In 2021, the Government of Canada officially designated the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th as a statutory holiday to honour the lost children and survivors of the Indian residential school system, as well as their families and communities, in light of the discovery of over 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential schools. This day also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, where people are encouraged to wear an orange shirt to raise awareness about the impact of residential schools. Around September 30 was the time of year when Indigenous children were historically taken from their homes to residential schools.
Residential schools were a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples funded by the Canadian government and administered by Christian churches to isolate Indigenous children from their native culture and religion and to assimilate them into the dominant Canadian culture. Around 150,000 children were placed on residential schools, where attendance was mandatory from 1984-1947, with the last school closing in 1996. The number of school-related deaths are unknown but are probably in the tens of thousands.
The residential school system harmed Indigenous children by removing them from their families, stripping them of their language and culture, and subjecting them to physical and sexual abuse. The system disrupted the transmission of Indigenous practices and beliefs across generations. The legacy of the system has caused widespread post-traumatic stress, substance abuse and suicide, which was often passed down through generations and persists in Indigenous communities today.
In 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to collect the testimonies of people affected by the residential school system across Canada. In its final report in 2015, the TRC found that the Indian residential school system was an act of "cultural genocide" against Indigenous peoples of Canada. The 94 Calls to Action of the TRC include, “establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 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.”
The Canadian Mountain Network is proud to be part of a rich history of Indigenous knowledge and culture, including Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being. Many of CMN’s members and colleagues are either survivors or children and grandchildren of survivors of the residential school system. CMN is committed to contributing to the process of reconciliation by harnessing environmental science and knowledge to inform policy and decision-making that better reflects the diversity of knowledge systems in Canada. CMN funds multiple projects that are restoring Indigenous knowledge systems to recover and sustain the traditions of Indigenous peoples across Canada. Innovative approaches to weaving Indigenous and Western knowledge systems are critical to advance reconciliation and offer the opportunity to improve how we work together.
We encourage you to visit the websites below to find events and information commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day near you:
Truth and Reconciliation Week 2021, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Fireside Chat: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Panel (Sept. 30th, 2021)
McGill University page on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Check out these resources supporting truth and reconciliation:
What Does Reconciliation Mean to Me - a University of Calgary video project to share reconciliation stories and commitments.
Indigenous Canada - a free open online course developed by the University of Alberta.
Pathways to Indigenous Equity: An Indigenous Lens on Health Systems Transformation & Research - a recorded session from the UBC Learning Circle
Reconciliation and Public Health - a recorded presentation from the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health.
Impact Assessments in Indigenous Contexts - a report developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Health Public Policy.
Aboriginal Knowledge Translation - a resource developed by the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health to help researchers understand the distinct needs of Indigenous peoples in research.