Today is the fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Before it was a federal statutory holiday, Sept. 30 was known as Orange Shirt Day. For non-Indigenous people, it’s a day for learning about and reckoning with the ongoing trauma inflicted by the residential school system; for Indigenous people, it’s also a day of mourning.
On Truth and Reconciliation Day, we remember and honour the children who attended residential schools — many of whom never returned home. Those who did carried profound trauma after being separated from their families, cultures, languages and communities, often enduring physical and sexual abuse. Many survivors are still with us; many more are just one or two generations removed.
The residential school system persisted for over a century but did not operate in isolation. Its effects persist not only in the families whose lives continue to be shaped by its dark legacy, but extend outward like the spiderweb cracks in a pane of glass: disrupting the transmission of hunting skills, displacing Indigenous people from their territories and continuing to impact food security.
How will you mark the day?
- Think about the children and families of our neighbours who were and continue to be impacted by the residential school system
- Wear orange in honour of the children who did not come home, those who have lived as survivors and their families
- Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action and look for ways to bring action to reconciliation
- Commit to learning about the people who’s traditional territory we live on. Here are some great resources:
- Shawanaga First Nation has an interesting history of The First Peoples of Georgian Bay
- Georgian Bay Biosphere has an extensive collection of resources for cultural learning
- The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has some great educational materials
- Find a local event you can attend to honour the day
- Learn how the Government of Canada is working to advance reconciliation here