Orange Shirt Day (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)

This trip has taken us through many significant Indigenous sites: Manitoulin Island, Treaty 1 territory at The Forks in Winnipeg, the Wanuskewin site in Saskatchewan. We've learned about Louis Riel and the Red River Resistance, and we've passed unceded territory at Wikwemikong.

On Monday of this week, we had the opportunity to visit The Secwépemc (suh-WEP-muhk) Museum and Heritage Park in Kamloops. It contains fascinating exhibits on Indigenous language, history, culture, and art.

We learned about pit houses, Indigenous sports, and the nomenclature of the months. We learned that what looked to us like a numeral 7 in written language was actually a glottal stop. And we were completely entranced by the art of “Raven” Dave Seymour.

What we didn’t realize until after we left (we’ve been on the road for two weeks and haven’t been paying attention to the news) is that the day before our visit, a group of masked men who call themselves the “Second Sons” came to this site unwelcome, carrying banners and attempting to call into question the history of sites like this.

Anger is not the answer.

Indigenous history is human history, and the more we learn, the more we become familiar, the less prone we are to fear and hatred.

Click here for a list of organizations doing good work to help Indigenous communities across Canada.