Congress 2021 blog edition
By Anurika Onyenso, Third Year General Management Major, University of Alberta, Augustana Campus.
The University of Alberta’s “Acts of Reconciliation during Ongoing Colonial Violence” webcast tackled how everyday acts of reconciliation and solidarity can be catalysts for profound change. Crystal Fraser, Assistant Professor, Department of History Classics, & Religious Studies and the Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta, and Sara Komarnisky, Research Manager, Hotıì ts'eeda: NWT SPOR Support Unit, Tłįchǫ Government and Adjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, presented an in-depth outlook into their 2017 150 Acts of Reconciliation for the Last 150 Days of Canada list, their process for creating it, and the impact it still continues to have.
They also addressed the sensitive topics of white privilege and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Fraser pointed out that the process of reconciliation is not about making white people feel guilty, but rather to understand and honour the past and then move on through action with knowledge to obtain justice.
The 150 Acts of Reconciliation for the Last 150 Days of Canada list was a creation of both assistant professors Crystal Fraser and Dr. Sara Komarnisky in response to the Canada 150 celebrations and expenses. For anyone who is Indigenous or a committed ally and has critically explored the history of this settler nation, celebrating 150 years of Canada is not always a positive thing.
The list symbolized a pathway by which everyone in the community could make an effort, no matter how insignificant or miniscule, towards awareness and action and was constructed from the ideas Fraser and Komarnisky bounced off each other that they felt best addressed their action-focused detailed objectives.
Speaking freely, Fraser confessed the true extent of how personal this list is to her since several of her cultural teachings and knowledge were destroyed due to her family’s institutionalization at Indian residential schools in the past.
Komarnisky, on the other hand, spoke on how this list is a roadmap for her to understand the stories, laws and languages of the Indigenous land she inhabits.
#150 Acts for Community
Fraser and Komarnisky outlined some of the key points from their 150 Acts of Reconciliation for the Last 150 Days of Canada list:
- #2: Find your local reconciliation (or decolonizing or Indigenous cultural resurgence) organization.
- #3: If there isn’t one, consider joining together with others to start one
- #16: Support Black Lives Matter
- #112: Make reconciliation a family project and complete items on this list together.
This Webcast presentation was dedicated to the 215 children whose remains were found at a former Indigenous school site in B.C.
Special thanks to the University of Alberta for hosting this Intersections of Arts Webcast at Congress 2021.
Workshop Resources:
150 Acts of Reconciliation for the Last 150 Days of Canada 150 List: http://activehistory.ca/2017/08/150-acts-of-reconciliation-for-the-last-150-days-of-canadas-150/
Indigenous Canada MOOC at UAlberta: https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html
Indigenous Canada Discussions with Dan Levy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrkqw94dlk3l5hzaCzbh4Qw/featured
Shaggy’s Article on Anti-Blackness: https://indiancountrytoday.com/opinion/the-monster-that-lurks-in-indian-country-anti-blackness?fbclid=IwAR3Uej_L-uHCk69OAm76CWSAxIHh4jPI9OPAXepzIW11WRxZW-TuZOrptGU