Siloam Mission Announces Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
Commitment made as part of organization’s first Annual Report to the Community event
Siloam Mission has announced a new commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, developed in participation with Indigenous partners and community leaders.
The commitment announced today includes specific responses to numerous calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), as well as details on how Siloam is incorporating the principles of Truth and Reconciliation into its organizational mission, vision and values.
“In recent years, Siloam Mission underwent a process of seeking Indigenous perspectives in order to learn and walk through truth that was both painful and challenging,” says CEO Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud. “We are deeply grateful to those who shared and continue to share their wisdom and guidance about what was and should become.
“In our commitment today, we acknowledge there has been a long history of harms and injustice towards Indigenous people that Siloam has not done enough to disrupt, and we are steadfast on the path ahead in seeking reconciliation and right relations. Words alone will not undo harm. Rather, we must act – not in isolation, but in friendship, partnership and with guidance from Indigenous Peoples.”
Siloam Mission’s Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation was announced as part of the organization’s first Annual Report to the Community event today. The commitment was developed in partnership with the organization’s Board of Directors and a newly-formed Indigenous Advisory Council, which includes Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community leaders.
“As conversations around Truth and Reconciliation continue across the nation, more businesses, organizations and political bodies will be required to articulate what that means to them and how they will align their corporate values to reconcile with Indigenous peoples,” says Kendell Joiner, Chief Executive Pathfinder at Native Clan Organization and member of the IAC.
“This work is not easy, nor is it comfortable,” says Kendell. “Siloam Mission has moved towards today’s milestone by engaging Indigenous voices and the community itself. This guidance, friendship, and steering is ongoing and the commitment to ensuring this relationship is steadfast. Meaningful and active inclusion of Indigenous peoples is fundamental to these larger conversations. Siloam Mission has taken the calls of the community seriously in its efforts to find its place in the environment of today, and continues to do so in a humble way.”
The Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation is intended to be part of an ongoing journey that will be updated and re-committed to on an annual basis.
To read our Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, click here.
Siloam Mission is a Christian-based non-profit service organization for Manitobans who have experienced homelessness and who struggle with mental health issues, physical and cognitive disabilities, addictions or trauma, and youth who have aged out of care and are at risk of homelessness. Founded in 1987, the mission provides emergency shelter, meals and clothing, supportive housing and a variety of healing, support and recovery services to help people transform their own lives and reach their full potential.
