Our Story, Our Vision, Our Mission, Our Principles
Our Story
The ⱡkamnin̓tik Childrens Truth and Reconciliation Society came into fruition in 2022, with the goals of telling our story, and preserving our truth for the future generations. The Ktunaxa People have their own story that is connected to the St. Eugene Mission Building and the Kootenay Indian Residential School. During the development of the Society, it was decided that it would operate out of the Interpretive Centre at the St. Eugene Mission Resort, located North of Cranbrook, B.C. The Interpretive Centre would be the headquarters for the Society because it creates an opportunity to tell our story, preserve our truth, and engage in public education to governments, schools, institutions, organizations, and families through storytelling, tours, workshops, and courses.
Our Vision is to create a place where Truth and Reconciliation can work together, which will result in a world of unity, respect and understanding of Ktunaxa and Shuswap Peoples cultures, history, languages, and futures. In order to achieve this, it first begins with our mission to tell our truth, which involves recording Residential School Survivors in order to preserve their truth and our history. By telling and preserving our truth, we are ensuring that our future generations will know our history. Our mission also involves promoting healing, reconciliation, and public education to governments, schools, institutions, organizations, and families, which will ensure that Ktunaxa and Shuswap Peoples histories, truth, and cultures are better understood. Our work is guided by the Ktunaxa Covenants which are referenced in our Creation Story. The Ktunaxa People abide by these covenants because they were given to us by Nupika:
- To live, occupy, survive, protect, cherish, and celebrate the territory
- To honour, respect, and help one another
- Honour, respect, and cherish the old, the young, and the unborn because they are past and the future
- Take only what you need and waste nothing
- Honour your word
- Always be courteous, considerate, and kind
- Tell the truth
- Return what you borrow
- Unite, and support one another
- Keep faith, and act with one mind and one heart
