For the ReconciliACTION Oak Bay Network, September was focused on preparations to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and in building and extending relationships to support the work.

The Network collaborated with Oak Bay High School on the first school-wide ceremony to mark the day, attended by 1500 students and staff, and connected with a student leader who will join our steering committee as we begin to develop more joint initiatives with the Oak Bay High community. These include planning appropriate ways to use next November’s tenth anniversary of the raising of the Sno’uyutth (“Spreading Good Energy” in Lekwungen) Welcome Pole in front of the high school to assess how far Truth and Reconciliation has been advanced in Oak Bay in the past 10 years and identify ways to accelerate and deepen the commitment in our community over the next 10.

ReconciliACTION representatives have picked up where they left off last spring and have been speaking at the high school ceremony and to classes this fall about the work underway in our community and how students can get involved.

For the fourth year, the ReconciliACTION Oak Bay Network hosted a community ceremony on Sept. 30 at the Sno’uyutth Pole. It was attended by 200 residents, including all six Oak Bay Councillors and the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin. Personal pledges for Truth and Reconciliation were distributed to attendees: https://reconciliactionoakbay.ca/

ROBN also participated in the Victoria Foundation workshop on “Collaborative Leadership for Impact,” reached out to Oak Bay business leaders, and began a conversation with Oak Bay about the potential of creating a shared Council-Community Action Plan on Reconciliation in Oak Bay.