syiyaya Days 2023

This 11-day celebration of reconciliation within the shishalh swiya – syiyaya Days – will be celebrated June 21 – July 1, 2023.  Mark your calendar! This multi-day vent promises to be even better than last year.

syíyaya Days began in 2022 with a partnership between the District of Sechelt, the shíshálh Nation, and the syíyaya Reconciliation Movement and built on the first Orange Shirt walk held on July 1, 2021 and the ongoing reconciliation work undertaken by Shishalh Nation, District of Sechelt, the syiyaya Reconciliation Movement.  It now involves contributions from many other government and community partners.

This multi day event starts by honoring National Indigenous Peoples Day. This is followed by 10 days of awareness building, learning and cultural celebration. syiyaya Days closes on July 1st with an inclusive Canada Day, celebrating Canada while also recognizing our colonial history and celebrating the cultures of First Peoples of this land.

Like last year, the 2023 syiyaya Days celebration will include Indigenous culture, histories, and ways of knowing with walking tours, book readings, music, arts shows, dialogue circles, great food and much more. Canada Day will include a parade and orange shirt walk, guest speakers, more great food and music. But planning is just beginning.

If you or your organization would like to be involved, email syiyaya at: scsyiyaya@gmail.com

Kairos Blanket Exercise

This participatory workshop helps participants to understand how colonization of the land we now know as British Columbia and Canada has impacted the people who lived here long before settlers arrived. Through this exercise you will explore the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, how this relationship has been damaged over the years, and how we all can work toward reconciliation.

In 1996, in response to Canada’s Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), the Aboriginal Rights Coalition worked with Indigenous elders and teachers to develop an interactive way of learning the history most Canadians are never taught. 

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise was the result; it has since been offered thousands of times and the sixth edition was released in 2020. Participants learn about European colonization of Turtle Island (North America), the accompanying dispossession of Indigenous peoples (reflected by the steady removal of blankets upon which participants stand) and Indigenous resistance and efforts to reclaim land and rights.

Participants are drawn into the experience by engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the Blanket Exercise effectively educates and increases empathy. Participants also have the opportunity to debrief and discuss the experience as a group. This often takes the form of a talking circle.

With this knowledge of our shared history, we can begin to work together with mutual respect toward reconciliation.

For information on hosting a Kairos Blanket Exercise on the Sunshine Coast or to find out when the next exercise will be held contact: John or Nancy Denham at 604-885-7373 or by email at denham4951@gmail.com

Mapping the Ground We Stand On – An Interactive Workshop Exploring Indigenous and Settler Relationships

Developed by The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, the Mapping Exercise lays out historical and contextual realities that Indigenous peoples in Canada face daily. It offers suggestions for taking action, for participants to journey further on paths of reconciliation, and for the creation of a better and more just country for all of us. Not only is this resource an important contribution from PWRDF towards dialogue and reconciliation, it clearly lays out steps for facilitators and participants to interact, learn from and enjoy the experience and the conversations that will take place.

PWRDF’s Mapping Exercise compliments the KAIROS Blanket Exercise and focuses in part on our personal/individual and Canadian histories.

As we work to develop a response to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report and seek to deepen our relationships with aboriginal peoples, the Mapping Exercise can be a useful tool for learning and reflection together, and as one step on the journey towards meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

For information on hosting a Mapping Exercise on the Sunshine Coast or to find out when the next exercise will be held contact:  John or Nancy Denham at 604-885-7373 or by email at denham4951@gmail.com