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doing our part - 50 acts of Reconciliation

Below are a list of acts of reconciliation that can be a starting point in growing your awareness of Indigenous people in Canada and changing your relationship with your Indigenous neighbors. Most of these are taken from the document “150 Acts of Reconciliation for Canada’s 150” compiled by Crystal Fraser and Sara Komarnisky
  1. Read an autobiography written by an Indigenous person.
  2. Learn a greeting in a local Indigenous language.
  3. Visit your local museum, particularly its section on Indigenous people. If it does not have one, ask the staff why not.
  4. Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC’s) final report. Start with the Calls to Action, then the Executive Summary. You can even listen to it online at #ReadtheTRC. Better yet, invite your friends or colleagues to read it with you.
  5. Find your local reconciliation organization.
  6. If there isn’t one, consider joining together with others to start one.
  7. Purchase an item from an Indigenous artist.
  8. Look for and share the positive stories about Indigenous people, not just the negative ones.
  9. Find out if there was a residential school where you live.
  10. Memorize the residential school's name and visit its former site.
  11. Choose one plant or flower in your area and learn how Indigenous people use(d) it.
  12. Download an Indigenous podcast.
  13. Eat at an Indigenous restaurant, café, or food truck.
  14. Find a book that delves into Indigenous local histories.
  15. Seriously consider your own position as a settler Canadian. Do you uphold practices that contribute to the marginalization of Indigenous peoples?
  16. Learn the difference between Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nation, Métis, and Inuit.
  17. Invite your local reconciliation organization or a local Indigenous leader such as Patti Victor (TWU Siya:m) to hold a KAIROS Blanket Exercise at your church or place of employment.
  18. Buy some books for your children that explain the histories and legacies of residential school (see CBC’s list of suggestions).
  19. Visit the website of the nearest First Nation(s) or Indigenous communities. Read their short introduction and history. In Vancouver the local bands are the Musqueam, Tslelatuth and the Squamish nation.
  20. Watch an educational documentary, such as We Were Children (not recommended for children)
  21. Listen more. Talk less.
  22. Support local Indigenous authors by purchasing their books.
  23. Gently counter racist or stereotypical comments with fact-based information whether you are at a family or social gathering, the office, or the gym.
  24. Write your local councillor, MLA, or MP about the flying of Indigenous flags at local, provincial/territorial, or federal buildings.
  25. Find the Indigenous section at your local library.
  26. Hire Indigenous people for positions at your workplace.
  27. If you live in an area where there is a Treaty relationship, read the treaty document.
  28. Learn your family history. Know where your ancestors came from and when they arrived in Canada. In addition, understand how your family story is part of a larger system that sought to dispossess Indigenous people from their ancestral lands.
  29. Be aware that Indigenous people were restricted from voting in federal elections until 1960.
  30. Learn the land acknowledgement in your region.
  31. In a country that is ‘safe,’ such as Canada, 57% of Indigenous women are sexually assaulted during their lifetimes.
  32. Does your child have a school nearby? Realize that it receives better funding that on-reserve schools. By at least 30%.
  33. Write to your municipal, provincial, and federal representatives and ask them how they are implementing the Calls to Action.
  34. Actively seek out Indigenous heroes and role models.
  35. Do you have an Indigenous political candidate in your area? Even though they might not be affiliated with your political party of choice, phone or email them and start a conversation.
  36. When travelling, know whose land you are visiting while on vacation or travelling for work.
  37. If you are talking about or researching Indigenous peoples, have you included any of their voices?
  38. Remember that good intentions can be harmful too.
  39. When visiting a museum, do so critically. Ask who tells the story, how that item got there, and what processes are in place around repatriation.
  40. Learn the original names of places. Learn what places were and are important to Indigenous people.
  41. Find opportunities to learn about how Indigenous people experience the place where you live.
  42. Read the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Our government has committed to implementing it.
  43. Read the Indian Act.
  44. Read the report on the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples.
  45. Make reconciliation a family project and complete items on this list together. Bring your children to events, learn words in an Indigenous language together, and organize a youth blanket exercise, for example.
  46. Look up and learn about an Indigenous athlete.
  47. Support initiatives to change the racist names of sports teams. Learn why this is so important to many Indigenous people.
  48. Invite local Indigenous people in to your event or organization.
  49. Read an article or attend a course hosted by NAIITS (North American Institute of Indigenous Theological Studies) or attend a lecture at Trinity Western University hosted by the IIIT (The Institute of Indigenous Issues and Perspectives).
  50. Make a financial or in-kind contribution to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation or to Indigenous Pathways of which NAIITS is one of their ministries.