Why We Walk – Brooke Fairley
Sep 6, 2017Brooke Fairley
“To me reconciliation means giving respect to the first people and honouring the teachings of the land that we are so blessed to live on. I grew up on the land of the Squamish Nation and I have made so many friends and learned so many lessons from the Squamish People that I carry with me. More recently, I began working with a Squamish Nation elder. She always says “culture is our medicine.” That’s something that has really stuck with me. Through learning about her culture, traditions and teachings, I have really seen how culture is medicine. That’s where the healing comes from—resurging the teachings and the old ways.
I understand that we always see things through the lens of our own culture and our own lives. I am a white, fourth generation settler so I always see things through my mainstream, dominant, privileged lens. I have learned so much from her to expand my own thinking and I recognize that I have been so honoured to work under her teachings. She has further abled me to understand my role as a settler, my role as a mother, my role as a human being and as a spirit on this earth.
To learn how to understand others, how to live with people, how to live with our land, and how to respect one another— that’s really what its all about. That’s what reconciliation means to me.”
The Why We Walk campaign asks individuals to share their story and personal connection to the reconciliation movement. Stories will be shared in the weeks leading up to the Walk for Reconciliation on September 24th, 2017.
We believe that every person has a story to tell and that by sharing these stories, people may feel a more personal connection to the reconciliation movement.
Learn more about the Walk for Reconciliation here.
Read more Why We Walk stories here.