Two years ago, Justice (now senator) Murray Sinclair challenged us with 94 calls to action to achieve reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.
Senator Sinclair is quoted as saying, “I really don’t care if you feel responsible for the past. The real question is do you feel a sense of responsibility for the future because that’s what this is all about?”
While we can agree that we need to work together for a brighter future, and Sinclair has tried to give us a road map, we will need a shared vision of what that future should look like. If we hold a fundamentally different meaning of the world, then all of our attempts to improve communication will fail because we may not be addressing our deeper differences that continue to fuel conflicts.
“Lack of understanding of the native epistemological root metaphor (ways of being in the world, including psychological and spiritual worlds) continues to hinder our profession. Historical narcissism (the belief that one’s own system of thinking must be used to validate other cultural belief systems) continues to be an issue in the relationship between Original People and those who hold power in the academic and clinical life-world. I use strong language because the Original person is expected to fully understand the world of the colonizer simply because the colonizer says so. When it comes to making an effort to understand the life-world of the Original person, the colonizer becomes very creative in using defences to preserve his Cartesian life-world.”
–Eduardo Duran, Healing the Soul Wound
Please join us Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 7-8 p.m. in the community room at Berwick Comox Valley, 1700 Comox Ave., Comox, as Meredith Martin helps us explore our views of the world and consider whether we might understand and address our different world views.
Martin is of Coast Salish ancestry from the Snuneymuxw Nation (Nanaimo). She has a master’s in counselling psychology, has worked for many years in Aboriginal child and youth mental health, and co-facilitates Truth and Reconciliation workshops. She has also been involved in community development, working toward culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal people.
Martin works for Island Health as an eating disorder therapist and has her own private counselling practice. She has passionately dedicated 15 years toward Truth and Reconciliation work.
As always at the Café, Martin will have just 10 minutes to introduce the topic for the evening and then all those who come out can participate in a respectful, non-partisan conversation – or just sit back and listen. Organizers welcome the public to propose topics and introduce them at future Cafés. Themes should be of broad interest and national significance, and have an element of controversy.