top of page

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

Cheetahs for Change's Truth and Reconciliation project has taken form through two different interconnected sub-projects: "Orange Shirt Day" and the "Weeping Willow Project".

ORANGE SHIRT DAY

On June 3rd, 2021 Canada named September 30th the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Before that date, it was commonly known as Orange Shirt Day, a day to remember and reflect upon the tragedies suffered by the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, specifically speaking about Phyllis Webstad's story. Throughout the month of September, Cheetahs for Change filmed a video about this day, showcasing first hand experiences in an attempt to help people understand the horrors that occurred. This video was shown to thousands, and it sparked serious and necessary conversations regarding Canada's gruesome past. After viewing the video each class in our school took time to discuss how the video made them feel. Before we can reconcile... we must know and acknowledge the truth, which is what Cheetahs for Change aimed to convey with this project.

THE WILLOW TREE PROJECT

In the wake of the atrocious recoveries of the remains of 215 Indigenous in Kamloops, B.C. in May of 2021, Cheetahs for Change have made a commitment to condemn the insidious crimes committed against these innocent Secwépemc and Nlaka'pamuxhat children that never made it home. We embarked on the journey to recuperate the memory of these kids and bring them home. We wanted to plant the roots of justice and pave the road to reconciliation. "Weeping Willow" is our metaphor for Mother Nature continuing to mourn her children and the new growing branches personify settlers’ efforts to establish justice and build new strong bridges. We collected rocks from the Kwipek area, representing Mi’kmaq homeland, displaying the intergenerational roots and symbolizing the sense of eternity. These rocks also embody heat, warmth of the final home for these children. To move forward, we as settlers need to own our wrongs. We painted these 139 rocks, to  underline the juxtaposition of the gruesome reality displaying the death toll in each residential school and in hope of a true allyship and friendship. While the top surface of the rocks are painted with the recorded number of Residential Schools on Turtle Island (Canada),, the other side painted in orange and red reminds settlers of Jordan’s principle and that EVERY CHILD MATTERS EVERY DAY. The exhibit also reinforces the importance of the planted T.R.E.E , the acronym that stands for Truth, Reconciliation, Empathy and Etuaptmumk ( Two –Eyed Seeing or the Gift of Multiple Perspectives ). Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk in Mi’kmaw) embraces “learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of western knowledges and ways of knowing, and to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all,” as envisaged by Elder Dr. Albert Marshall.

bottom of page