The Vancouver Reggio Association stands with the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc Nation as they grieve and honour the 215 children who died at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The Vancouver Reggio Association centres our work on children, learning and political agency embodied in the principles of the early childhood educators of Reggio Emilia, Italy. As such, we call for continued mobilization and support for advocacy for the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and emerging initiatives from local Indigenous communities.
As shared by educator Jo Chrona, curriculum director at the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), some steps non-Indigenous educators can take involve the process of: read, listen, reflect, act – repeat. What can you do?
The following recommendations have been suggested by local Indigenous community members, scholars and educators.
Tk’emlups te Secwépemc is accepting donations that will automatically be deposited into a separate account set up for the initiative of reconciliation. The email is: donations@kib.ca. There are no other fundraising initiatives Tk’emlups has authorized or is participating in at this time.
To write:
Write a letter to your local Member of Parliament expressing your concerns and questions. If you are not sure who your local MP is, you can find this information and their mailing address here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en