National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
Biomimicry Frontiers will be closed on September 30th for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation asks that we take time this week to reflect on “What does Truth and Reconciliation Mean to You?”
To us? Truth and reconciliation are key to our work. Our Elder once humbly shared that her people, “have been doing biomimicry for thousands of years”. Biomimicry is rooted in the ideas of Indigenous Peoples. Without those thousands of years of research and development, our very field may not exist. Without their guidance, our very species are at risk.
To us, the Indigenous People invite us to look differently at the world. To see the non-separation of things. To see our place in the world. And to see nature not as something to take from but something that can teach us.
To us, truth is about learning about the buried atrocities that Settlers have done (and continue to do) to the indigenous people. It’s about learning about our own inherent racism and the ways that our systems continue to oppress and isolate the people whose lands we have taken. It’s also about acknowledging the continued destruction that we inflict on these lands, which are the foundation for our survival.
To us, reconciliation is about a People. We dwell on lands that are not our ancestral home, and we consume and live from these lands from which Indigenous Peoples were forcibly removed. How can we stay here, consciences clear, without reconciliation? For the People, for the lost children, the survivors, the families and communities that were ripped apart, that are broken, the ones that are healing, growing, innovating, the least we can do is listen. We cannot reverse the horrors of the residential schools, but we can commemorate their legacy. Our staff will be taking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to reflect, to learn, and to honour those lost and present.
We move forward with respect and humility.
UVic orange t-shirt design. Artist: Carey Newman (Kwakwaka'wakw/Coast Salish)
There are a limited number of T-shirts on sale at the UVic bookstore featuring a logo designed by Kwakwaka’wakw/Coast Salish artist and UVic faculty member Carey Newman. Proceeds from those sales directly benefit the UVic Elders Engagement Fund as well as the Witness Blanket Project. If you already have an orange shirt, please consider making a $20 donation to the Elders Engagement Fund this year.
