On Residential Schools
Take a moment to read a poem by Dr. Cheryl Bear, First United’s Director of Community Ministry. Cheryl wrote the poem in response to the bodies of 215 children discovered in May 2021 at Kamloops Residential School in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation territory. CW: residential schools, trauma, grief take your time take days sit […]
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30 is Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – a day we honour the lost children, the 150,000+ children who attended residential schools and those who have died since. September 30 is a now federal statutory holiday and the leadership at FIRST decided to recognize it as well, to enable staff to […]
Truth and Reconciliation, a Living History
This op-ed was originally published in The Tyee on June 14, 2021. You can find the op-ed on The Tyee’s website. By the Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne (Heiltsuk First Nation) Executive Director; Dr. Cheryl Bear (Nadleh Whut’en First Nation) Director of Community Ministry; and Lauren Sanders (Prairie Band Potawatomi and Kickapoo Nation of Kansas) Indigenous Spiritual Care Chaplain. Reconciliation […]