Entry 1:
Some of my initial thoughts when reading about Indigenous knowledge and education are about how and why this has become an issue worth discussion for the federal and provincial governments. Any attempt towards reconciliation, let alone the “legitimizing” of Indigenous knowledge is a relatively new concept. My most prominent memory of Indigenous influence in my own education was when Orange Shirt Day started in my Grade 12 year.
I have never been a fan of tokenism, but I think that the orange shirt itself is less important than the sheer significance of removing the taboo behind talking about residential schools. Canada had committed acts of genocide and it was widely unknown or just not talked about, and schools now had a reason to teach students about them every year. I do think that the orange shirt gets overly marketed and emphasized, which risks undermining the central message of the day itself, but the implementation of this day was a good fundamental step towards any semblance of reconciliation.