5th Annual National Building Reconciliation Forum Final Report : simplebooklet.com

FORUM OVERVIEW The 5th Annual National Building Reconciliation Forum was co hosted in Sault Ste Marie Ontario from October 8th 10th 2019 by Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig Nipissing University Cape Breton University the University of Northern British Columbia and Algoma University Universities Canada provided guidance to event organizers to ensure the success of the overall event and continuity of related efforts by the sector Over 300 delegates participated in all or a portion of the three day event including 22 University presidents senior University leadership teams from over 60 Universities Indigenous leaders Elders Residential School Survivors community partners and students from across the country Over 100 different organizations were represented and over half the delegates were at the Provost VP Dean and senior leadership levels with a good balance of Indigenous and non Indigenous leaders In addition to participants from across Canada delegations from Mexico and Australia were also in attendance contributing to the richness of the conversation The community of Sault Ste Marie is situated at the Heart of the Great Lakes a region that has long served as a traditional gathering place of people from all different territories tribes and cultures Hosting the Forum on the site of a former Residential School combined with the integration of the Survivor community ensured an impactful land and culture based Pre Forum which set the stage for the important dialogue to follow Organizers intentionally established an agenda that was intended to stimulate not only the minds but the hearts and spirits of those in attendance The historic location and partnership approach adopted by the five co host institutions provided a tremendous opportunity to engage in a unique national dialogue intended to reignite conversations regarding the important contribution Canadian Universities will have over the next five years of national reconciliation efforts Key themes emerging from the agenda appendix 1 of this year s Forum are outlined below Themes arose from PreForum appendix 2 and Forum objectives established by host institutions Key Forum Themes 1 In order to move forward with reconciliation it is important to know and feel the truth of Canada s history and the lingering intergenerational impacts created by this truth 2 Reinforcing Anishinaabe ways of knowing and doing through the integration of land and culture based experiences aimed to provide a fuller learning opportunity to enrich dialogue engage participants and shape future actions 3 Framing the future what does reconciliation look like over the next five years 4 All voices matter ensuring representation from all stakeholders and all regions of the country is the only way to accomplish true national reconciliation The purpose of this report is to provide a high level overview of the above noted themes while sharing related next steps and key feedback gathered from Forum participants and organizers The report and summary video linked here captures the essence of the important dialogue which took place to help guide the ongoing efforts of the University sector while supporting the planning of the Sixth Annual National Building Reconciliation Forum taking place in Qu bec next Fall 3

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KEY THEME 1 In order to move forward with reconciliation it is important to know and feel the truth of Canada s history and the resultant lingering intergenerational impacts Pii sa ni niigaansemgag wi mino ganoondiwin ishpendaagwad wii gkenjigaadeg minwaa wii moozhtong ezhi debwemgag Canada ezhnikaadeg aki wdoo gweyekwaajimowin miinwaa go ne en aanike bmaadziwinan gaa bnaajchigaadegin From the beginning of initial planning to the facilitation of Pre Forum and Forum activities fully integrating the Survivor community into the agenda including tours of a site they once called home ensured a rich deep and impactful experience for all delegates Given the event s location the involvement of the Survivor community namely members of the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association helped ensure the authenticity of the overall event allowing participants to be engaged in a way that they may have not had an opportunity to experience in the past Each Pre Forum activity was developed around specific Survivor stories Residential School experiences and impacts to provide participants with first hand experiences of the Residential School era The idea behind this portion of the Forum was that in order to move forward with reconciliation we must first learn the truth Incorporating the first hand experiences of these Survivors stimulated thought and reached the hearts of all involved 4 Examples of how theme one was incorporated into the overall agenda are listed in appendix three Next steps and recommendations 1a Although this theme was woven into all activities organized as part of the Pre Forum this one day portion of the overall event was only open to approximately 100 delegates The recommendation would be to incorporate Survivor experiences throughout the entire three day period in order to ensure participants have a fuller understanding of Canada s Residential School history from the perspective of those who experienced it first hand 1b Program content should be customized to suit the unique environment of the host location

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KEY THEME 2 Reinforcing Anishinaabe ways of knowing and doing through the integration of land and culture based experiences and spiritual elements and practices before during and after the Forum aimed to provide a fuller learning opportunity to enrich dialogue engage participants and shape future actions Dagosidong Anishinaabe gikendaaswin miinwaa ezhi zhichigeng gegoo maamwi dagosidong aki miinwaa inaadzwini gikenjigewinan ooshme wii gkendaagwak wii ganoonding wii dgongaazwaad waadookaazjig miinwaa wii zhinaaktong niigaan waa nizhiwebag Miinwaa dgosidong manidowaadziwinan miinwaa go manidowaadziwin jibwaa epiichi miinwaa shkwaa temgak wi Gchi nkweshkdaawin Forum ezhnikaadeg Throughout recent history the importance of integrating land and culture based learning opportunities has been consistently reinforced by First Nation M tis and Inuit leaders and scholars Chief Shingwauk s vision of crosscultural learning originally espoused on the historic site of this year s Forum provided an important frame in the development of the agenda The importance of putting spirit first was a priority to the planning committee and in order to do so the committee engaged local Chiefs and a spiritual cultural advisor In addition the Forum agenda extends the important role of land and culture based education as noted in the Indian Control of Indian Education s statement of values 1972 not just the indian child as stated We want education to provide a setting in which our children can develop the fundamental attitudes and values which have an honoured place in Indian tradition and culture The values which we want to pass on to our children values which make our people a great race are not written in any book They are found in our history in our legends and in the culture We believe that if an Indian child is fully aware of the important Indian values he will have reason to be proud of our race and of himself as an Indian Finally a pillar in the organization of the agenda was the Ontario First Nation M tis and Inuit Education Policy Framework s vision is to ensure that students will have the necessary traditional and contemporary knowledge when entering the workforce We felt that it was important that both the educators and post secondary leaders have this experience embedded in their learning at the Forum Organizers went to great lengths to respectfully weave traditional spiritual practices teachings and ceremony into all aspects of the event including pre event planning and post event reflection and action With the support from our spiritual advisor members from the planning committee often went into ceremony for guidance while planning the Forum CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 5

