Voices Stands in Support of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada and Atlohsa Family Healing Services on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Voices, the #1 creative services freelance marketplace, is committed to participating in active respect and support of the Attawandaron, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapeewak Indigenous Peoples and lands on which its headquarter city, London, and the surrounding areas are built. Out of regard and respect for the Indigenous community, Voices has made a donation to the local Indigenous-led organization Athlosa Family Healing Services and will be observing the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation as a holiday in 2021.

“The work Atlohsa does for the Indigenous community in and around London is profound and meaningful,” says Ann Walton, Vice President, People & Operations at Voices. “It is imperative that those of us who live on Indigenous land and have enjoyed success as a result of historic and present-day colonialism not only acknowledge that our prosperity has a foundation of colonization, but that we actively put in effort to uplift the Indigenous Peoples and voices who are doing the arduous and crucial work of healing generational trauma, repairing the systems on which our communities are built, and educating the non-Indigenous public. We are particularly grateful to Atlohsa and organizations like it who offer insights and education surrounding the experiences of Indigenous Peoples and how we can and should play our role in reconciliation.”

The core of Atlohsa’s mandate is the understanding that family violence is not traditional in First Nations cultures, but rather is a result of colonialism and intergenerational trauma.

“We’re trying to re-strengthen the fabrics that exist within the makeup of a family unit and extended family unit. If we can do that, and our belief and our mandate is to do that, that will then create a healthier community, an Indigenous community but a community at large, also,” shares Raymond Deleary, Executive Director, Atlohsa Native Family Healing Services Inc.

According to Atlohsa, a 1991 survey revealed that 90% of First Nations women had been physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually abused by former or current partners. 63% were still being abused at that time. Today, Indigenous women in Canada are 2.5 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be victims of violence and six times more likely to be killed than non-Indigenous women. 

To make a donation to Atlohsa, please visit https://atlohsa.com/donate/. 

To participate in London’s Turtle Island Healing Walk on the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, please visit the Turtle Island Healing Walk event page.

To learn more about the history of the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island—present-day Canada—you can read more from Facing History and Ourselves. 

About Atlohsa

Atlohsa was founded in 1986 as an outgrowth of a Needs Assessment Survey, which indicated a severe need for family violence services catered specifically to First Nations communities to promote the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of First Nations women, men, and children. The organization provides programming and services to aid with healing and recovery from the effects of family violence through protection, support, and education.