Be The Change

Be the change. Canada has an eerie past with the First Peoples of Canada, and for many years, nothing was done to reconcile and apologize for the trauma an entire culture was put through. Residential schools took 150,000 Indigenous children from their homes and families over a period of 126 years where they were forced to assimilate to a culture and religion that was not their own. The traumas of this dark Canadian history are still present today. On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave a formal apology to the Indigenous people of Canada for the discrimination and for the residential schools that stole the souls of too many individuals. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was officially completed on December 18, 2015. The TRC's is a testament to the courage of every survivor of residential schools who shared their story about the time they spent at residential schools. Although these baby steps have been taken, the journey to Truth and Reconciliation is far from over. An issue that is still underlying is the access to basic health care for Indigenous people. It is either not easily accessible if there is people living in rural, fly in communities, or the Indigenous people don't trust the health professionals as they have a lack of knowledge on Indigenous health issues. To this day, Canada as a society has still not embraced the fact that the prosperity we have today, is built from the pain of people here before us. You might be wondering, "What can I do to help? It's not like I was the one doing this." and although "you" may not have been the one to influence these wrong doing, you have the power to right the wrongs of a century of pain. The first step to working towards reconciliation, is educating yourself. Most Canadians are still unaware of the truth behind the residential schools. By doing research and listening to survivors stories, you are on the path to bringing reconciliation to Canada. After you have acquired more information, you may choose to begin getting involved to rebuild the bridge with the Indigenous people of Canada. Furthermore, you can also begin breaking the biases and myths about Indigenous people. Talk about the history, educate others and expand their knowledge of what they presume to be residential schools. There are still many issues for Indigenous people gaining access to health care but Canada is getting closer to reconciliation and to equal opportunities for everyone. There is still change to be done. You have the power to make change, be the change.