Today we honour the survivors of the residential school system. We want to thank everyone that has supported the free distribution. It is greatly appreciated. We are still accepting requests for free copies and invite all Canadians to participate in Buy One Gift One as a personal act of reconciliation.
It was really something to be at my kid’s school yesterday when they held their Orange Shirt Day. It was the last day of school before Canada’s second National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. It was great to see so many orange shirts.
One thing that was quite humourous was that when you have loads of kids running about on the playground and there are scads of orange shirts it’s a challenge to keep your eyes on your own kids. Here’s a photo of my boys and me wearing our orange shirts.
Skookum Surrey: We would like to thank the Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre for putting on such a great event. I shared with my children and the neighbour’s boy who came along with us that unlike many events where one has to purchase tickets, food and refreshment Skookum Surrey showed in a very simple but direct way the Indigenous cultural practice of giving. They prepared tea and bannock for everyone. I don’t know how much bannock they had to prepare but it was enough for hundreds of people. They also had loads of fun stuff for the kids and shared stories and drumming. It was a very special day. Thank you.
It is important to share with Canadians in general and children in particular that Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin attributed the inspiration for the American Constitution to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Settlers arrived on Turtle Island, saw a form of government so different from the repressive monarchy in their homeland that they adopted it for their own. It is unfortunate that they didn’t adopt the concept of the Potlatch economy. What would this land be like if the measure of wealth was in how much one can give. Imagine!