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KEY THEME 2 CONTINUED Reinforcing Anishinaabe ways of knowing and doing through the integration of land and culture based experiences and spiritual elements and practices before during and after the Forum aimed to provide a fuller learning opportunity to enrich dialogue engage participants and shape future actions Dagosidong Anishinaabe gikendaaswin miinwaa ezhi zhichigeng gegoo maamwi dagosidong aki miinwaa inaadzwini gikenjigewinan ooshme wii gkendaagwak wii ganoonding wii dgongaazwaad waadookaazjig miinwaa wii zhinaaktong niigaan waa nizhiwebag Miinwaa dgosidong manidowaadziwinan miinwaa go manidowaadziwin jibwaa epiichi miinwaa shkwaa temgak wi Gchi nkweshkdaawin Forum ezhnikaadeg CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 The planning committee put spirit first through the entire forum from sunrise ceremonies to sacred fires to decisions on the placement of the temporary lodge all activities and decisions were guided by spirit and the direction of Elders local Chiefs and the spiritual and cultural advisor One specific spiritual element of note is the significance of the paddles that were prominently displayed throughout the Forum The spiritual connection to the paddles described in this link were an important part of the ceremony Commissioned by the University of Victoria they represent Coast Salish canoe teachings specifically emphasizing the importance of paddling together post secondary institutions coming together rowing in the same direction as we honour and respond to this period in time focused on Truth and Reconciliation Other examples of how this theme was incorporated into the overall agenda as listed in appendix four 6 Next steps and recommendations 2 a Based on the feedback provided by delegates and organizers of this Forum we recommend that land and culture based activities continue to be integrated into all aspects of future Forums 2 b Provide takeaways to further explain the significance of land and culture based activities for delegates would allow participants to bring teachings back to their communities 2 c Organizers must ensure their efforts are guided by spiritual practices appropriate to their region while being respectful and cognizant of the fact that such practices may be new or different from those of Forum participants

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KEY THEME 3 Framing the future what does reconciliation look like over the next five years Naaksidong niigaan aaniish mino ganoondiwin ezhnaagwak ni naano bboongak In 2014 the first Universities Canada Reconciliation Forum was organized as an attempt to address sector specific elements within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action Based on feedback following the 2018 Forum it appeared the momentum for moving the calls to action forward was slowing and this year s organizers wanted to reinvigorate this important effort In order to do so we needed to ensure that the agenda included a range of topics that would stimulate the hearts and minds of participants and frame deeper dive sessions that would help establish the groundwork needed to set the stage for the next five years of reconciliation Next steps and recommendations 3a Build in a working session near the end of the Forum that allows the group as a whole to decide what Indigenous Education looks like for Universities as a collective 3b General feedback from these sessions reinforced the importance of a shared responsibility between Indigenous voices and others to collectively move the conversation forward in their respective institutions Examples of how this theme was incorporated into the overall agenda are listed in appendix five 7

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KEY THEME 4 All voices matter ensuring representation from all stakeholders and all regions of the country is the only way to accomplish true national reconciliation Kina go ekdang niigaanendaagwad bgidnindwaa wii dgobwaad ge ek kina e maamiikwaabnjgejig miinwaa go kin ngoji manpii aking mii eta maanda gegeti mino ganoondiwin ji debnigaadeg Issues tied to reconciliation are far reaching and involve a range of stakeholders In order to pave a path into the future the inclusion of voices and viewpoints from all stakeholders and regions is critical The organizers of the 2019 Forum went to great lengths to include voices from all regions of the country as well as a range of stakeholders including Survivors students senior leaders faculty and Elders Incorporating a range of voices ensured Forum participants gathered a holistic understanding of issues and associated elements from the past and present Examples of how this theme was incorporated into the overall agenda are listed in appendix six 8 Next steps and Recommendations 4a Continuing with the student spotlight is significantly important to understand where Canada stands as a whole with regards to reconciliation in the University sector 4b Leveraging internal and external stakeholders Survivors leaders external resource contacts etc from a particular region builds community to support the development of a collective voice on truth and reconciliation that is more likely to garner broad support

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CONCLUSION The 5th Annual National Building Reconciliation Forum was intended to bring together leaders from across our great nation to continue to move related actions forward to address the University sector s response to this important societal issue Although there is still considerable work to be done based on participant feedback found in appendix seven organizers feel the goals and objectives of the Forum were achieved and hope that in some way they have made a positive impact on the sector s collective efforts hearing the truth is hard but getting to reconciliation is harder Getting to understand the impact that history had upon us is going to be a difficult thing to come to terms with education is key Senator Murray Sinclair CTV Interview Sept 17 2019 9

5th Annual National Building Reconciliation Forum Final Report

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