Bozhoo (Hi)! My name is Ode’ and my pronouns are they/them. I am Anishinaabe and I speak Anishinaabemowin and English. I am 7 years old now, I’m in Grade 2, and I’m also a Club kid! I can’t believe my classes are all online now! I miss going to school in person—it’s been a tough year, but virtual programs at my Club have definitely made it better. Seeing my Club friends online is the best part of my day. I think my favourite program so far has been Kid Food Nation! One time, we made blueberry yogurt parfaits—my favourite!

I still live with my Nookomis (grandmother) and I worry about her as she is the keeper of many of our traditions, our language, and stories about our relationships with the land.

These days, I spend most of my time in Tkaronto (Toronto—the place where there are trees

standing in the water). It is on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. Toronto is now home to not just Indigenous Peoples, but also so many amazing Peoples from around the world!

I love spending time outdoors and watching the world around me, especially in the spring time. Some of my favourite things to do include fishing and gathering berries. I have learned lots of lessons from the land, like how important it is to respect everything and everyone around us no matter how big or small.

I have many friends at BGC Clubs from coast to coast to coast. My friends are my family and it’s important for me to talk to them about Truth and Reconciliation because we all have a part to play.

I’m curious to know if there are other Reconciliation Ambearristers in BGC Clubs? If there are, maybe you could introduce yourself on social media—I’d love to meet you! When you do, tag @BGCCAN in your post because they always love to see what Clubs are up to.

If you can’t post on social media, that’s okay! You can introduce yourself to Dominique at drobinson@bgcccan.com and she can pass it along to me!

Ode’ is part of the Reconciliation Ambearrister program, created by our friends at the First Nations Children & Family Caring Society. And a big thank you to BGC Canada’s National Youth Council for working with Ode’!

Stay tuned for more Ode’ blog posts as they guide BGC in our Truth & Reconciliation work over the next year.

Welcome to our Truth & Reconciliation page

BGC Canada is committed to building knowledge and awareness about Reconciliation. We work to create meaningful connections with Indigenous communities and organizations with the goal of providing equitable, accessible, and culturally relevant services for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, youth, and families.

Our Truth and Reconciliation work is driven by an advisory committee of Club leaders from across Canada.

Orange Shirt Day

On September 30, Orange Shirt Day commemorates the thousands of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who were removed from their homes at the end of summer and forced to attend residential schools.

BGC staff and members from coast to coast wear orange shirts and host events as part of their Reconciliation efforts and to remember residential school survivors.

Orange Shirt Day resources

• Six videos to watch on Orange Shirt Day
• Phyllis Webstad’s story: The original orange shirt
• 16 resources to help settlers understand and advance Indigenous Reconciliation
• The intergenerational transmission of historical trauma
• Indigenous Entrepreneur Loan
• “Dear White Woman who wants to be like me”

Indigenous Leaders

For National Indigenous History Month in 2020, we shared profiles of Indigenous leaders and changemakers who were nominated by their Club.

Residing in Treaty 7 Territory, Gabriel is from the Piikani and Kainai First Nations and is a fierce advocate for Indigenous youth in Calgary.

She takes pride in building authentic relationships with elders and youth and connecting with traditional ways of knowing. Supporting Indigenous youth in reconnecting to their culture has a profound impact on their well-being and Gabriel ensures this need is met. She also sits on a LGBTQ2S+ committee to advocate and ensure their voices are heard in all spaces.

Matthew currently resides in the Treaty 7 Territory of Calgary. He is Bush Cree and comes from Salt River First Nation in Treaty 8. Matt develops strong bonds and makes a huge impact in the lives of local youth. His energy allows young people to feel safe and comfortable while on their journey of cultural reconnection, and his attention to detail ensures they get the most out of the experience.

Jessica is always there to support her colleagues and share her teachings, and she is a powerhouse in ensuring youth programs are informed by Indigenous practices, frameworks, and knowledge.

Jessica is active in the community and a fierce advocate for Indigenous children, youth, and families.

Below we have collected resources and information that can help guide your Reconciliation work.

Spirit Bear

Created by the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society, Spirit Bear represents the 165,000 First Nations children impacted by the First Nations child welfare case at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, as well as the thousands of other children who have committed to learning about the case and have taken part in peaceful and respectful actions in support of Reconciliation and equity.

• Who is Spirit Bear?
• The Spirit Bear Plan
• Spirit Bear’s guide to TRC’s Calls to Action
• Spirit Bear calendar activity book (2020)

Our Reconciliation Ambearrister

Started by the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society in honour of Spirit Bear, organizations can host a Reconciliation Ambearrister (ambassador + barrister) to guide them through a year of learning and outreach dedicated to Indigenous children, families, and communities, and to promote the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

Learn more about the Reconciliation Ambearrister program

BGC Canada’s National Youth Council, made up of young leaders from across the country, has been working with our Ambearrister to learn their culture, language, favourite activities, and more—and have educated themselves about Indigenous cultures and communities in the process.

Meet Ode’, our Reconciliation Ambearrister!

Have a Heart Day

Run by First Nations Child & Family Caring Society, Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation event on February 14 that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the services they need to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are.

BGC Clubs across the country host Have a Heart Day gatherings to write messages and raise awareness about increased equity for Indigenous children and youth. The messages are shared on social media and with the federal government in an effort to effect change.

