What is Radical Reconciliation?
It is what happens when Marilyn Brighteyes and I share our stories together.
As a white woman of settler origin my mother Sheila Salter was murdered by a First Nations man; Marilyn's brother Peter Brighteyes, back in 1995. In this talk, I detail how I moved through the painful grief and trauma of mom's homicide, and in time how I forgave her perpetrator - who had killed himself in prison. Then I share what I discovered in my journey of shared humanity as I sought to understand who this guy was, and what elements led him to become a murderer in the first place. This experience included recognizing my white privilege, the impact of colonization and what my role needs to be for present day reconciliation.
Marilyn shares her courageous journey of overcoming addiction and growing up in a family impacted by generational trauma as a First Nations Woman. She is under the FASD umbrella and works continually to support women impacted by addiction in making better choices, and speaks to how this has been part of her journey as a mother. Through the sharing of her story she invites listeners to wake up to the reality of generational trauma and start to take steps forward towards participatory reconciliation.
We invite any questions in, to go deeper in exploring this conversation and meeting the conflict that is often part of the pain and trauma.
We have spoken at the following since 2015:
Talks are 1-3 hours
Workshops ranging in 3 hour - three days
Contact me directly to invite us into your community today.
As a white woman of settler origin my mother Sheila Salter was murdered by a First Nations man; Marilyn's brother Peter Brighteyes, back in 1995. In this talk, I detail how I moved through the painful grief and trauma of mom's homicide, and in time how I forgave her perpetrator - who had killed himself in prison. Then I share what I discovered in my journey of shared humanity as I sought to understand who this guy was, and what elements led him to become a murderer in the first place. This experience included recognizing my white privilege, the impact of colonization and what my role needs to be for present day reconciliation.
Marilyn shares her courageous journey of overcoming addiction and growing up in a family impacted by generational trauma as a First Nations Woman. She is under the FASD umbrella and works continually to support women impacted by addiction in making better choices, and speaks to how this has been part of her journey as a mother. Through the sharing of her story she invites listeners to wake up to the reality of generational trauma and start to take steps forward towards participatory reconciliation.
We invite any questions in, to go deeper in exploring this conversation and meeting the conflict that is often part of the pain and trauma.
We have spoken at the following since 2015:
- Indian Residential Schools healing organization at Blue Quill
- High Prairie Fire Keepers conference
- High level Native Friend Ship Centre
- Wellbriety 2016 Sacred Hoop Event Rocky Mountain house
- Central Alberta FASD
- O'Chiese First Nation Health Centre
- Knowing our Spirits Conference
- Edmonton Womens Prison
- Into the Heart of Trauma
- Boyle street Edmonton - upcoming March 2020 - private
- Wetaskiwin Heritage museum - March 24th 6-9pm by donation - includes soup and bannock , email for more information
Talks are 1-3 hours
Workshops ranging in 3 hour - three days
Contact me directly to invite us into your community today.
"Sarah and Marilyn you have such tremendous gifts as speakers and teachers – the feedback we’ve received from your talk has been incredible. I feel like everyone walked out of the event a little more human. I know your stories and wisdom have been hard won, so thank you for sharing them with all of us."
Jared Tkachuk - Manager, Outreach and Support Services, Boyle Street Community Services
