As Canada recognized the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, Bob Joseph, author of the bestselling book “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act,” reminded Canadians that reconciliation is something we all need to “work hard at”. “
joseph said Sam Laprade’s show on September 30 that her book, which grew out of a viral blog post, has been a blessing to the conversation about reconciliation.
The book contains many telling facts, and readers will learn the terminology, the difference between status and non-status Indians, and how women would lose their Indian status if they married non-Indigenous men.
Joseph explained that the idea for the initial blog came to him while running his business that helps governments and organizations work with Indigenous peoples. He realized that many Canadians weren’t fortunate enough to be educated on the subjects he teaches, so he started blogging to reach a wider group of people.
At the start of each workshop, Joseph said they ask clients to create a calendar with dates specific to Indigenous peoples; he discovered that there was still a 70-year gap in information between about 1868 and 1970.
“If you look at the gap, you see, that’s when residential schools were happening, banning potlucks and all the things that were happening in the Indian Act,” he said. declared.
“If we’re going to be effective and reconcile and live together in a great way in the future, we really have to be on the same page in terms of the story.”
Listen to Bob Joseph’s full interview below:
