Getting Uncomfortable with Canadian History
Sandra Rever SHRM-SCP
Transformational HR Leader, Executive and Leadership Coach, HR Strategist, Organizational Development and Effectiveness, Educator
Like many Canadians of settler descent, I challenged myself in 2021 to learn more about Canadian-Indigenous relations and history.?I read books by Indigenous authors, attended workshops, added, and interacted with inspiring Indigenous thought leaders and business owners on my Instagram feed.?What I learned was eye opening, deeply upsetting, and certainly not even close to my (obviously biased and sanitized) Grade 4 curriculum.?It has changed my view of the Canada I grew up believing in.?I still think Canada is an amazing country, but we all need to do a far better job in ensuring it is an amazing country for everyone.
For me, knowledge is always a good place to start.?One thing I have heard from my BIPOC connections, especially Indigenous ones, is that it can be an extra burden for these individual people to be the only source of Indigenous history or knowledge for us – they would like us to know about their history and experiences, but as individuals, they would rather not be the sole source of truth for us on the topic.?It is often very painful for them to relive their experience and history of their people through the telling of it.?That’s fair.?
Here are some links that I have found helpful in this area (kudos to Jay Brewster and Veronica Headley of Shaw’s DEI team for their help in this area).
领英推荐
RESOURCES:
Do you have any resources that you would recommend on this learning journey??Please feel free to add below in the comments.??
Manager, Integrity Engineering at Trans-Northern Pipelines Inc.
4 个月Thanks Sandra. Great article and resource put forward for further reading. I add the following to your recommended list of resouces: The Five Little Indians by Michelle Good . It is a powerful and unforgettable novel that deserves a wide readership. It is not just the story of residential school survivors,?it is a deeply moving exploration of family, trauma, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
Productivity Coach | Teaching Leaders and Teams How to Be More Productive Day-to-Day and Strive for Operational Excellence Through Productivity Coaching and Consulting.
3 年This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing.
[love] collecting & connecting dots, leadership development, people listening, data-driven design, action research, strategic collaboration, beautiful questions, meaningful learning
3 年Thank you for sharing these resources Sandra Rever, PhD. When wanting to make Land Acknowledgements meaningful, I learned so much from Veronica Headley & Carmen Struyk's 1-hour workshop and their insightful (and caring) follow-up support.