EDITOR’S FIX

Contributors

ANDREW VALLANCE is a cinephile nerd who currently lives on the west coast. Girlfriendless, he spends his time going to movies, buying DVDs and flirting.

ASHLEY KRISTINA has studied astrology for over twenty years and has been reading/teaching for five. For an in depth natal chart reading, email mountainashastrology@gmail.com.

BRAD PARSELL is the manager of the Fernie Chamber and loves working with our local vibrant business community. He is also a music nerd with an ever-growing collection of records in his basement.

COURTNEY BAKER has a keen interest in all things community and is inspired by the amazing organizations and volunteers in Fernie.

DANYAL TAYLOR is an all year-round adventurer. You can find him hiking in the remote wilderness, crossing crevassed icefields in winter, and bagging peaks at any opportunity possible. You can see more of these adventures @danyaltaylor.

JESSICA BOZOKY quit her editing job in Australia to chase the snow. Having settled in Fernie, she’s found herself at home surrounded by mountains (of books). JULIE KELLY is the Manager for the Fernie Trails Alliance and loves spending time on the Fernie trails.

KEVIN MCISAAC haunts the coffee shops and streets of Fernie to find his column source material.

MICHAEL HEPHER is a painter, printmaker, sculptor and musician living and working in Fernie. His work is collected internationally and can be seen at Clawhammer Press and a variety of galleries in Western Canada. Every month SADIE ROSGEN teams up with some of Fernie’s brightest young writers collaborating on a given theme. If you are reading this and think that you are that person, drop her a line at sadiepumps@gmail.com.

TAINA TURCASSO is a naturopathic physician, midwife, and new mama who is at long last practicing in Fernie. She is enjoying getting reacquainted with all of Fernie’s offerings with her family. TYLA CHARBONNEAU is a Registered Psychologist (CPBC2385), dog momma, and nature lover. She loves talking with others about mindfulness, self-compassion, and human nature. Black and white. Us and them. Old and young. Boy and girl. Big and small. Short and tall. Local and visitor.

We grow up learning of ‘the other.’ Defining things and people by these attributes. Putting one another into boxes. And you know what? It just has to end.

Many of us received a huge slap in the face this spring. As the bodies of children who were forced to attend residential schools were found and more and more of these innocent beings continued (and continue) to be discovered, we felt so much rage, disgust and distrust. The dishonesty, lies, and hidden truths of our history are sickening.

It is not us and them. We are all us. It is so unfortunate that those first white settlers didn’t recognize the value of the indigenous people who had lived on this land for over 14,000 years. Can imagine what we could have been, together? It’s impossible to know, but what is hopeful is that we can move forward together now.

I can already see the change taking place. Our children are growing up knowing this version of history. They accept and love and question and feel and grieve… because they are taught to and allowed to. As parents, community leaders and elders, it’s our responsibility to support and foster this and above all else, to show that inclusion is not the exception. It’s the expectation. The new norm.

FERNIE FIX | FERNIEFIX.COM

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Editor | Krista Turcasso Creative Director | Vanessa Croome

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Editor’s Fix

By Krista Turcasso, Editor

In an effort to be committed to reconciliation and ensuring that the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools is never forgotten, the Government of Canada named this September 30 the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday.

1-866-925-4419 The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of his or her Residential school experience.