Truth and Reconciliation – Bobcaygeon has met twice over the Summer. Some groups may have taken a hiatus during this time of Covid, but we have kept on following the threads of actions and activities that are calling to us.
Here is a brief update on some of those threads:
Our Quilted Banner
- We are at the stage of putting our finished quilt squares all together into a banner.
- Well known quilter from Curve Lake First Nations, Alice Williams sparked our initial interest in making a quilt and then mentored us in taking action on making our squares. We decided to ask if she is interested in being involved in putting the quilt together.
- Our quilting sub-committee went on a couple of field excursions to pick a few fabrics that would work for a sash, for binding and for a border between each square. Vivienne of the Lil Wee Quilt Shoppe in Fenelon Falls, has been a great support as we take each step in what is new territory for a lot of us.
- Our quilt sub committee had a terrific lunch and meeting with Alice Williams to make final decisions about the design and function of our quilted banner. It was the easiest meeting ever. Alice has made so many quilts over the years she had a quick solution to any question we posed. We are very exited to see the final product once the last stitch is made.
- We are continuing to submit the stories that accompany our our squares to the Promoter. Look for two stories to appear every couple of weeks for the next six weeks.
- Finally we are continuing to make edits and improvements on the Booklet we are creating with all of our stories. We are not 100% sure about all the ways that we will use this Booklet yet. We are looking forward to seeing the final edit in full colour print.
Website
- We have shutdown our original website. TrcBobWordPress.com with much gratitude for all the posts and information we have been able to share through this site.
- We will need to update all our communication (digital and paper copies) including pamphlets, etc. with new website address and get the word out abour our new https://trcbobcaygeon.org/ web address.
Thinking about Language
- We had a conversation about the words we use and unintentional harm caused when we might not be fully aware of the language that we use. An example of this is saying something like “Canada’s Indigenous population”or using the possessive “our”. This possessive language is offensive. It is much better to ask how people wish to be identifiied and use the given language.
- We also discussed the challenge of equating oppressions: Should reference to being female and link to oppression be mentioned in speaking of MMIWG? It is important to raise this issue and circulate articles and have ongoing discussions on how we communicate …
- We talked about a website for cultural reflection. You may enjoy exploring this as well.
- “Decolonization is not a Metaphor” by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang is a pivotal article that TRC Bobcaygeon member Sherry Telford referenced when working on the Master’s thesis. We learned a lot from her summation and we may share that wisdom in another post.
Missing and Murded Indigenous Women and Girls Report (MMIWG)
- It’s been a year since we read the report and calls to Action. We struck a committee to discuss what are our next steps? How can we keep our intention to move implementation of the Calls to Action moving forward?
- We have a 4 pronged approach identified at a high level and are working toward implementing specific actions.
Community Voices for Manoomin and the CVFM paddle – Several members of our group particpate with the CVFM. They have been involved in the ceremonial paddles that take place at each of the various stages of the Manoomin’s growth. You can read about the first paddle here.
There are a couple of additional items that we discussed but stayed tuned to learn more…