My letter to the residential school survivors is a humble offering of respect. I am no artist, but I tried my best to share using spoken word. I am not in a place to make judgements or assumptions, I am basically sharing my views as a listener. I listened to 3 stories, 3 empowering stories that I am grateful for. I chose a few artifacts such as pictures and quotes to represent my words. The images do not necessarily do justice to the poetry and I hope you feel comfortable with the images I chose.
The first Image is a diagram of the word story-telling. Story-telling is a powerful medium where we learn from elders’ experiences, histories and where can recognize impactful moments. I chose to use this image as tool to describe this concept. Story-telling allows for conversation surrounding vulnerabilities and I appreciate you sharing your story.
The “Every Child Matters” image is from the orange shirt day movement – I thought this image was a great connection, to the work you are doing in response to reconciliation.
The next Image is of a mother and a child, the image has a quote that says, “For the child taken, for the parent left behind”. This quote touches my heart, it truly encompasses the struggle of the community. How families were separated and broken apart. All 3 stories I listened to were of individuals whose families were separated and segregated. This image and quote are powerful medium simply mentioning one of the most important parts of human relationships, connection to the family.
The next images are of words, words that speak to truth. The image says, “honouring reconciliation – hearing truth”. This encompasses the concept of a holistic approach to healing. These words are encompassing powerful imagery.
The last image I chose was to share a picture describing resilience. The concept of resilience is what I hear when I think of these stories. In the face of struggle, you were able to change societies narrative for you and that is what the essence of resilience is, creating your own narrative.
Thanks,
Nabila Jaffer
https://westvanlibrary.ca/honouring-reconciliation-hearing-truth
http://buffy-sainte-marie.blogspot.com/2012/07/
https://hollyhock.ca/resilience/” https://hollyhock.ca/resilience/
https://uxdesign.cc/how-does-traditional-storytelling-relate-to-brand-storytelling-emotional-intelligence-and-the-30339cfe048e
