Tomorrow Sept. 30, 2022, Canadians mark the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday.
Truth requires bravery, both from the teller of truths and the listener.
Not all people are brave enough to hear the truth.
And not all people know what to do with the truth when it is presented to them.
Within the foundations of the Indigenous way of life the words truth and bravery figure strongly – The Seven Sacred Teachings
To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM
To know LOVE is to know peace
To honor all of the Creation is to have RESPECT
BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity
HONESTY also means “righteousness”, be honest first with yourself – in word and action
HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creation
TRUTH is to know all of these things.
Tomorrow, and every tomorrow thereafter, we must be brave enough to fully open our eyes and ears to the truth – the abusive history of mistreatment, oppression and inequality towards the Indigenous peoples of this country.
This history continues today and is found in many forms including the way we ignore their needs and their right to self-govern and live as a prosperous and thriving people.
We cannot ask them to forgive (Reconciliation) until we have listened to the whole story (Truth)!
