Dragonfly Ventures' Response to the Tragedy of the Residential Schools and Cultural Genocide Against Indigenous People

This response deals with topics which may negatively impact the reader due to its subject matter. We recognize the need for safety measures to minimize the risks associated with traumatic subject matter. For immediate emotional assistance, call 1-844-413-6649. This is a national, toll-free 24/7 crisis call line for anyone who requires support. 

This week has been a very sobering week to say the least. Dragonfly Ventures felt that it was time to speak up. 

Upon learning of the mass grave of the 215 Indigenous children buried at the residential school in Kamloops, we feel the responsibility to speak out about the terrible weight of this knowledge. With deep compassion, we acknowledge the 215 children forcibly taken from 215 families. This is not just about the children lost. It's about the 215 mothers, 215 fathers, and countless siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the greater communities who have suffered and continue to suffer from this Cultural Genocide. And we sadly understand this number is just the start.

Almost 6 years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its report and  94 calls to action, it is heartbreaking to see how little progress has been made so far.

Every team member of Dragonfly Ventures has thought deeply about what this means, what we can do personally, and what our responsibility is at the corporate level. We truly hope that in sharing our actions, others will also step forward and take their own actions. We feel that this is a necessity in our roles as individuals and colleagues committed to the health and well-being of Indigenous people and our shared connection to and love of this planet we call Mother Earth.

 In the spirit of reconciliation with our Indigenous friends alongside our responsibility to offer hope for healing, we share below some of the actions Dragonfly has engaged in. We recognize the continued need to expand, update, learn and evolve so that reconciliation is woven through the fabric of Dragonfly.

•  Dragonfly purchased copies of  Orange Shirt Day through Medicine Wheel Education and distributed them to all team members, as well as the age-appropriate copy of  The Orange Shirt Story to the child of a team member.
• We became a member of  The Circle, have signed on to and are fully committed to the Philanthropic Community's  Declaration of Action, and are currently participating as a team in The Circle's Partners in Reciprocity program, a year-long learning journey to reorient settler-philanthropy toward equity and justice.
•  In direct response to the findings at the Kamloops Residential School, personal donations have been made to the  Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
•  Dragonfly Ventures will also be making a donation as soon as possible to an Indigenous-led national organization assisting in Truth and Reconciliation. We are currently entering into research to identify the appropriate organization. We gratefully welcome all thoughtful suggestions for this donation.
•  We are learning every day how to foster the decolonization of both investment and charitable practises by building human to human relationships with Indigenous-led companies and organizations in our investment and grantmaking activities.

This is a lifelong journey that our team has fully committed to. We invite any friends and partners who are unsure of their path to please think about joining us. It is our individual and collective responsibility to take actions to honour the countless lives that have been lost and broken, and to start to engage in co-created change-making to prevent future harm.

 With compassionate blessings and healing light,

The Dragonfly Team