OThe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, observed on September 30, honours the Survivors of residential schools and the children who never came home, as well as their families and communities.
To mark this day, Dimensions has commissioned artwork by Tiffany Knot, an artist from Curve Lake First Nation. We are grateful to be able to share Tiffany’s art as a supporting visual for the ongoing efforts we have been making towards truth and reconciliation.
As we embark on our ongoing learning journey, we are co-creating best practices for working together with Indigenous partners. We endeavour to better understand Indigenous approaches to wellbeing as well as diverse Indigenous worldviews on every aspect of life. Here we share some of our work in this area undertaken in 2024:
- We continue to deepen our relationship with Elder and First Nation Traditional Medicine Man, Martin Millen (his English name) – or Thunder Man (his spirit name, which in Ojibwe is Nimkii Inini). Martin conducted a day of learning and cross-cultural training for our team earlier this month.
- Our whole team participated in inclusive language training, which helps us better appreciate the nuances of language and demonstrate sensitivity and respect through the words we use.
- Dimensions made a third-annual donation to Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag (Nog-dah-wen-mawg bin-ooh-zhee-yug) Child & Family Services. This organization provides a stable foundation for children, youth, and families through wraparound services that are culturally based and family focused.
- All colleagues take September 30 as a paid day off, to reflect and focus on learning about Truth and Reconciliation.
- We have established an Indigenous Veterans retreat that is culturally sensitive and focused on healing.