I grew up in a white society that controlled the narrative. Very little was taught about the First Peoples of this Land. My education about the First Peoples was started by my parents. My Farther lived in the far north with Inuit and brought back his experiences, their art and their traditions and stories which he told around our dinner table. My Mother introduced us to a small collection of First Peoples stories, or as we knew them Fairy Tales, but they were really lessons in life.Â
I learnt about the residential school system only as a side note to history and that they only ended in the 1990s. The First Peoples were a silent hidden truth of this country.
With the long overdue exposure of the Residential Schools and their terrible impact on the children who were there, their families who were robbed of their children and the intergenerational trauma caused by the system, you are no longer hidden.
I hear you; I see you and I will learn more about you as I am a guest in your world.
I will learn about how many nations there are. Where and what is their natural territory. What are their traditions and most importantly their story.
Rosemary Cooke
Â鶹AV - Retired Staff
