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As some of you know, we had already been privileged to have Richard Van Camp as one of our authors for the new Symposium Meet-the-Author this year, but when the Symposium Committee decided we wanted to recognize September 30 - the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we knew we wanted Richard to be a part of that day as well.
Not only will Richard be sending us a special message for our Ceremony and Celebration on September 30th, he has also asked us to share these gifts with everyone attending Symposium:
Hello, my friends. Edanat’e!
One of our laws as Dene people is to share what we have. When I was asked to do a mini keynote, I asked Pat Halewich if we could share four very special resources with you and your families and she, of course, said yes. Mahsi cho, Pat!
We wanted to honour you and your family as guests here at the Literacy and Learning Symposium 2021 (virtual) Celebrations as we explore Truth and Reconciliation together.
1) Tracking Heaven: Tracking Heaven is a collection of 24 stories that I collected and transcribed these past two decades. As you know, I was starving for culture and teachings growing up, and, one day while driving the Handi-Bus in my community, I decided to go out and start recording miracle stories from our Elders and Knowledge Keepers and I’m so glad I did. You can actually hear several of these interviews from 1992 on my SoundCloud account listed below. Enjoy. And I encourage you to not wait and start recording your Elders and Knowledge Keepers and family, too.
2) My List of Books That I Believe in K through 12: This list is already out of date, but it’s a good start on books I want the whole world to know about for your family and classrooms. Happy reading!
3) “The Moon is Our Night Clock”: One thing we are doing right now as Indigenous people is we are reclaiming all we can. This document is a collection of Fort Smith Elders who share their star and moon knowledge. I encourage you to do the same. How do you say “moon”, “Venus”, “Northern Lights”, for example, in your language? What are your practices under the full moon?
4) Fort Smith Calendar. I’ve always been interested in the annual round in and out of my home community: Fort Smith, NWT. What are the people up to during the year? What are the animals? This could be a fun project with your classroom and/or family.
Enjoy these gifts.
I’ve had some time to think about this, and I think I’m onto something here, but what does Reconciliation mean to me?
Reconciliation is about helping Indigenous people become themselves again as they reclaim their language, their culture, their community, their whole selves. It’s also very much about land and resources. It’s also about acknowledging and believing Indigenous people as they share their Truths. It’s also about responsibility and action: it’s about showing up and helping when called. It’s about witnessing, and it’s about speaking up when you know further harm is happening.
Mahsi cho and with utmost respect,
Richard Van Camp
Ps. If you have any questions, you can contact me through my website: www.richardvancamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/richardvancamp
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