Next Tuesday, September 30th, is National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
It is a day to reflect on the devastating legacy of residential schools.
We take time to commemorate the children who never returned home, we honour the families they left behind, we demonstrate solidarity with those who survived the residential school system, and we reckon with the colonial violences that continue to tear Indigenous communities apart.
But reflection alone is not enough.
Here are some ways that we encourage you to consider showing your support and solidarity on Tuesday:
1. Wear an Orange Shirt or Support the Orange Shirt Society – Orange Shirt Day began as a grassroots initiative to commemorate the residential school experience, witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. It honours the story of Phyllis Webstad who, at the age of 6, wore a new orange shirt from her grandmother on her first day of residential school. Upon arrival, she was stripped of all her clothes and belongings including the orange shirt. This experience touches the surface of the deep scale of harm and abuse that Indigenous children faced in the residential school system. For Phylis, the colour orange became a symbol of resistance against the Indian Residential Schools and for the rallying cry, ‘Every Child Matters.’ Today, Phyllis is the founder and ambassador for Orange Shirt Society and works to support Residential School Survivors in healing and sharing their truth. You can learn more about how to support the Orange Shirt Society here.
2. Listen to and Support Residential School Survivors – Truth and Reconciliation cannot happen until the truth is heard. Often, the truth is hard to hear for non-Indigenous people, but it is critical to grapple with Canada’s colonial history and present in order to work towards justice. Beyond just listening, we must actively support residential school survivors. Consider some of the following actions:
- Attend a local Truth and Reconciliation Day event near you: here are links to events in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
- Watch videos that lift up the voices of residential school survivors.
- Donate to the Indian Residential School Survivor Society
- Learn more about the movement to donate One Day’s Pay.
- Read the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – and consider how you could act in whatever sectors and spaces you are in to advance these calls to action
3. Stand for Indigenous sovereignty and land back – Indigenous peoples and communities are disproportionately on the frontlines of resource extraction, environmental destruction, and climate impacts. Justice is not possible on these stolen lands until we uphold Indigenous sovereignty, and concrete measures to return land and stewardship power to Indigenous peoples.
- Read the Land Back is Climate Policy Report by our friends at Indigenous Climate Action, to learn more about why the land back movement is integral to ensuring climate justice, and donate to support ICA’s leadership.
- Donate to Sacred Earth and learn about their work: Our friends at Sacred Earth are doing incredible work to support Indigenous led climate solutions from coast-to-coast!
- Join this important webinar on Land Defenders and LNG September 29th featuring the voices and perspectives of inspiring leaders resisting the development of fossil fuel infrastructure on their homelands including Wet’suwet’en land defender, Molly Wickham, and Chief Na’Moks.
- Nagweyaab Ishkode is a new initiative of mostly Anishinabek youth resisting Bill 5 in Ontario, Doug Ford’s colonial land and resource grab. Join them and collaborators SURJ Toronto for a phone zap to Kill Bill 5 Friday Oct 3rd at noon.
We hope these resources were helpful and that you will take some time to reflect – and act – on our collective journey towards Truth and Reconciliation.
This is a journey that isn’t limited to one day. While it’s important to take action on September 30th, it’s also important to ensure we practice an ongoing commitment to reconciliation every day that we spend on these stolen lands.
Photo Credit: Christopher Pincombe