When my son stood in a jersey designed by Tanner Timothy — a Coast Salish artist — he wasn’t just wearing something beautiful. He was carrying a story.

The Ismaili Youth Soccer Academy partnered with Tanner to create jerseys that honoured Indigenous visual language and Ismaili identity. That blending — that shared respect — was more than symbolism. It was connection. It was presence.

Tanner and I spoke quietly that day. We reflected on the parallels between our communities — the grief, the resilience, the long memories. He shared how he said O’Siem — welcome, honour, respect — and how the children responded instinctively. It stayed with both of us. 🙌
Thank you, Tanner, for sharing your time, knowledge, and space.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is not just about acknowledgment. It’s about relationship.

As Khoja Ismailis, we carry our own histories of displacement and survival — from colonial South Asia to East Africa, from forced migration to resettlement, from silence to community-building. These aren’t the same stories, but the trauma and the longing to belong run through both.

We don’t heal by flattening difference.
We heal by showing up.

This month, I honour the land I live on — the territories of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Kwikwetlem, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

I also honour that moment on the soccer field — where story met sport, where a design became a bridge, and where our children reminded us what respect can look like when it’s real.