During the Indigenous Day of Learning, I reflected upon the definitions of assimilation, and reconciliation as well as the importance of action, as discussed by Dr. Dustin Louie. I firstly would like to acknowledge the Tahi Buhn and Nadleh Whut’en of the Carrier Nation of central British Columbia in which Dr. Louie is from. I feel grateful to have received Dr. Louie’s knowledge and will continue to keep his words in mind as I move forward in the B.ed. program. Dr. Louie brought up a great point that stood out to me in his opening keynote and workshop, which is that reconciliation is not an apology for the past, but rather is an act of taking responsibility for creating mutual respect. I have been thinking about the importance of action and how an idea or a thought may stay within the constraints of the mind if not acted upon. Dr. Louie therefore taught me more about one of the most important responsibilities of being an educator, which is that teachers have the ability to shift positive, reconciling ideas/thoughts into physical reality. While thinking about what I have learned from an even higher perspective, I can understand more deeply now that educators have the power to create deeper, more loving relationships and connections between people of differing backgrounds and perspectives. This understanding reminds me of the First People’s Principles of Learning, as the first one touches on the well being of the self and the community, and the second one mentions a focus on connectedness and reciprocal relationships. I think that if students do not feel connected to the space and the people around them, then they also might lose a connection to the willingness to learn as well. I can apply this insight to my own life, as I know that when I feel extremely connected to the people and the places around me, I also feel more open-minded and inspired to grow in general. Therefore, I want one of my next steps in learning to be about figuring out how I can create a classroom environment where students feel connected to one another and their community (e.g. what will those lesson plans look like? How can I, with action, set that intention at the beginning of the school year?). Learning more about how to create an environment that was formed on the foundation of connectedness could very well positively influence my pedagogy, as I am aware that even if all of my future students feel connected to one another, they are still unique from one another, and therefore may have different needs and requirements in order to experience that feeling of connection.