“Reconciliation is about forging and maintaining respectful relationships.  There are no shortcuts.” …….Justice Murray Sinclair

The Hamilton Community Legal Clinic (HCLC)  has recently launched the I AM COMMITTED poster campaign.

The campaign was developed to initiate conversation and provoke thought on the Canadian Indian Residential School system and the intergenerational trauma caused by that system.  It follows an earlier campaign where nine unique posters and banners were created and installed in 73 highly visible bus stops across the City of Hamilton.

Poster in Hamilton Bus Shelter 2016

Those posters featured individuals affected by the Indian Residential School system.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission came up with 94 Calls to Action to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.

 “This new campaign has been designed for friends and allies to make a public statement that they are committed to the Calls to Action,” says HCLC Executive Director Hugh Tye.

The I AM COMMITTED poster campaign acknowledges that reconciliation is a collaborative journey. It is a journey to be taken by both non-Indigenous and Indigenous people in this country.

Lyndon George, the Clinic’s Indigenous Justice Coordinator, came up with the idea of the posters.

“As Senator Murray Sinclair (Chair of the Commission) so eloquently stated this is not just an Indigenous problem  but it is a Canadian problem,” says George.

You can join the campaign by visiting www.iamcommitted.ca

The campaign comes with a website that invites you to join the growing list of people committed to Reconciliation.

I AM COMMITTED Poster 2017

And you can take it one step further by spreading the word with your family, friends, neighbours, classmates, colleagues and acquaintances. You can encourage them to become committed through social media.

Tye and George were recently interviewed by host Terry Cooke on Hamilton Cable 14’s Vital Signs.  You can listen to the 15 minute interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXrLD5H-PrY&feature=youtu.be