What stood out to me most from today’s presentations was the keynote speaker Ashley Callingbull. She was an amazing storyteller and so enthralling to listen to. The way she spoke just drew me in and I could have listened to her talk all day.  Her presentation was also so important because of her firsthand experience with the generational trauma that is so prevalent in the Indigenous community especially.  As much as I might learn about something like the generational trauma that is prevalent due to residential schools, I don’t think it’s something I can ever truly understand as it is not something I have experienced myself.  It is so important to listen to firsthand accounts like Ashley’s to honour and respect the experiences of Indigenous peoples and to work towards building an understanding to the best that we can without experiencing it ourselves.  At the same time, we should not expect people to share these stories with us – they are highly personal, the retelling of them is something that could be traumatizing in itself, and we aren’t entitled to hearing these stories.  That is something that is so important to keep in mind while listening to and remembering the stories Ashley told – she is telling these stories of her own life, but there are many others with similar stories who are not.  While we shouldn’t generalize one person’s stories to an entire people, knowing and hearing some of the trauma and experiences of Indigenous peoples gives us more insight and perspective in order to bring trauma responsive teaching into our practice.  There is no way for us to know everything that a student is dealing with outside of the classroom, so listening to and respecting the experiences that people choose to share is so important.