Today there will be many events to honour and remember the survivors and victims of the residential school system.
Known as Orange Shirt Day, and, last year declared as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Sept. 30 is a day to reflect on the truth that the treatment of Indigenous people in Canada was genocide and take steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous people.
Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led movement that gets its name from the story of Phyllis Webstad, who attended a residential school when she was six years old. Her grandmother bought her an orange shirt to wear on her first day of school. But all of Webstad's clothes were taken from her and never given back. The orange shirt is now worn acknowledge the inter-generational trauma of residential schools, which stripped Indigenous people of their culture and connections and their lives.
The Orange Shirt Society, founded by Webstad, is a non-profit created to support residential school reconicliation, create awareness of the inter-generational impacts of the schools, and to champion the philosophy that every child matters. You can learn more on the Orange Shirt Society website.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation came from the work done by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which was charged with the task of gathering truth from the stories of survivors and others impacted by the residential school system, and recommending actions toward reconciliation.
The commission spent six years travelling Canada to gather the stories of more than 6,500 witnesses, and reported their findings along with 94 calls to action in June 2015. You can read the calls to action here.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has preserved and provided access to the records gathered by the commission, including millions of documents from the Canadian government related to the residential school system.
"The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation educates Canadians on the profound injustices inflicted on First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation by the forced removal of children to attend residential schools and the widespread abuse suffered in those schools," states the centre's website. "We preserve the record of these human rights abuses, and promote continued research and learning on the legacy of residential schools. Our goal is to honour survivors and to foster reconciliation and healing on the foundation of truth telling."
The following resources compiled from lists provided by Friendship Centres offer more truth about Indigenous people, treaties, territories, and recommendations for steps toward reconciliation between Indigenous people and the greater community:
Websites:
- Indian Residential School Survivors Society: a provincial organization initially formed to assist survivors with the litigation process pertaining to residential school abuses. Their work has expanded to include assisting the descendants of survivors and implementing community education measures (Indigenous and non-Indigenous).
- Legacy of Hope Foundation: a national Indigenous charitable organization with the mandate to educate and create awareness and understanding about the Residential School System, including the inter-generational impacts such as the removal of generations of Indigenous children from their families, including the Sixties Scoop, the post-traumatic stress disorders that many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis continue to experience, all while trying to address racism, foster empathy and understanding and inspire action to improve the situation of Indigenous Peoples today.
- Downie Wenjack Fund: The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund is part of Gord Downie’s legacy and embodies his commitment, and that of his family, to improving lives of First Peoples in Canada. In collaboration with the Wenjack Family, the goal of the Fund is to continue the conversation that began with Chanie Wenjack’s residential school story, and to aid our collective reconciliation journey through a combination of awareness, education, and action.
- Native Land and Whose Land: both map-based websites to show the traditional territories of Indigenous people with links to information about the language, treaties and history.
- Woodland Cultural Centre: formerly the Mohawk Institute residential school, now a museum and archive preserving Indigenous language, culture and history.
- Arctic Rose Foundation: Founded by Inuk singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark, the purpose of the Arctic Rose Foundation is to support Northern Inuit, First Nations and Metis youth, promote emotional and mental wellness, and connect them with their culture through intentional and adaptable arts-based programming.
- Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families: In partnership with parents and the community the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families fosters strong and proud Inuit children, youth and families.
Podcasts
- Voices from the Land: Indigenous Peoples Talk Language Revitalization
- Legacy of Hope: Roots and Hoots
- Seven Truths by Tanya Talaga
Films
- National Film Board of Canada - Residential Schools
- Survivor videos from Legacy of Hope
- Residential Schools in Canada: A Timeline
- Indian Horse
- We Were Children
- Muffins for Granny
- Our People Will be Healed
- The Secret Path
Books
- Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod
- The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir by Joseph Auguste Merasty
- They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School by Bev Sellars
- Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
- Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway
- Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
