Over 1,000 teachers and staff from across the St. James-Assiniboia School Division (SJASD) took part in a Reconciliation event in a morning session on September 5 featuring Cadmus Delorme, the former chief of Cowessess First Nation and a nationally recognized speaker on Reconciliation issues.
Cadmus shared a positive vision for the future in which Indigenous students thrive alongside non-Indigenous students in part by restoring their connections with generations of loved ones and reconnecting with their Indigenous world view and culture.
Cadmus calls this restoration vertical lineage, where children experience support and knowledge from multiple generations of their family in the form of love, physical touch, quality time, and the gift to serve. In contrast, when this lineage is broken, or horizontal, a child is in survival mode, and may only receive limited support from friends, siblings and cousins. Their connection to their culture is compromised, and they aren't as able to reconcile their Indigenous and Western world views with each other. This can impact their confidence and sense of belonging.
To move towards Reconciliation, Cadmus spoke to educators about the need to learn about our true past and how to overcome the history we have inherited, especially the devastating impact of residential schools on generations of Indigenous peoples.
He also asked the critical question of why it took the discovery of unmarked graves in 2021 to spur further action on Reconciliation. (The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada unveiled their final report and 94 Calls to Action in 2015 following the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007).
Cadmus spoke to teachers about his experience of discovering and wresting with the history of residential schools in his own family, and his work to convince the Cowessess Council to sign a historic child welfare agreement with two levels of government to regain jurisdiction over their children and youth. They were the first to do so in 2020. Cowessess currently has no children in care.
While Cadmus admits that the path to Reconciliation is long, a country that can benefit from two beautiful world views working with and alongside each other – Indigenous and Western – will be stronger and more prosperous in the long run, and our children will thank us for it.
All staff received a presentation from Cadmus Delorme on September 5 as part of a cross-Division professional development session, including non-teaching staff in the afternoon. The session aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's 57th Call to Action to provide education for public servants. Cadmus also addressed close to 40 members of the SJASD community in a free Reconciliation event at Collège Sturgeon Heights Collegiate in the late afternoon of September 5.
(From top to bottom): Cadmus Delorme addresses SJASD staff. Superintendent Jenness Moffatt discusses the objectives for the professional development session. Over 1,000 teachers and staff attend the morning session.
