National Indigenous Peoples Day – CCR Resources
| Today, 21 June 2021, marks the day of the Summer Solstice. It also marks the 25th annual National Indigenous Peoples Day. A day to celebrate the invaluable histories, cultures, traditions and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
As we celebrate, our hearts are still full of the collective grief and anger that recently washed over Turtle Island. These recent discoveries are a reminder, if we needed one, that concrete steps must be undetaken before we can reach Reconciliation. Truth is one of them; accountability is another one. We cannot say we support Indigenous Peoples without a willingness to learn – and unlearn – every day. |
Elders from First Nations shared their words of hope with us:
Being a visionary
I am and I wish it to all of us for a future of collaboration. We walk on the same land, a place of encounters and welcome, a land of sharing. A stranger is for us a friend that we do not know yet He is not an unidentified danger he is human like you and me. I see what I want and can do for this kind future, and you? — Marie-Émilie Lacroix, Innu Elder from Mashteuiatsh
The Solstice represents the rebirth of the Sun for the First Nations, it is a day of gathering with members of the community to celebrate the strength of the Sun and the connection with Fire, a day of renewal and reconciliation in order to strengthen the ties with neighbouring communities… A beautiful day to remember that we all breathe the same air, that we all drink the same Water and that we all share the same mother, our beautiful mother Earth, and that we all shine under the same rays of the Sun… — Grandmother Francine, Anishinabee Elder
Resources:
CCR list of resources including a toolkit to be allies and a phone app to find out on which territories you are.
