BTS Canadian ARMY for Indigenous support and reconciliation education

We are BTS Canadian ARMY committed to supporting Indigenous service and education programs. The discovery of a mass grave of 215 Indigenous children in the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia moved us to take action to support those children who are struggling today as a result of the effects of colonialism, and to programs that aim to tell the story of Canada without the whitewashing and exclusion of Indigenous culture and experience.

Who are BTS ARMY? BTS ARMY are fans of the South Korean music group, BTS. BTS has inspired its fans all around to world to participate in thousands of charitable events. As has been written about them, “BTS’ ARMY, meanwhile, have used the power of fandom for better on an enormous scale. Theirs is a fanbase that have made themselves experts in charity projects and fundraising drives, while also creating groups to help those within the fandom and the band themselves. They give in the name of BTS, inspired by the band’s own philanthropic efforts – over the years, the seven-piece band have quietly donated money to schools, animal and children’s charities, disaster relief and more. In 2017, they launched the Love Myself campaign with UNICEF, which aims to end violence against children and teenagers.” – Rhian Daly, The Forty-Five, June 2020. This initiative has raised over $2.98 million globally. Last year BTS raised a million dollars for the Black Lives Matter campaign and in less than 24 hours ARMY all over the world matched that donation.

Who we are supporting with this fundraiser: After consulting with an Elder, we have chosen to support two organizations that will meet our objectives of support and education.

1. Ka Ni Kanichihk: Ka Ni Kanichihk’s vision is “to lead our people back home to a place where we are self-determining, healthy, happy, and respected for our cultural and spiritual strengths and ways of being. We do this through a number of Indigenous led prevention and intervention programs that help children, youth, women, men, and families heal, succeed, and become leaders. Ka Ni Kanichihk provides education and job-skills training, support for women and families, and mentorship. We walk with people on their path of recovery from trauma.”www.kanikanichihk.ca

2.The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund: “The Gord Downie  Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) was created out of two families coming together to make change, uphold Chanie and Gord’s legacies, and create a pathway on the journey toward reconciliation. DWF provides access to education on the true history of Indigenous peoples in Canada and the true history and legacy of Residential Schools. We encourage reconciliation by way of our programming and events.” www.downiewenjack.ca

PLEASE JOIN US IN SUPPORTING THESE IMPORTANT PROGRAMS. As well as raising funds we support unlearning what we have been taught and relearning about the impacts of colonialism and the residential school system in Canada. There are many excellent free programs including this one from the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta: https://tinyurl.com/futppbbe