What You SHOULD Do on September 30th (Four Do's & One Don't!)

So yesterday I released a rant about the disastrous, in my opinion, actions that were being taken in the name of September 30th. I ranted against the fact that an Indigenous centered day, a day set aside to honor Indigenous trauma, had been morphed into a non Indigenous education day. And worse, that that education could so very easily cause harm to the actual survivors. And I appreciate that so many of you watched and shared that video. But today I want to go back to my normal stance. Sometimes you got to call out, sometimes you got to call in. And today I want to share with you what I think you should be doing on September 30th. And some of these we are sitting on the DEI committee you can start working on now so that next year, September 30, is everything it should be. Let's talk about it. Hi everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. Red. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And as I mentioned in the opening today, I really want to focus on what you should be doing on September 30th if you're a non indigenous Canadian. I have four do's for you and one huge don't. And I guess my rule has always been I refuse to crucify people for things they don't know. Once you watch this video, you'll know so that next year we can all do such a better job. So the first thing you should do on September 30, acknowledging that this is a day of remembrance and grieving and remembering those kids that were taken that never should have been taken, and worse, the ones that didn't come home. So the first thing I would recommend you do is do some research beforehand so that on September 30th you can go to a monument that has been erected to remember the children, usually on the site of a former residential school and they were all over. So do your research. And the Truth and Reconciliation Commission website is probably a really good place to go. If you just type in residential school monuments or memorials, you're going to be able to find them. So find one that's close to you. Visit it in the same way that you would visit a cenotaph on November 11th. Just go and pay your respects to the kids that didn't come home. Now the second thing you should do, and this is why I was so angry yesterday, it is a misnomer, it is misinformation to believe that the residential school happened so long ago the last school closed in 96, which means we have survivors alive and well. Now, most of these things that I'm asking you to do, the focus is making those survivors feel valued and loved. The two things that they did not feel, things they did not receive when they were in the schools. This is your chance to help someone that actually experienced the trauma by helping them to heal, to feel valued and loved on this day. So my first suggestion is, and the only phrase I could think of is working with your local First Nation community. They would know how many survivors they have in their community. Sometimes it's 2, sometimes it's 10, depending on the size of the community. Create a care package for each one of the survivors, a package that could be delivered to their door. Now, a couple hints here. Think practical, not luxury. Everyone wants to give gift certificates to a spa. Really good chance the survivors one are elders to probably not living an affluent life. They may not have a car, so let's not make their life harder or give them a gift that they wouldn't be able to use. So traditionally, for Anishinaabe, for Ojibwe people like me, traditional gifts involved foodstuffs and materials. So think, for example, new set of towels, which is probably something they couldn't afford to buy for themselves. New oven mitts as they're cooking, or a tea towel set. Most or many don't have dishwashers. You could give food stuff like pre cooked ham or potatoes or vegetables. Again, not luxury items. A pound of coffee, tea, all of those things. Berries, blueberries, strawberries, all of those things would be absolutely amazing. Now, a lot of First Nation communities have takeout restaurants in their community. You know, like the french fries and hamburgers and hot dogs. If that's the case, you could give them a gift certificate to that local place. That might be something they could treat themselves with. You're supporting the indigenous community's economy. At the same time, don't forget to throw in a pie or, or cupcakes or cookies, something like that. We're, we're honoring them, remember and making them feel loved on this day. Another thing so they remember this event. Throw in something pretty, whether it's beadwork that you've purchased locally, a wall hanging that was made for a crafter. If you're planning ahead of time, and I'm really hoping you're planning ahead of time for this, if you can actually find a local artisan and get them to make the survivor either a ribbon shirt for a male or a ribbon skirt, they would know the size of their Elder survivors. So making a care package, delivering it to those that are still here who have survived is going to go a long way to helping them feel valued and loved, which is what they should have felt as children. That was number two. Number three, closely related. Again, we still want to take care of those survivors that are still with us. We went to the monument for the ones that didn't come home. This is volunteering at Truth and Reconciliation Day events. So everything from helping to serve food, helping to pick up the survivors and get them to the events, helping to set up tables, again, this would. You don't just go in there as a bulldozer and decide that you're going to help out. Plan this with the First Nation community ahead of time. Yes. Feel free to write a check to help to support the event. So much more important that you show up and actually serve these elders survivors again. And this is not a marketing campaign. This don't be thinking about promoting your company. Be there to honor those who have never, should never have been hurt in the way they were. The last one is so important because I was. I made the mistake of going out yesterday. That was not a joyful experience for me. For one, I made the mistake of turning on the radio. Turn that off pretty quickly. If you don't understand why, watch yesterday's video. I saw orange shirts everywhere and my mind instantly went to what reconciliation work are you doing? What work are you doing to help the indigenous people to heal? Understand that wearing the orange shirt is a commitment to do more. If you just wear the orange shirt, then it's just performative. You're doing it for the acceptance and the likes and it means nothing. And that is further insult to the survivor elders. What we need you to do is to make that commitment. Now the one don't I wanted to talk about is the educational piece of this because a lot of non indigenous Canadians do need to learn more about their own history. That is not a September 30th thing. That is a week leading up to September 30th. And the other thing I really want to advise you on is your source. Don't be just googling information about residential schools because there's a really good chance that's a non indigenous author. You need to be following Senator Murray Sinclair and his work. You need to be following Pam Palmettar and watching her Warrior podcast. You need to be following Cindy Blackstock who is fighting for the children today that are suffering from intergenerational trauma. So do your educating. Before September 30th, the week leading up to it. You could have discussions in your staff in, you know, and a staff meeting or get your together your staff together to discuss it. But that's not a September 30th activity. This is not an educational day. Like I said, this is a day to honor those that didn't come home and just as importantly, those that did. Last but not least, the last thing I wanted to say is for the other 364 days of the year, commit to making a difference. And commit to one hashtag that I first worked, first used, bamboo tripping over my words here, that I first used in my book the Path and then the subsequent seminar. And the hashtag is no more harm. Make sure that what you're doing as a community, as a corporation, as a business entity, as a nonprofit is not causing more harm to indigenous people. Because if it is, then you are not part of the solution. So there you have it. Visit a monument. Take care of the elder survivors with a care package. Volunteer at the events and make sure that you understand that wearing that orange shirt is a commitment. And do not focus on your education on September 30th. That's before the event, not after. On September 30th, as a non indigenous person, you should truly fade into the background. This is a day to listen and learn. Listen to those survivors stories and what they endured. And then you will truly finally understand Canadian history. I hope that helped. Again, thank you for watching yesterday's video. Please watch and share this video so that next year, September 30th is all it's meant to be. I love you. Take care. Bye bye.