Eluned Hâf, Head of Wales Arts International, will take part in a 'Celebrating Indigenous Languages' discussion at BreakOut West today. It’s Orange Shirt Day in the country we know as Canada – an important moment for us to think more deeply about our responsibilities in recognizing truth and reconciliation for Canada's indigenous communities.

"To begin, I would like to acknowledge that I am on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy: Siksika [sig(k)siga], Kainai [gain-uh(wah)], Piikani [began-ee], the Tsuut'ina [sue-tin -uh], Stoney Nakoda Nations, Métis Nation Region 3 [may-te], and all who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region.

On Orange Shirt Day, which is the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, being in Calgary for BreakOut West festival is an opportunity to listen. As I participate in today's festival, I am thinking about the role of music and the arts in helping us to listen, heal, and raise awareness of Canada's indigenous languages ​​and cultures. The opportunity is a privilege and a responsibility, so that we can learn and contribute towards changing the narrative.

We have already heard and seen the horrors surrounding residential schools in Canada. Under the British empire, children were stolen from their families, breaking traditions, and killing languages. These atrocities have left profound psychological and cultural effects across the continent. This is not old history, but contemporary trauma.

As a privileged Welsh woman, I recognize that we have a role to play in this reconciliation. But to do that, we need to be open about the participation and responsibility of our culture and our Celtic language. The Welsh language (Cymraeg) and the culture she carries has a duality of experience when it comes to colonialism; as both an oppressed language but also a language that has colonised. On this day of truth and reconciliation, we must not deny the direct and indirect privileges we have from the colonisation of Canada. We as contributors to colonisation have seriously damaged the cultures of the first nations of Canada.

We therefore have a responsibility to understand and share the truth, before we can expect any reconciliation. Otherwise, there is a danger that we will engage in a process of re-colonisation.”

#EveryChildMatters

- Eluned Hâf, Head of Wales Arts International