The Indigenous Day of Learning for SD. 57 gave me the opportunity to listen to two excellent speakers who both have extraordinary stories. The first was Ashley Callingbull who told her incredible inspiring story of overcoming intergenerational trauma and countless roadblocks to becoming a role model and spokesperson for indigenous people. Her story is an excellent example of the challenges that face First Nations people in Canada and is a strong motivation for me to be a part of positive change in our education system. Her story also showcased how powerful her cultural practices were to healing her trauma, showing how important it is to preserve and promote those ideas and traditions.
The second speaker I had the opportunity to listen to was Nikki Sanchez who talked about how to live sustainably in a time of climate change. With my background in environmental science and environmental consulting I have generally tended to focus on the science around climate change and less on the societal change that is required to combat it. This talk explored the personal and more importantly societal western colonial belief systems that have led to the exploitation of the earth we live on. Her discussion showed how important it is to shift this way of thinking back to beliefs that place higher value on our land.