Additional Resources

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights to Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
• UNDRIP for Indigenous Youth
• Indigenous ally toolkit
• National Reconciliation book club
• How to talk about Reconciliation
• Touchstones of Hope
• Personal acts of reconciliation
• 4Rs Youth Movement – Framework for Cross-cultural Dialogue
• CBC Podcast: Telling Our Twisted Histories
• CBC Podcast: The Secret Life of Canada
• University of Alberta’s Massive Open Online Course: Indigenous Canada

By Owen Charters

I’ve just returned from visiting the Eden Valley Reserve, which has a population of 700, and is part of the Bearspaw First Nation, again part of the Stoney Nakoda nation. I attended the graduation of two youth from Chief Jacob Bearspaw Memorial School who also participate in programming at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Foothills, south of Calgary.

Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day we set aside to observe and celebrate the cultural diversity of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

It is also a day to reflect on the 2015 report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Last week, I joined Sarah Midanik, a member of our national board and CEO of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, to meet with Jocelyn Formsma, Executive Director of the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC). Sarah and I discussed our emerging work on Reconciliation, and I recalled that I spoke at the NAFC Annual General Meeting two summers ago. In that address, I spoke about the TRC report’s calls to action that are directed to us at Boys & Girls Clubs specifically:

“The sixty-sixth call to action is about youth programming and community-based youth organizations. The eighty-ninth call asks for policies that promote physical activity as a fundamental element of health and well-being. At Boys and Girls Clubs, we will raise our voices to support these calls to action, because in our Clubs we see—every day—the good that these programs can do for all children and youth.”

Here’s why we need to act. What I saw at Eden Valley was incredible—situated in the stunning foothills and ranch-lands of the Rockies, we celebrated the graduation of two youths from high school. It was a night of community celebration, of prayer, of drumming, with the Chief and council in attendance, of the local RCMP officer in red serge, of a school gym dressed up with LED lights and streamers, of food and dancing. These two young people succeeded in overcoming the challenges of education, and as the Chief noted, the rest of their lives now lie ahead of them to explore.

They are two in a school of 140. They are half of a grade twelve class—the others did not graduate. And the daily attendance at the school is about 40—children often stay home for a variety of reasons. I watched a teacher warmly welcome a student to the graduation, and gently chide her for not attending school for the last few months.

The Foothills Club is working to clean space at the local ice rink to host Club activities, as there is an urgent need for after school and summer programming. It is a long and difficult journey of building trust in the community, of persistence and careful diplomacy. The kids are struggling, with day-to-day issues and with larger tragedies and traumas. But it is also a community of love, of tradition, of families with smiles that greet you when you arrive.

Leaving Eden Valley was when the reality struck—there is a great divide between life on Reserve and off. It is so different and the culture is so unique that it can be very difficult for many youth to leave and pursue further education. They often feel out of place in community colleges, universities. Their families long for them to return. Quite honestly, for these two graduates, there may not be many opportunities beyond high school. Jodie Sieben, the Club’s Director of Operations, spends countless hours in the community—every day—building programs, creating relationships. She is an eternal optimist, and yet she also struggles to connect these youth to opportunities beyond completing their public schooling. There is a long history of intergenerational trauma that has lasting powerful effects.

I struggled with my emotions after leaving Jodie and Shirley Puttock, the Clubs’ Executive Director. Back at the hotel, I called my wife and we talked about everything I had seen and experienced. It is difficult to know what to do. To know that Boys & Girls Clubs are doing something, are making a difference across the country, but also that our role can seem insignificant in the face of what I saw in Eden Valley, which is happening in many communities, in many cities, in many homes. It is a struggle to reconcile our role as settlers and colonizers with our role as helpers, as allies.

And there is the problem of indifference. There are those who say that there are no Indigenous youth in their community, so Reconciliation is for others. I would argue it is the opposite—it is exactly because there may not be Indigenous children and youth in a Club that we must work harder at Reconciliation, to bridge what has been a divide of understanding, of learning.

I grew up in Newfoundland & Labrador, where as schoolchildren we were taught that there were no Indigenous people native to the island because colonialists, settlers, and governments had wiped out all Beothuk in a campaign of genocide. Today, however, there are many Indigenous people living and recognized in Newfoundland and Labrador: there have always been Inuit and Metis, but also a growing population of Mi’kmaq. We are surrounded by the culture, the territorial lands, the knowledge, the spirits of Indigenous peoples across this country, wherever we are. We must guide current and future generations to acknowledge and embrace Indigenous roots and the vibrancy of our common heritage. It is no longer okay to say that Reconciliation does ‘not apply to me’ because you don’t know or interact with anyone evidently Indigenous. It is the shared responsibility of all inhabitants of this country to acknowledge the past, confront the present, and build a better future.

Our Clubs are already engaged deeply in Indigenous programs, in Indigenous culture, and in Reconciliation. A national program committee is working to create a comprehensive approach to Reconciliation and Indigenous programming across Clubs. We are working to develop a broad, grassroots approach to working with youth programs and Club initiatives on Reserves across the country. We are already working with urban Indigenous youth, embracing programming that is integrated with Indigenous communities. I toured the renovations at the Calgary Club’s Renfrew site earlier this week, where Elders are inspecting and blessing the site before city inspectors can come in and do their work. Where a circle room represents deep Indigenous cultural roots being incorporated into the very architecture and expression of the Club.

This is not easy work. It is hard to bridge cultural divides. It is hard to understand the complexities, and to spend time acknowledging them. But it is time to celebrate our heritage, to respond to the TRC’s calls to action, individually and organizationally. The slogan for the Gord Downie Chanie Wenjack fund is “Do Something.” That is the call to action you need if you don’t know where to start. Today, do one thing. Tomorrow, one more. Each small step is a step on the path to Reconciliation.