According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) summary report, for over a hundred years, “the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct social, cultural, religious and racial entities in Canada.”
Residential schools were one of many devastating strategies to further these goals. Canadian governments continue to disregard, limit, and terminate Indigenous rights, including land and Treaty rights, while historic and contemporary Canadian colonial practices are mirrored elsewhere in the world with Indigenous peoples.
KAIROS Canada is committed to truth, healing, and reconciliation for the past and justice for the present. We support an active process of decolonization— with ourselves, our communities, our churches, and our country, building just and respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. We support contributing to the recognition of Indigenous peoples as distinct peoples and nations, with rights to land and self-determination.
KAIROS is committed to a new relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the globe, a relationship based on mutual respect, equity and the full realization of Indigenous peoples’ rights. Core to this commitment is the principled implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Please visit the Indigenous Rights Program page at kairoscanada.org to learn more.
Current priorities include decolonization and reconciliation education, through KAIROS Canada’s most popular teaching tool the KAIROS Blanket Exercise, implementation of the TRC Calls to Action through the Winds of Change campaign, and a commitment to free prior and informed consent.
KAIROS supports this work through the Mother Earth and Resource Extraction, Women Defending Land and Water digital hub of information and resources. The MERE Hub, is KAIROS’ Gender Justice Program offering. It explores the gendered impacts of resource extraction on Indigenous women, and solidarity with global, Indigenous-led struggles such as justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and equity for First Nations’ children.
KAIROS and the Legacy of Hope Foundation have collaborated on the production of Ravens: Messengers of Change, an educational resource for people of all ages that creates awareness and encourages action for reconciliation in Canada by calling on everyone to become, like ravens, messengers of change. Born out of a need to help participants of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise take their newfound understanding a step further through concrete actions on their journey as informed allies, Ravens: Messengers of Change enables people from all walks of life to participate in the resource’s activities in the safety of their homes or outdoors during the pandemic. The activity book is available in English and French
Find out how Ravens are furthering conversations and share our hashtag #Ravensmessengersofchange to support this exciting and educational resource!
