If you live in Canada, you’re likely overwhelmed, deeply saddened and horrified by the news this week that the remains of 215 Indigenous children — some as young as three years old — were found in a mass grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.
It has us all thinking about so many things: the families forever impacted by residential schools shut down not that long ago; what must be done about what was discovered, not to mention what remains undiscovered; engaging and educating our children on all this; and how far we have yet to go on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations, just to name a few.
As someone grateful to be able to live my life and run my business on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people, I know I have work to do to learn more about these issues and to help hold governments and organizations accountable.
Over the last several months, sparked by conversations about a program my spouse’s previous organization was leading to help the cultural sector address reconciliation, I have been thinking a lot about whether more work needs to be done in our sector of privacy.
June is National Indigenous History Month, so let’s take some time to consider some questions. Do we have a deep enough understanding of privacy issues as they relate to Indigenous matters? Are there ways we can be more inclusive of First Nations, Métis and Inuit in particular in the privacy community? As privacy practitioners, are there things we can be doing in our day-to-day work? We’re a pretty chatty bunch, so are we considering the impact of what we put out there, when commenting on privacy? (The Tyee published a guide a little while ago on how words we choose make a difference.)
What important questions have I missed? I’d really like to hear your thoughts.
And along the broader lines of diversity and inclusion, I want to mention the IAPP is inviting ideas via email on its new new initiatives launched just a few days ago and aimed at breathing life into these principles.