The Kapisanan team would like to express their sorrow and support following the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children near Kamloops, BC. On May 27, 2021 the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced that the remains were discovered on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, a place that was once Canada’s largest residential school. We grieve for these children and their families and are reminded of the work we have to do as colonized peoples and racialized settlers.
Artwork by Kwakwaka'wakw artist Lou-ann Neel (@louann_neel), in the colours orange, black, green and yellow. In the centre, the number “215” is written in large, black font and around it are the words “We stand together in remembrance of our children”.
June is both National Indigenous History Month and Filipinx Heritage Month. Some cities and towns are also celebrating Pride. As Filipinx settlers we owe many of our privileges on this land to the original caretakers of Turtle Island. We acknowledge that our presence as racialized settlers has come at the cost of Indigenous people’s lives, land, rights, language, and culture.
In September 2020, the Kapisanan team underwent a visioning process which included the establishment of our Land Acknowledgement:
We acknowledge the land upon which much of Kapisanan’s work takes place: the traditional territories of the Mississaugas, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. Acknowledging our presence on Turtle Island as racialized settlers and our histories as colonized peoples, we affirm Indigenous nationhood and ground our work in the values of decolonization. We are grateful to do our creative work on this land, the present-day home to numerous Indigenous nations. We respect the continued connections to the past, present, and future in forging decolonial relations with Indigenous nations, other diasporic people, and settlers within Canada, the Philippines, and beyond.
The Kapisanan team is making their own commitment to reconciliation individually and collectively. In the future, we would like to do more work around educating our audience and actively advocating for Indigenous rights. In the meantime, we wanted to share with you some resources that have resonated with us:
In solidarity,
The Kapisanan Team