This Indigenous coach at the Catholic school board wants to change conversations around reconciliation

True reconciliation between Indigenous communities and the Catholic school system is important to Tyler Waddilove of the Munsee-Delaware Nation, located south of London, Ont.

As a way to bridge the existing gap, Waddilove is working as an Indigenous graduation coach at the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB), where he teaches students about his traditional way of life and the intergenerational trauma that resulted from residential schools, many which were run by the Catholic Church. 

"This kind of work is so important for the future and we need to lay the ground work now. The most powerful thing I've experienced is seeing the amount of non-Indigenous students who want to learn more about the culture," he said.

"It all starts with them in bringing us all together and it's so important that we all come together because that's the strength of Canada."

The program, called reconciliACTION, integrates cooking classes, Native literature, dance classes, and a map of Canada that plots where each residential school was and which language was spoken in the area.  

Several members of Waddilove's family were forced to attend residential schools and his mother was a part of the Sixties Scoop, but Waddilove said his unique experience of living in his community while also attending a Catholic high school as teenager allowed him to see common ground between the two cultures. 

"The importance of love is the basis of any religion. Both our cultures have an aspect of heavy spirituality that we have in common, which I want to bring to the students I speak to."

Waddilove said his stories and cultural practices have inspired several Indigenous students to proudly showcase their own cultural identities.

Vince Romeo, director of education at the Catholic school board, said this program is important because it provides a starting point of undoing the work of hundreds of years of colonization.

"It's provided a familiar face to our Indigenous students. Until we fully understand colonization, intergenerational trauma, and its impact on our Indigenous students, we cannot effectively achieve reconciliation," he said. 

"It is important for us as a Catholic system because 60 per cent of residential schools were run by the Catholic Church and we're working hard to seek a new relationship of reconciliation with Indigenous people."

Waddilove is also aware that his perspective can be met with hostility by some community elders who were impacted by the residential school system and the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at former sites of some schools.

"I completely understand why they [elders] have these doubts and anger because they're still in that trauma. If they don't like the things I talk about, I don't let it affect me in a negative way. I still love and respect them."

The recent apology by the Pope was a step in the right direction, Waddilove said, adding that reconciliation starts with Indigenous people connecting with their roots and sharing their culture with other Canadians.