Aja Sy has a simple request for Truth and Reconciliation Day, and it's simple because it's the same thing she hopes for every day of the year.
If non-Indigenous people want to make the most of the Sept. 30 day of observance, the third-year UBC Okanagan student says, they just need to listen to their Indigenous hosts.
"Without listening and without hearing, we've seen how it works," say Sy, an Arts major and a member of the UBCO Heat women's volleyball team. "Listening and wanting to listen and creating space for yourself to learn about what has happened and what is currently happening—that's what I want; that's what I want on Truth and Reconciliation Day, and every single day."
Sy is from Victoria and has a unique perspective on Truth and Reconciliation. Her mother is Anishnaabe from the Lac Seul First Nation in Ontario, and her father is Black.
It's given her a unique position and a powerful perspective.
She admits that to the casual observer she doesn't appear obviously Indigenous at first, and being Black exposes her to an entirely new set of stereotypes and assumptions. But her heritage also allows her to make some careful observations about the legacy of racism in Canada and how it still affects people of colour today.
She can reassure Canadians that colonization continues. Indigenous people are still enduring mechanisms—the status card system, the legacy of residential schools and the devastating harm of birth alerts, for example—that have long tried to sever Indigenous people from the land and assimilate them into colonial culture.
Sy says the system needs to decentralize those oppressive, racist systems. By taking the power away from the centre, you share it with all people.
"Indigenous people are systematically oppressed, which is racism. It's not going away as long as those systems are in place," she says. "Being honest with ourselves and willing to listen to that experience from Indigenous people is a big part of Truth and Reconciliation."
If you did slow down and listen, and created that space to learn, you'd be amazed at what you found, Sy says. Indigenous culture was thriving when colonial settlers arrived hundreds of years ago, and that culture remains living and growing today.
"It's wonderful and amazing to be an Indigenous person. I've never been ashamed. I've always been proud of who I am," she says. "It's hard, but it's beautiful, and I think people recognizing that is the only way to reconcile."
It's also vital to understand that on Sept. 30—and all days—truth means something unique to every individual. Sy is quick to remind everyone that she does not represent all Indigenous peoples, and that for her truth is about acknowledging the pain that Canada's colonial system caused to the Indigenous people who had always been on the land.
"Without recognizing the harm, there's no way to reconcile," she said. "The truth is the harm.
"The truth is also that Indigenous people are beautiful and healthy and thriving and loving and amazing and have wonderful culture."
While some have preyed upon the downfall of Indigenous culture, Sy says it's only made Canada's First Nations that much more resilient to external pressures. Not only that, Indigenous culture continues to thrive, Sy adds.
"The message that I always want to spread is that Indigenous people are still here," she says. "We've always been here and we're always going to be here. We're still thriving. That's not up to anybody else but ourselves."
