On Saturday, September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Canadians will come together to reflect on the injustices inflicted on our country’s original people.
As an Indigenous company with a very culturally diverse team, kama has not only invited its employees to acknowledge Orange Shirt Day on Saturday, September 30, but also to take the day on Monday, October 2 to celebrate their own cultures with their families.
Truth is a powerful word and responsibility for us at kama.ai. As described in kama.ai’s corporate values, it guides our design and development practices, but more importantly, truthful knowledge management and dissemination is the foundational principle of our Designed Experiential Intelligence platform. This is our contribution to responsible AI.
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, however, ‘truth’ takes on a heavier weight in Canada. It is an opportunity to have conversations, or even do our own quiet research, about topics like the residential schools, The Sixties Scoop, and Enfranchisement, which were just some of the injustices that have occurred in Canada’s past.
I think it is important, at least as far as I am personally concerned, to acknowledge that these injustices were not committed by the people of today, and therefore there is no reason for personal guilt. However, there is still much work to be done. The opportunity here is for awareness building and conversations about how we can come together to support or show respect for those affected by past events and achieve positive approaches toward reconciliation in the future.
Through work with our customers, the RESEAU Centre for Mobilizing Innovation, Wahkohtowin and others, we look to support Indigenous and ally organizations to communicate and revitalize Indigenous culture, which is an integral part of reconciliation. As for truth, we at kama.ai will continually seek out opportunities to assist our customers with the delivery of their truth and their authentic voices through a safe, transparent, and accessible conversational AI platform.
Brian Ritchie
CEO, kama.ai
Member, Chapleau Cree First Nation