I
This is so cool.
Of course. I'm super happy to be here and to meet all of you.
I love you all. That's fun.
Thank you for having me.
I'm kind of geeking out too right now.
I also love your dog. It's the best.
She's such a pain. She just wants to play.
[laughter]
[indiscernible]
♪ ♪
Hey, Isabel here.
OK, so in the last video we took a look at the word
reconciliation to get a better understanding of what it means.
But there's a lot in this topic to wrap your head around,
like how does it all come together?
What can I do to help? Who can I ask?
And what do Indigenous people think about it?
CBC Kids News
four Indigenous people from across Canada.
One's an athlete, one's a comic book artist,
one's a fashion designer,
and one's using
Let's check it out.
Here's a question for you from a Canadian kid.
I'll play the clip right now.
Hello, my name is Sawyer Burke.
I'm 12 years old and live in Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia.
My question for today is what does the new holiday,
Day of Truth and Reconciliation,
mean to you as an Indigenous person?
Thank you.
First and foremost, I think it's long overdue that we finally
have a day to kind of acknowledge
the true history of so-called Canada
and to finally have a day that's kind of dedicated to it
knowing that, you know, a lot of organizations and,
you know, governments will be taking the initiative to
educate and also, you know, provide resources
for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples
living in so-called Canada.
So I think it's a good step forward towards,
you know, reconciliation, so.
My hope with this holiday is that it's not seen as a day off,
but rather a day for Indigenous peoples to take the time needed
to nurture themselves and for non-Indigenous peoples
to do the work.
My hope is that yes, it's a day off
and it's a day for Indigenous people to gather and mourn
and take care of themselves.
But there's so much work that needs to be done,
and that doesn't fall on Indigenous people anymore.
It is important to put one day,
but also we need more than a day.
Hi, my name is Zara and I'm 12 years old.
I live in Lethbridge, Alberta.
What can we do to make up for the crimes of the past,
such as residential institutes?
There needs to be accountability.
You know, there needs to be people that
should be held accountable for the crimes that they committed.
You know, there's still people out there,
nuns and priests, who were in charge of these
residential schools that are still roaming free and that,
you know, a lot of people want to see that justice,
you know, they want to see
it's important for their healing.
So I think accountability really does need to happen.
I would suggest giving the land back.
It's something that
I read a few churches have started to do
where they've kind of just like given their whole land,
including the church, back to, you know,
the First Nations community that they live in.
So that would be a huge step. Sure.
Residential schools aren't a thing of the past.
Like the last one closed 25 years ago.
What are some Indigenous issues
that should be talked about more?
And how can we share correct information?
Mental health. I want to focus on that so much, mental health.
It's so intense for me.
Where I'm from, services are really low.
We have so much judgments on Inuit being
not good workers or like, really,
Inuit are seen as really, I don't know,
lazy or something like that, but we don't think about
the mental health issue that they do have at home.
You know, like what Isabel said, there are so many
mental health issues within all of our communities.
You know, whether you're an Inuit community or
within a Cree community, you know, there's so
there's such a lack of resources within our communities.
And I feel like the more allies, the more, you know,
support we have from other peoples,
we'll be able to, you know, move forward and, you know,
bring that healing to our communities
and to Canada and society.
What can Canadians do to make the Indigenous people
feel more welcome in the country?
So often in my experience,
Indigenous people like lack safety in all spaces.
And if we had more people who were showing up
in a good way with good intentions
with the willingness, like do the work, and help create
safe spaces for Indigenous people, I think we would be
making good progress.
So, yeah, that's one thing that I continue to say is that
an
But being involved in like tangible work lasts a lifetime.
Ensuring that, you know,
we are working together as a collective and
we're no longer left out and our voices are valued
and honoured rather than just dismissed.
OK, and we've got another question from a Canadian kid.
Let's check it out.
I know it's important to wear orange shirts to
remind us that there is work to be done for reconciliation,
but who can actually do the big work
and what can I do to help?
We need to see more non-Indigenous people,
you know, at the front lines.
We need to see more non-Indigenous people
and allies with us, you know, supporting us
and uplifting our voices.
You know, for so long, all of this weight and all of this,
you know, all of these duties fell on Indigenous peoples.
It was always us at the front lines.
It was always us fighting against the government.
You know, it's always us being locked up and,
you know, I want to see more people, you know,
doing that work and also, you know, educating
not only themselves, but their families as well, too.
I guess what I'd like to see is more like
physical action of participation.
It's one thing to, you know, actually
like just retweet someone talking about
Orange Shirt Day or residential schools.
And it's another thing to wear an orange shirt
on Orange Shirt Day.
And, you know, it's another thing to actually
stand up and talk back to those people who don't
believe that residential schools existed,
or maybe they weren't as bad as they were.
So personally, I get a lot of questions from my friends
and teachers all the time about just like a bunch of
different things about being Indigenous.
What's one question that hurts you
as an Indigenous person to receive?
I have so many thoughts. Like trying to pick just one.
Throughout my life, I've had to
continue to prove that I am enough and it
goes back to elementary school
when I'd go on a field trip and we'd be on the bus
and we'd have to travel through the north end of Winnipeg
and my peers would ask me if the very visibly Indigenous helpless
people on the streets where my parents
and if I would end up like that just because I'm Indigenous.
And then as I kind of grew up and
really took power in like who I was and pride in who I was
as an Indigenous young person and then changed like
proving or changing the narrative of
that I was an exception as an Indigenous person,
that not all of Indigenous people are like I am or that
I'm one of the good ones and breaking down those stereotypes.
I made an illustration that was sort of like
like a truck stop t-shirt style illustration where it was like a
native shaman holding an amulet.
And when I presented it to the class, a woman asked,
"How does it feel being a non-Indigenous male
appropriating culture you're not a part of?"
And I was like, yes, I am.
And I told her I was Indigenous.
I told her I was Tahltan. I told her
who my community was and who my parents were.
And all of that was not enough for her.
She straight up was like,
"If you're not brown, you can't do this".
And I was like, "But I'm still Indigenous".
Of course, there were lots more questions we couldn't get to.
And those amazing panellists
don't speak for all Indigenous people in Canada,
but I do hope our conversation helped answer some of
your questions and give a platform for Indigenous voices.
Until next time, I'm Isabel DeRoy Olson.
Thank you. Bye.
♪ ♪