September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, but what does this day mean?
This day commemorates and honors the lives of those who never returned home. Canada’s history is not exempt from the brutal colonial patterns seen across the Western hemisphere. In countries like the USA, UK, and Australia, governments dehumanized and murdered Indigenous Peoples to build their nations in the “New World.” Our country, too, is rooted in violence, and this day puts our history on display, so we all recognize what has happened—and what continues to happen today.
Truth means spreading awareness and shining a light on Canadian and Indigenous history. Reconciliation means restoring friendly relations. In this context, it’s between Canadian society, the government, and Indigenous communities across Canada. As Canadians, we need to step back, listen to the Indigenous community, and work with them on their terms. For me, this is how reconciliation can move forward—by righting wrongs and building a better future for all.
Though this day, also known as Orange Shirt Day, is primarily about recognizing the impact and history of the residential school system, it also helps us understand its ongoing influence on the sociocultural lives of Indigenous Peoples today. Residential schools operated across Canada for 160 years, with over 150,000 Indigenous children forced to attend. The last of these schools closed in 1996 in Saskatchewan. Indigenous children were taken forcibly from their families and homes and sent to these schools, where they often remained year-round or until they turned 16 or 18. The schools' main goal was to assimilate these children into the Christian, white culture of the colonial settlers who had taken their land and disregarded their livelihoods.
What the Canadian government did through the residential school system is known as “cultural genocide.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) defined this as “a systematic, government-sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages and to assimilate Aboriginal peoples so that they no longer existed as distinct peoples.” Culturally, the government of Canada attempted to erase Indigenous Peoples.
In 2019, the TRC estimated that 2,800 children lost their lives in the residential school system, but it’s believed that there are around an additional 1,600 unnamed children who also perished. In 2021, Canada made international headlines and sparked national outrage when the remains of 215 children were discovered at a former residential school site in Kamloops, British Columbia. This event woke many Canadians to the grim history of our country.
In June 2021, the Government of Canada passed Bill C-5, making September 30 a federal statutory holiday. This was a direct response to the call made in the TRC’s Call to Action #80, which urged the establishment of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honor survivors, their families, and communities and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital part of the reconciliation process.
I’ve mentioned the Truth and Reconciliation Commission a few times, but what exactly is it? Survivors of the residential school system called for action, demanding accountability from the Canadian government and the Catholic Church, as well as recognition and reparations for the intergenerational trauma that survivors continue to face today. Those who walked out of the doors of the residential schools are known as survivors, but they didn’t leave unscathed.
Faced with financial instability and a conflicted identity, many survivors fell into harmful cycles of alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, and homelessness. This trauma was passed down to their children, continuing the cycle of abuse that these survivors had endured in the schools. The abuse survivors faced in residential schools encompassed physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Their bodies were not their own and were subjected to constant humiliation and degradation by those who ran the schools.
Most of the schools were run by the Catholic Church, although some were operated by other denominations like the Anglican, United, and Presbyterian churches. These institutions enforced Christian faith on the children, demonizing their Indigenous spiritual beliefs. Several calls to action in the TRC demand the Pope and other churches address their role in the abuse of children in these schools, make reparations, and work with Indigenous communities to make amends. The TRC also calls for an apology from the Pope, which he delivered in 2022, acknowledging the church’s role in the abuse. It further demands the affirmation of the right for Indigenous Peoples to uphold their spiritual practices and self-determination in spiritual matters.
Finally, I will share the story behind the orange shirt. The orange shirt is a movement that symbolizes our collective commitment to ensuring that Every Child Matters. It stems from Phyllis’s story, where her orange shirt was taken from her by the nuns upon her arrival at a residential school in the 1970s. Her grandmother had bought her an orange shirt, which she was excited to wear to school. However, upon her arrival, the nuns stripped her of the shirt and took it away forever. Phyllis was devastated to learn the harsh reality of her new school and what she would have to endure. To conclude, the orange shirt symbolizes the loss and trauma endured by Indigenous children like Phyllis, whose own shirt was taken from her upon arrival at the residential school. The movement reminds us that Every Child Matters. Wearing orange on September 30 commemorates the lives lost and serves as a commitment to acknowledge this dark chapter of history while working toward a better future.
Throughout the blog, I’ve used various resources. Here is a list, and feel free to explore for further understanding:
https://nctr.ca/education/teaching-resources/residential-school-history/
https://www.macewan.ca/campus-life/news/2023/09/news-conversation-cardinal-23/
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/pope-francis-maskwacis-apology-full-text-1.6531341
https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/#story
https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/history-of-residential-schools/
