May marks Indigenous History Month in Canada. It was just a few short weeks ago when Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation announced the discovery of the bodies of 215 children found in an unmarked mass grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Colombia. First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde says “the residential school system constituted a genocide against Indigenous Peoples and the unmarked graves found in Kamloops are evidence.”
Here is a video which shares the stories of some survivors the Kamloops residential school, I would ask each of you to listen to their words and pause for a moment, to reflect on the 215 children who have been found as well as the others who remain missing.
This month as part of our continuing Diversity & Inclusion Program at Hotspex we hosting several educational events throughout the month to honour Indigenous History Month. This includes historical trivia and cooking challenges celebrating Indigenous cuisine, and also an educational webinar as part if our ongoing series. Our trusted partners at Prompta Consulting organized the webinar we hosted on June 16, which was led by a strong female business leader and a Hesquaih First Nations woman. She shared with us a gut wrenching, moving first hand account of life as an Indigenous woman in Canada: her and her family’s story of the trauma and abuse they suffered at the hands of the residential school system, and her subsequent journey to honour and celebrate her roots.
In honour of her story, courage and bravery, please consider making a donation to the Hesquiaht Language Program in order to help preserve her native tongue by promoting the teaching and learning of the language.
Hotspex is committed to supporting, educating and acting as agents of change in order to better the world. We stand hand in hand with the Indigenous Communities not just across Canada, but globally, in order to promote greater understanding, challenge bias, and celebrate the diversity and beauty of the many different cultures across the world.
Hačuu (Thank you in the Hesquiaht language)
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