I went to see Sarain Fox’s lecture/presentation on Wednesday night. I found her talk incredibly profound.
Here are some ideas that I took from her presentation
- if you want to be an ally, you have to do the work
- be aware of the emotional and informational (reconciliation) fatigue that indigenous people are going through (having to respond to settlers who are trying to prove they’re one of the good guys – which -Sarain mentioned, is more tiring to deal with than those who are not getting involved)
- the importance of being aware of your own motivations when asking questions. This is something that I’ve really championed in my own self-reflection.
- moving forward – stagnation from talking about trauma – what do I really want to accomplish? It’s not to make people feel guilty or to get pity but to change the narrative and to think about the next steps
- There is no reconciliation without truth, and the truth is what -as Sarain talked about – is what is missing from the movement toward reconciliation
For those who didn’t get to see Sarain Fox Wednesday night, here’s a Ted talk she did a couple of months ago in Toronto.