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Rotary is an organization of business and professional person united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
Towards Truth Event in Guelph September 27- October 3
An event to commemorate the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Towards Truth is a joint event hosted by the City of Guelph, The Indigenous Awareness Committee of the Rotary Club of Guelph and the Bookshelf. As Hosts, we are only settlers providing a platform for information to be shared with other settlers. We are not speaking for anyone. The information is already publicly available but often not known, especially by non-Indigenous people. This event is seen by the Hosts as a means to assist with the process of discovering truth and progressing to reconciliation.
Toward Truth Events
1. River Run
Towards Truth: FREE Speaker Event
View the Speaker Event here (Event starts at the 16min mark)
Join Ava Hill Past Chief Six Nations Electoral Council and Phil Monture President Nativelands LTD. with special guests Residential School Survivors Roberta Hill and Dawn Hill. Learn about Residential Schools & Land Treaties
2. Bookshelf Cinema
Click here for a detailed introduction to the Film Festival
Sept 30- Oct 3, 2021 - Click here for tickets
Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen Lands, Strong Hearts
Thurs Sept 30, 6 pm
Sun Oct 3, 1:30 pm
THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN
Fri. Oct. 4 pm
Sun, Oct 3, 10:30 am
BEANS
Thurs Sept 30, 8:30 pm
Sat Oct 2, 2 pm
3. Towards Braiding - Request a FREE copy of the Book
This is a must read for Organizations and Individuals who are looking to explore ‘different ways of knowing and being’ in order to deepen their understanding of DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION (DEI) from an Indigenous, lived experience perspective.
As a community service, the Rotary Club of Guelph’s Indigenous Awareness Committee (with financial support from the City of Guelph) has printed 500 copies of this book for organizations and individuals wanting to learn more and help with DEI initiatives, especially with the Indigenous community.
It is encouraging to see that many organizations have a sincere wish to increase their understanding of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). And, it is increasingly common to find DEI statements issued by organizations, be it business, church, club, charity, political party, educational institution, public service, or other. There is also a growing interest from individuals who simply want to learn more about DEI - to become better allies, to increase their understanding and to change their way of “knowing and being”. This process needs to be constant, requires honest reflection and reassessment, especially when things seem to fall apart.
The Rotary Club of Guelph’s Indigenous Awareness Committee wondered how the club could specifically improve its own DEI with Indigenous people and came across a remarkably insightful book called Towards Braiding by Elwood Jimmy and Vanessa Andreotti with Sharon Stein.
With the book’s research and writing sponsored by the Musagetes Foundation, Towards Braiding does not provide a direct “how to” for achieving Indigenous DEI, (nor do the authors necessarily subscribe to the frame of DEI) but rather identifies common pitfalls to avoid, and the principles required that move towards having more sustainable and generative relationships with Indigenous people. In 100 pages, it provides valuable considerations from an Indigenous point of view but which are also helpful in many other categories of DEI work. It provides a process for understanding how diverse communities can “move together towards improved relationships and yet-unimaginable wiser futures.” (Pg. 10 )
As the authors of Towards Braiding say, “The path itself, not the destination, is what will change us.“ (Pg. 94)
4. How can I help with Truth and Reconciliation?
ATTENTION:
If you are experiencing emotional distress and want to talk, call the First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-866-925-4419. It is toll-free and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of his or her Residential school experience. For more information on the program, please refer to the FNHA website.
