What is Truth and Reconciliation Day?
September 30th, 2021 marked Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Now each year, we use this day to honour the children who never returned home from residential schools and the survivors of these schools. This day not only honours the children who were subjected to these residential schools, but also their families and communities who are still affected by the legacy of residential schools.
History of Truth and Reconciliation Day:
From 1831 to 1996, over 130 federally funded and church-run residential schools were attended by more than 150,000 Indigenous children. These schools aimed to “take the Indian out of the child”, as stated by Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald. This forced assimilation was a cultural genocide curated by the government of Canada and various Christian churches. Attendance at these residential schools was mandatory for Indigenous children and parents could be punished or imprisoned for neglecting to send their children. Indigenous children were essentially alienated from their families at an early age to teach them the culture of the dominant society. Students were not permitted to speak their native languages nor practice their culture while away at school. They often went hungry due to the lack of nutritious food and many students were forced to do manual labour. Survivors have reported instances of sexual and mental abuse, as well as beatings and inhumane punishments. It is hard to tell how many children died while attending these schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) estimates that 4000-6000 Indigenous students died while at residential schools. The causes of death included physical abuse, malnutrition, disease, and neglect. Others died by suicide, or by trying to escape the schools. But lack of proper documentation means that this number is probably much higher, as we have seen with the recent unmarked burial sites found on residential school properties.
Phyllis Webstad is Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band) in BC. In 1973, Phyllis’s grandmother took her shopping for a new outfit in preparation for her first day of school at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School. She picked out a bright orange shirt that she was so excited to wear on her first day. When she got to the school, the staff stripped her and took away her clothes, including her new orange shirt. She couldn’t understand why they had taken this shirt away from her. Her love for the orange shirt quickly turned to hatred for the colour as it now represented how her feelings did not matter and no one cared for her. This would be the first of many travesties and traumas she would experience during her year away from her family and community.
In April 2013, Phyllis was asked to speak at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School Commemoration Project, an event that coincided with the TRC’s efforts to begin to right the wrongs of residential schools. She shared her story at the event and with the help of her friend, Joan Sorely, they pitched the idea for Orange Shirt Day to the planning committee for the event. After the meeting, it was decided that September 30th would be Orange Shirt Day with the slogan “Every Child Matters”. Orange Shirt Day shortly became a global event to honour the Indigenous children who were forced to attend residential schools and dissociate with their culture. Now, Phyllis Webstad is the founder and ambassador of Orange Shirt Society where she travels the country, telling her story and raising awareness about the impacts of residential schools. In June 2021, the government of Canada passed Bill C-5 to name September 30th a federal statutory holiday to coincide with Phyllis Webstad’s Orange Shirt Day and to meet one of the TRC’s calls to action. Truth and Reconciliation Day is a step in the right direction to begin to undo the wrongs caused by residential schools, but more must be done to support Indigenous communities in Canada.
What can I do to support Indigenous Communities on Truth and Reconciliation Day?
Buy and Wear an Orange Shirt:
As mentioned in the section above, Truth and Reconciliation Day is also Orange Shirt Day. When you purchase an orange shirt from this list of suppliers, the money goes to the Orange Shirt Society to help fund their projects and portions are given directly to Indigenous communities.
Attend Local Events:
Many events will be taking place on September 30th in Kingston to commemorate survivors and those who passed in residential schools.
Sacred Fire Ceremony on Agnes Benedickson Field from 1-3pm organized by Queen’s University.
Multiple Events are being hosted by St. Lawrence College on the week leading to September 30th, including TRC honour walks, allyship programs, beaded orange pin activities, and art exhibitions.
Take a walk downtown where City Hall and Springer Market Square will be illuminated in Orange in honour of Truth and Reconciliation day.
Check out the Kingston Aboriginal Community Information Network on Facebook for other events happening this week.
Educate Yourself:
I highly recommend reading stories of residential school survivors to understand the traumas they’ve faced and how resilient they are. Below are links to some websites that may be beneficial to read:
I suggest taking a look at some of these websites to further educate yourself on other injustices Indigenous communities have faced: