Orange Shirt Day 2020 – Indigenous Influencers

Orange Shirt Day 2020 – Indigenous Influencers

Today we wear our orange shirts as we honour those who experienced residential schools. For me, today at is a day to listen & learn as well as a day to recommit ourselves to move forward in the spirit of truth & reconciliation. I promise to acknowledge past & current injustice, support those affected by the trauma of systemic failures by the Canadian government & strive to do better. 

To learn more about Orange Shirt Day I recommend the official Orange Shirt Day website which links to several great resources.

Rather than writing about the significance of this day I would like to highlight some of my favourite indigenous leaders who are using social media to share about their culture. Their accounts are a source of education, celebration, and help me to be a better ally so that I can more forward in a spirit of truth and reconcilliation.

Please give these accounts a follow and, to build an even larger network, check out their “following” lists for even more indigenous content.

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#IndigenousHistoryMonth The RCMP raids of Wet’suwet’en land defenders in northwestern British Columbia left many Canadians shocked and angered. The RCMP justified their operation as an enforcement of a B.C. Supreme Court injunction to clear resettlement camps and allow Coastal GasLink to carry on building a natural gas pipeline. Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs countered that their lands remain unceded, a fact reinforced by the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1997 Delgamuukw decision. The chiefs argue that the laws they uphold predate and override Canadian laws, including injunctions, in their territory. Yet B.C., facing pressure from the energy company, instructed the RCMP to enforce the injunction anyway. The RCMP’s operation in Wet’suwet’en territory is part of an ongoing pattern of police and military units being used by governments in Canada to suppress Indigenous resistance and clear the way for continued capitalist accumulation by colonial dispossession. Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, created the RCMP’s predecessor, the North-West Mounted Police, in 1873 to extend Canada’s colonial control of Indigenous territories in what would become Western Canada. In January 2019, the RCMP invaded Wet’suwet’en territory and arrested land defenders at the Unist’ot’en camp. They did it again in early 2020 and have kept a close presence ever since. #Indigenous #FirstNations #Métis #Inuit #Canada #Wetsuweten #Unistoten Sources: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/02/11/putting-the-rcmp-raid-on-the-wetsuweten-in-historical-perspective.html and https://unistoten.camp/media/invasion/

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@isapadeau

❤️💛🤍💙

♬ original sound - Isabelle Chapadeau
@candyinuk

orange shirt day, September 30th, ##everychildmatters ##orangeshirtday ##indigenous

♬ original sound - candicesudz

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