With National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday, a local Indigenous Knowledge Sharer says women should be at the forefront of leadership in our communities. “There’s 94 calls to action, but they always focus on one. We need to focus on other aspects that really get overlooked. So, we’re focusing on the importance of women,” said Ray John Jr. of Oneida First Nation near London. John will speak at “Approachable Conversations with an Indigenous Man” Wednesday at Fanshawe College in London from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Canada Village Square at Fanshawe. An event co-hosted by Fanshawe and Canada Life Innovation Village. John says his message is about how promoting women into positions of leadership is one way to fulfill Truth and Reconciliation commitments. “It starts in your home. Then it goes into your community. Then it goes into the nation. So, when they’re speaking on behalf of the nation, it’s because they came straight from here, right from the beginning. And then so, we have doctors, we have lawyers, we have people in positions of power. But we need to hear them more,” he stated.
