Canada Day is approaching, and along with it, anticipation for a much-needed holiday.
As an immigrant to this country, I remember my sense of pride when I took my Canadian citizenship pledge. I never imagined that some 35 years later, I would attend the same ceremony at Acadia as its President and welcome our Prime Minister to campus, and then welcome so many excited new Canadians.
It was moving to watch people from around the world achieving their citizenship right here in Wolfville. For so many, Canada means opportunity and equality, a haven in a world that is often dangerous, and a free and prosperous country that values human dignity and opportunity for all.
This year, we are contemplating whether it is suitable to celebrate Canada Day, given the shocking and horrific discovery of unmarked graves at two residential school sites. At Acadia, we have been walking the path of truth and reconciliation for a number of years. While we strive to walk this path together through a unique partnership with the First Nations communities, it is not an easy journey. This year, however, the meaning of truth has become so much more difficult and painful.
Acadia University was founded 29 years before Canada was declared a country. That seems like a long time until you consider that Indigenous Peoples were here for thousands of years before that. Our campus is in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq nation. Like many other countries, today's Canada was created as a result of colonization and migration, and the legacies of that past are real.
Unlike many other countries, Canada has yet to face up to those historical legacies and the impacts they continue to have today. We have known about the disappearance of children from residential schools for a long time, but only now are we coming to terms with the reality of what transpired.
When we should have been celebrating Indigenous History Month, we learned of the unmarked graves of Indigenous children at residential schools. This heartbreaking and unthinkable tragedy serves to bring past atrocities and injustices perpetrated upon Indigenous Peoples in Canada right here into the present.
This is a watershed moment for all Canadians, and we need to ensure that we face the truth of what happened to work toward real reconciliation. As our recent honorary degree recipient, the Hon. Justice Murray Sinclair has said, truth has to come before reconciliation.
I recently watched a CBC interview with Chief Cadmus Delorme of the Cowessess First Nation, whose land 751 unmarked graves were recently discovered. Chief Delorme spoke of being proudly Indigenous and Canadian; the importance of celebrating Canada in a truthful manner; facing up to the reality of the past; and accepting that while we didn’t cause what happened in the past, we have all inherited this tragic legacy and have the responsibility to deal with it truthfully. In doing this, we can work together to create a better future.
As you turn your thoughts to this coming Canada Day, please do so in a manner that reflects upon what we have learned from these recent discoveries.
We have much to celebrate and be thankful for as Canadians, but this is also a moment in time to focus on healing and to stand side by side with our Indigenous brothers and sisters.
Consider the Peace and Friendship Treaties and the responsibilities that these entail. If you can, take a moment to watch this educational video produced by the Mi'kmaw Nation and the Province of Nova Scotia to promote Treaty education for all.
We are all Treaty People. We are all part of this story, yet so few of us understand it. As a learning community, we have a particular responsibility to change this, understand the reality and legacy of our history, and build new relationships never to repeat past mistakes.
I believe we can make a brighter future as long as we learn more and act together.
So, is Canada Day history? No, but it is about history and ensuring that it does not repeat itself.
I wish you a happy, reflective, peaceful, and safe Canada Day.
