By David A. Robertson
“For reconciliation to work, we need everybody, we need everybody, and we need everybody to be passionate about it” (pg. 2). David A. Robertson is an Indigenous author, a son, a father, a husband, a community member, public speaker, articulate, passionate and humorous. In the introduction to this witty and engaging book, he notes that reconciliation is the restoration of a relationship between equals that has become damaged. While history shows that the relationship in question was never equal, we should not get hung up on letting the past get in the way of building a new and better future. So, he suggests that we look at Reconciliation as an action. “Reconciliation is a community effort, and for it to work, it’s all hands on deck” (pg. 5). He feels that most Canadians want to act, to work on building that new future but often struggle with knowing what to do, or worrying about doing something wrong in the process, and so there is a danger of nothing being done at all. “That is how we will learn, though. Don’t forget that this is all still new, and because it is new, we are going to make mistakes along the way. All of us, as a community. The farther we get, the more we learn, the better we will do.” (pg. 6)
So to help us get going he has offered 52 suggestions. Each suggestion is offered gently, with thoughtfulness and humour – while generously sharing stories of this life, his family and his work as an author and public communicator. I bought the book on a Friday afternoon and finished it Sunday evening. I could not put it down! 52 suggestions to help us learn to walk together in a good way.
I suggest reading the entire book first, don’t look at it as a January to December road map where a different suggestion gets read each week for 52 weeks. That won’t work! Some suggestions are as simple as reading a book by an Indigenous author (yes! – I’ve done that and plan to do it often!) or watching a movie or TV show about an Indigenous story. These are things that can be done on a snowy day (as I watch the snow fall outside) but attending a pow wow or visiting a Cultural Centre needs planning. And this ticks off number 52 for me – “Share this Book!”