Tansi Nitotemtik,
My name is Kate Latos, and I am honored to be invited to write for the ReconciliACTION YEG Blog.
I am writing to you from my home in Kinepik, commonly known as Sylvan Lake, Alberta on Treaty 6 territory, home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. My maternal grandparents came as settlers back in the 1930’s and my family has been here ever since. Sylvan Lake is on the traditional gathering place for many nations including the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Métis, Salteaux and Nakota Sioux. [1] I am proud to say that my community is committed to stepping forward on the path to reconciliation, celebrating the first Powwow on these lands after many years this past summer.[2] Honoring the history of our community as a meeting place, dancers came from as far as way as Idaho and California.
As I begin my journey with the ReconciliACTION YEG Blog, I find myself faced with an important question- why am I writing? Why have I been granted space on this blog? I do not share many of the experiences of the other authors, both past and present. In fact, my presence on this Blog Team has recently been questioned by one of my peers, who thought that it wasn’t my place. But I think that my presence is important because “reconciliation is for everyone”.[3] Reconciliation is “rooted in relationship, healing and sharing”[4] and it is not just a process for just Indigenous people to undertake. We, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike, have been tasked with an important challenge under the 94 Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. I want to be a part of that. I hope that this blog will allow me to do that and provide me the opportunity to share some of my family’s history in why reconciliation is so important to me.
Beyond being a law student, I am a wife and mother to three wonderful boys. My main purpose on earth is to raise good humans capable of understanding, supporting and helping others. I want to raise men capable of understanding kinship, accountability, respect and with the ability to not only honor their culture but the cultures of all the people across Turtle Island. My experience in law school has highlighted, how, as Canadians, we have to work harder at achieving this for our children. Experiential learning tools like this blog can help create exposure and knowledge about the realities, histories and cultures of the Indigenous people in Canada while still allowing us to create a path forward by exploring some of the successful reconciliation stories.
I look forward to taking you, dear reader, along with me and the rest of the ReconciliACTION team on our journeys through the TRC Calls to Action this year.
Until next time,
Kate Latos
Team ReconciliAction YEG
[1] Reeti Meenakski Rohilla, “Sylvan Lake celebrates the culture and heritage of Indigenous People”, Sylvan Lake News (22 June 2022) online: https://www.sylvanlakenews.com/community/sylvan-lake-celebrates-the-culture-and-heritage-of-indigenous-people/ [2] Ibid. [3] Lianne C. Leddy, “Reconciliation is for everyone” Laurier Campus (Winter 2018) online: https://campusmagazine.wlu.ca/2018/fall-winter/other/column-reconciliation-is-for-everyone.html [4] Ibid.
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