The OCDSB Rainbow Educator's Network stands in solidarity with Indigenous communities in this time of insurmountable grief, retraumatization, anger, and pain. We stand with Indigenous folks within our 2SLGBTQ+ family and beyond. We stand with you now during this time of grief, and we stand with you always.
Our solidarity calls for an active and ongoing commitment. We must unlearn and reject the idea that Residential Schools are simply a "dark part of our nation's history." We must acknowledge the ongoing colonial violence and generational trauma of Residential Schools and recognize its current manifestations of continuous treaty violation and land violence, missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two spirit folks, absence of clean drinking water, and community violence.
We must allow for pause, as Indigenous communities mourn the loss of the 215 children found at the Kamloops Residential School, located in the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc community.
This pause, cannot be mistaken for inaction. All non-Indigenous folks are called to stand firmly and actively in solidarity and support. To acknowledge Pride month is to stand firmly in solidarity with Indigenous communities. To acknowledge Pride month is to honor the sacred Indigenous languages and teachings that liberate us from the colonial binary of gender and love.
Pride month is, and should always be about unwavering courage and solidarity.
Let's stand together.