Title:
Âsokan – “Bridge”: Building the Bridge to Reconciliation, One Story at a Time( file size: 848k )

Author:
Bonnar, C.

Medium Type:
Project

Keyword(s):
autoethnography, reconciliation, Aboriginal, Indigenous

Supervisor(s):
Dr Reinekke Lengelle

Abstract:
In June 2015, Volume One of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was released. Outlining the history of residential schools in Canada and the on-going impact felt by survivors and subsequent generations of Aboriginal peoples, the report also made 94 recommendations to help facilitate the reconciliation process. Canadians were spurred to react and act. Within academic institutions, there is much discussion about incorporating Indigenous perspectives and histories into all levels of public education. As an advisor in a public post-secondary institution, I question my role and the role of the institution in helping Aboriginal students on campus. How do we unlearn the Eurocentric history that we were taught and appreciate the Indigenous peoples, culture, and history that surround us on Treaty 6 land? Through autoethnographic writing, I explore that question and conclude that we do so by listening and building relationships, one person at a time. As a result, we can build bridges and make positive and meaningful cultural connections on the road to reconciliation.