First, we have to have acknowledgement and then a process of healing complete with support services and funding. This is the first year of official acknowledgment of the genocide that our past and present governments and societies have inflicted on the Indigenous Peoples of this land called Canada.

It is a start.

This is the first year for this holiday. This observance. This recognition.

We will be open this day for our regular hours (9 am to 8 pm) but next year we will likely be closed so that we can be in respectful solidarity with this initiative. I would have done this if I thought about it more but right now it is too late. I apologize for what I consider a misstep.

That being said. When I made the decision to be open I had also decided to direct some of the income coming into the store on this day to some local Indigenous organizations.

We will donate 10% of our GROSS sales to several organizations to support the advancement of reconciliation and support. We have chosen four different groups in the Edmonton area to support with the funds raised on this day.

Please consider wearing an orange shirt to show solidarity and take some time to reflect on what our government has inflicted on the Indigenous People of this land in the past as well as the present. Demand better from our government and the institutions that were/are involved in the systemic racism, Eurocentric mindset, the poverty, etc that are at the basis of the situation we now find ourselves in.

** BOYLE-MCCAULEY HEALTH CENTRE SOCIETY

** Bear Clan

** Inner City Youth Development Association

** BOYLE STREET SERVICE SOCIETY

There are a lot of challenges facing our world and society. Conciliation, reconciliation, justice, racism, etc are as important as climate change, violence, peace, plastic pollution, etc. We NEED to address and solve them ALL IF we want the world to be a better place for all.

Hiy Hiy.