June is National Indigenous History Month – a time for all Canadians to think about and learn about the history, cultures, and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Metis people. It is a time for us to remind ourselves that Reconciliation is an ongoing process. We were recently reminded that this process is far from complete; just a few days ago we learned of the discovery of the remains of 215 children, found in a mass grave on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. As we have all learned, this one school was part of a nationwide effort in Canada to separate Indigenous children from their families in an attempt to assimilate them, a shameful part of our history. Crestwood, like so many other institutions, has its flag flying at half mast, and we have made donations to organizations that can hopefully create some good out of this terrible tragedy. On behalf of all the members of the Crestwood community, we have chosen to make donations to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (https://www.irsss.ca/), a B.C-based organization assisting with the situation in Kamloops, and Native Child and Family Services (NCFST), an organization in Toronto that deals with issues such as poverty, homelessness, addictions and family violence which confront Indigenous families in the city of Toronto.
