Dear Colleagues:
Thanks very much, Nancy, for your encouragement to talk about Truth and Reconciliation. It would if we all talked about this at least once in each of our courses and, when possible incorporate
its study into our subject matters. There are plenty of excellent documentaries also that can be used.
Changing SFU’s name? Now, that’s an idea!
Best, Gerardo
I thankfully acknowledge that I live and work in unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Kwikwetlem Nations.
From: Nick Blomley <blomley@sfu.ca>
Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 7:34 PM
To: Nancy Forde <nforde@sfu.ca>
Cc: "academic-discussion@sfu.ca" <academic-discussion@sfu.ca>
Subject: Re: Acknowledging National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in our classes
Thank you, Nancy
And while we’re on the topic, can we contemplate a change in the name of this fine institution?
Geography
[with apologies for cross-posting]
I hope you have managed to get through September and that schedules are calming down.
If you are teaching a course this term and have a class tomorrow, I am writing to encourage you to mention today’s holiday to your class, if you have not already done so this week. In my classes on Wednesday, I wore an orange shirt and
at the start of each class, gave both a land acknowledgement and shared my perspective about why this new holiday was created and what our responsibilities are, as members of an educational institution and of Canadian society, in terms of educating ourselves
about truth and doing the hard work towards reconciliation. One of my students wrote an email to me today, telling me that they are an Indigenous student and how much it meant to them that I did this. They said that none of their other instructors had acknowledged
the day in any way in their classes earlier in the week. I recognize that we all have a lot on our plates and also that today is a holiday and so none of our classes were held on this day. However, if you find a minute or two at the beginning of your class
to speak about this, my sense is that it is deeply appreciated by our Indigenous students, and also by other students in the class. (My in-person class was completely silent and rapt as I spoke at the start of the lab about this topic – paying much more attention
than when I spoke about Physics & their lab reports!) If you are teaching or have meetings online, SFU also has Zoom backgrounds you may choose to use: https://www.sfu.ca/aboriginalpeoples/sfu-reconciliation/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation.html
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