Ey swáyel,
As I reflect on last week’s announcement from the Xyólhmet ye Syéwiqwélh (Taking Care of Our Children) team regarding the atrocities committed at St. Mary’s Residential School, Coqualeetza Industrial Institute, All Hallows School, and Coqualeetza Indian Hospital, I am filled with sadness and anger as I continue to learn of the experiences of Indigenous children in residential schools. What they saw, heard, and experienced for decades and generations, and the immense pain and grief of the families they were taken from.
As we approach the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we must acknowledge the truth – that Canada has a painful history of colonization, and it has serious lasting impacts of intergenerational trauma.
And we must also honour other truths, like the awe-inspiring resilience, strength, and kindness of the Stó:lō and all Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island who have stewarded the land for time immemorial. Each and every day we feel the compassion of Elders, Stó:lō Elders, families, and leaders in Stó:lō Téméxw as they walk with us in our time of learning. And despite the atrocities committed, there is proof all around us that Stó:lō culture, language, and art have survived.
We remind our university community that the work of Reconciliation involves everyone, and that succeeding in delivering on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action requires that we act together, moving forward in the spirit of lets’e ó sqwálewel (unity).
Many of us will wear orange — a shirt, a pin, or a ribbon — and reflect on and discuss why we are wearing it. Take time to learn about the history of Indigenous Peoples where you live and work. Explore the many opportunities available at UFV and in the community to watch, learn, and grow, including:
- Chowiyes-Xwithet/Rise Up-Wake Up featuring bilingual Good Medicine Songs, written in Halq’eméylem and English, at UFV’s CEP campus on Thursday, September 28
- Bone of Crows: Community Showing in Mission at The Clarke Theatre on Friday, September 29
- Stó:lō Service Agency’s Truth and Reconciliation Day Ceremony at Coqualeetza Memorial Post on Saturday, September 30
- Abbotsford community partners collaborate to present a commemorative event in honour of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the Stetís ímexstowx (Walk Beside Us) Gathering on Saturday, September 30 between 10am-2pm in Abbotsford’s Civic Plaza
- Strategies for Building Genuine Reconciliation hosted by the Rotary Club of Abbotsford Sumas and UFV’s Community Health and Social Innovation (CHASI) Hub on Saturday, September 30
- Consider making a gift to the UFV Student Union Society Indigenous Student Emergency Fund at Employee Giving – UFV Giving
- And the many resources the Xwexwílmexwawt website offers to our diverse community.
I am committed to working together to ensure UFV’s core values of st’elt’elawtexw (community) and lexwsq’eq’ostexw (inclusivity) are lived by ensuring Indigenous ways of knowledge are honoured and celebrated throughout the university, and that we are creating a future where Every Child Matters.
Kw’as hoy,
Dr. James Mandigo
Acting President & Vice-Chancellor