Acknowledging National Indigenous History Month at the St. Thomas Library by Jess Huber, Library Experience Coordinator ***If you need support while engaging with this article, please call this independent national helpline at 1-844-413-6649. *** June was National Indigenous History Month, an opportunity to acknowledge and reflect on the histories and resilience of Indigenous peoples in Canada. In this spirit of acknowledgement and reflection, St. Thomas Public Library invites you to visit a Micro Gallery Memorial to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S) this summer. The library’s micro gallery is part of a larger project called The Canadian Library: www.thecanadianlibrary.ca. The Canadian Library is an art-based initiative that strives to help people, ‘To learn, to understand, to demand justice and equality and to bring about true, honest, reconciliation’. Canadian Library Micro Gallery project lead, Shanta Sundarason, was surprised by just how little many immigrants and settlers really know about Canada’s past. She says, “I strongly believe that conversations and education are the primary solution to bringing about true reconciliation and hence my journey with the Canadian Library.” Libraries are uniquely positioned to provide opportunities for conversation and education, and in installing a micro gallery, our hope is to provide a first step or a way into a crucial conversation. As part of The Canadian Library, micro galleries have been installed in businesses, libraries, and galleries across the country. At a later date, all of the books and bookshelves will
come together to create a large-scale art installation. Until that time, these individual micro galleries exist to spark dialogue and provide space to educate, witness, and contemplate how best to put an end to racialized violence that disproportionately affects Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. Here at the library, we held workshops where community members could come to wrap used books in Indigenous- created fabrics and place the names of missing and murdered individuals on the spines. We also discussed some alarming facts and statistics presented by the Assembly of First Nations: (afn.ca/rights-justice/murdered-missing-indigenous-women- girls/) and viewed a short documentary available on YouTube by APTN Investigates called, Voices of the Landfill. For those looking for the original report, “Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls” was published in June 2019. A multi-year endeavour, it contains 231 Calls to Action and can be found here: www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report. While the devastating effects of Residential Schools will be felt for many generations, the schools did close. Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people continue to go missing, continue to encounter violence, and continue to be victims at much higher rates than non-Indigenous people. The Canadian Library micro gallery is available in the Rotary Lounge at St. Thomas Public Library. All are welcome to come, reflect, and honour those who have gone missing or been murdered.
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Page 30 Hometown St. Thomas • July-August 2024
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