THUNDER BAY – Cadmus Delorme brought his message of recognizing what happened in the past but not owning it.
“Every one of us in this city, province and country inherited a history together between Indigenous people and Canadians,” Delorme said.
“I'm going to tie together truth in my remarks because there's only one truth. And I will also talk about what reconciliation means to all of us moving forward.
“At the end of the day, we have one thing for our future and that's hope for our next generations.”
Delorme was the guest speaker at a luncheon hosted by Diversity Thunder Bay at the Courthouse Hotel to mark the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Ellen Chambers, Diversity Thunder Bay co-chair, said that they have been holding this annual event since 2006.
“We have had people speak about racism in Thunder Bay and their experiences as an Indigenous person,” Chambers added.
“We have had people talk about freedom and democracy. In fact, we will have a speaker come through next month to talk about his education, the Ontario curriculum and what is actually taught in schools.”
The yearly event began as a breakfast and had to rearrange the way it was presented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ever since returning, it has become a luncheon -- with this year’s event marking their first as a hybrid.
“To pick a speaker for this event, we will look at who we have invited in the past but we also look at what we want to talk about or what might be a challenging thing that's going on in our city,” Chambers noted.
“If you can go to an event and come away with one thing that kind of sticks with you, that’s really important.”
Delorme comes from Treaty 4, which represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan as well as small portions of western Manitoba and southeastern Alberta.
He credits his parents among others for inspiring him to become a public speaker.
“Growing up, my parents were always so funny in conversations around the kitchen table,” Delorme recalled.
“I was pushed to study politics in university. And then in my own First Nation, I was pushed to being a chief.
“What’s the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’? There are so many individuals that helped me get to where I am today.
The origin of the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination came from an event in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960.
