What is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
On July 20, 2021, the Government of Canada declared September 30th the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation; a federal statutory holiday “to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools.” The declaration of this holiday was in response to Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action No. 80, calling for the creation of a statutory holiday “to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.” You can learn more here: The Fifth Estate – Crimes against children at residential school: The truth about St. Anne’s – YouTube
At the largest school in Canada’s residential school system in Kamloops, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc continue investigations to locate the unmarked burials of children they love, respect, and honour. You can learn what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission learned about missing children and unmarked burials here.
On March 9, 2023, the Province of British Columbia established September 30 as a provincial statutory holiday so that more people “will be able to get involved in advancing reconciliation by participating in local commemoration or education events, having important conversations with their families, friends and communities, and finding meaningful ways to learn more about our shared history.” You can learn more here: I Am Not a Number – YouTube
Orange Shirt Day is also on September 30. The Orange Shirt Society in Williams Lake, BC, has used this date since 2013 to recognize the time of year when the priests and the RCMP came to take away the children to residential school, and to recognize the ongoing harm that the residential school system has inflicted on Indigenous communities. The orange shirt is the symbol because in 1973, when Phyllis Webstad was six years old, she was taken to St. Joseph’s Mission near Williams Lake, and on that first day, the nuns took away the beautiful orange shirt her grandmother had given her. See the story here: Phyllis Webstad – On Orange Shirt Day. – YouTube
Here are some things you can do:
- Watch the video “Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair”, hosted on the National Film Board of Canada website.
- Here is an interactive map that will help you to locate and research residential schools throughout Canada. Did you live near a residential school?
- Check out this learning tool about the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools in Canada: Project of Heart.
Here are some resources to review:
- The Indian Act
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission – 94 Calls to Action
- Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
- Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- The Survivors Speak: A Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada