnews.htm Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews-north/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews-north/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: natnews-north-dig...@yahoogroups.com natnews-north-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: natnews-north-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/
