Every day I wake up energized about the future of Take It Easy Group. Getting to support you with your goals, visions, and organizational building is a dream come true, and I really count my lucky stars every day that I get to be part of all of this.
Luck is definitely a theme that runs through my life a lot these days as my business grows. I'm so lucky and thankful for my supportive team. I'm lucky and thankful for my family who allow me to work all the time, and I am lucky and thankful that you are a client of Take It Easy Group, and that you have entrusted us to help your business succeed.
You may not know that I was one of the fortunate children who enjoyed a private school education. Yes, I complained about the uniforms, the hard work, and the fact that it was all girls but, looking back on my school years, I am humbled to say that I was very lucky. That isn't the case for a lot of Indigenous youth here in Canada, and it's a subject that is too rarely discussed.
Here in Canada, September 30th is an important day on the calendar. It is National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, a time when we pause to reflect on the tragic legacy of the residential school system, missing and traumatized Indigenous children and families, and the survivors of these government-sanctioned institutions.
September 30th has become an increasingly meaningful day for me and my family. My father was adopted. He would talk about this, but never actively searched for his birth parents. Not surprising since he had such loving adoptive parents who raised him. Why would he ever want to look? He was lucky to be welcomed into such an amazing home. Then, one day as my mother delved deeper into Ancestry.com, he decided to start looking into his past and found a very interesting story. His birth mother was Mohawk.
Our family started to find out more. Here is my father's testimony with a little bit about his story and why he is so lucky.
I was very excited and honoured to uncover my Indigenous roots. Being a member of a First Nation was something that made me proud, but it also raised several "what if" scenarios. What if my birth mother hadn't placed me for adoption? What if she had taken me home to the reservation? What if I had been a candidate for a residential school? What if I had lived the life of a noble race being squashed under the thumb of a misguided government?
I was lucky. None of that can be written in the story of my life. But it was, and still is being recorded in the lives of far too many Inuit, Métis , and Indigineous People. I will be wearing orange on September 30th to honour the survivors of residential schools, and my hope is that you will too. I will take time to learn more about their plight and to see what I can do to heal their wounds. I am bursting with pride that my daughter and her company are giving this important day the respect it deserves.
Now that you know a little bit about my family history, we at Take It Easy Group will be using September 30th to grow our knowledge of Indigious issues. Though our virtual office will be closed, our staff will be reading the book The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King, and will be discussing it at a team meeting in the near future. We encourage you to do the same with your family and team too.
Please pause to reflect on how lucky we are, and how horrible some of our friends, ancestors, family members, and citizens have been treated in the past, and now in the present.
Thank you for understanding as to why we won't be online on Friday, September 30th - Canada's Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We will, however, be available on Monday, October 3rd; wiser, more empathetic, and ready to help.
Peace - Skén:nen - Paix Tarra Stubbins CEO + Founder Take It Easy Group