The Honouring Traditions and Reconciliation Society is a grassroots group taking action to move towards reconciliation.
“I think the Indigenous people have been pushed down for far too long,” said Les Vonkeman, a founding member of the organization.
That sentiment inspired Vonkeman as well as Cindy and Theron Black to form the group six months ago.
Vonkeman is a ’60s Scoop survivor who was raised as a non-Indigenous person and just recently started discovering his Cree roots.
“Because I didn’t grow up with any knowledge of the Indigenous world, I wanted to share that experience with my non-Indigenous friends, so (we’ve) created many different programs to help bridge the gap between both worlds,” Vonkeman said.
The Honouring Traditions and Reconciliation Society offers teepee camps and campfire conversations where participants learn from elders about topics like Indigenous land use, how to be an ally and traditional dance.
“It’s also a way to get people who have never been out to the reserve to cross that barrier, come out to the reserve, feel welcome and see the beauty of Indigenous people,” said Vonkeman.
Sandra Atwood, a non-Indigenous member of the organization, said bringing voices like hers together with Indigenous people has positive long-term impacts.
“We’re just able to bring our perspectives together and hopefully move this reconciliation work forward in ways that are maybe more effective than each of us trying to do it alone,” she said.
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Echo Nowak, an Indigenous relations specialist with the City of Lethbridge, said it’s great to have an action-based organization in the community.
“I’m hoping that in time Reconciliation Lethbridge and the society will be able to form a friendship where they can work together and get more action in the city,” Nowak said.
The Honouring Traditions and Reconciliation Society is working to get grant funding that can help make future programming accessible to all.