OTTAWA – Both functional and beautiful, a new microsite from the Canadian Bar Association is a resource for lawyers and others on Truth and Reconciliation, as well as a showcase for work by Indigenous artists.
A resource website was one of the recommendations earlier this year from the CBA’s Truth and Reconciliation Task Force, which was mandated to develop ways the Association could further the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“The CBA is committed to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. Our
philosophy is ‘when you know better, you can do better’,” says Aviva Rotenberg, Director of Strategic Initiatives.
Visitors will find information about the CBA’s advocacy efforts, tools, resources and educational offerings, as well as links to resources – the history and legacy of Indian residential schools in Canada, what people are doing to promote the Calls to Action, and educational resources.
They will also find a website that pops with colour and movement through its featured artwork: paintings by three Indigenous artists: Debra Vincent, a bear clan member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and resides on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory; Colleen Gray, a Métis artist and the founder of The Art For Aid Project; and Tracey Metallic, a Mi’gmaq artist born and raised on the shores of the Restigouche River. The website includes links to sites where people can buy artwork by each of the artists.
The CBA hopes eventually to include work by other artists from across the country.
The Truth and Reconciliation Task Force made a number of other recommendations, including increasing cultural competency by educating lawyers about Canada’s history with residential schools, and its cascading effect on the country’s Indigenous populations.
Resources
Truth and Reconciliation website
Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action
The CBA is dedicated to supporting the rule of law and improving the law and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, notaries in Quebec, law teachers and law students from across Canada are members.